Union men’s hockey outlasts No. 2 Harvard, 2-1

SCHENECTADY, N.Y.— Senior goaltender Alex Sakellaropoulos made 31 saves and Sebastian Vidmar and Spencer Foo each tallied a goal to help the 11th-ranked Union College men’s hockey team to a 2-1 win against No. 2/3 Harvard, Saturday night at Messa Rink. The Dutchmen, who notched their fifth ECAC Hockey sweep of the season, move to 16-5-2 overall and 10-1-1 in league play, while the Crimson goes to 11-4-1 overall and 7-3-1 in conference.

Sakellaropoulos built off his 34-save performance in Friday’s 3-1 win against Darmouth, keeping the nation’s top-scoring offense off the board until the final 10 seconds of regulation. He made eight saves in the first period, six in the second and 17 in the third, also turning away 12 shots on the penalty kill.

Vidmar’s goal extended his point streak to five games (2G-3A), while Foo pushed his Division I-best point streak to 21 games (14G-24A), registering his 13th multiple point game of the season (1G-1A). Brett Supinski, Mike Vecchione and J.C. Brassard each contributed an assist.

Union opened the scoring at 4:42 of the second with its fourth power-play goal of the weekend. Harvard goaltender Merrick Madsen (20 saves) denied Vidmar on a wraparound, but Supinski and Foo managed to dig the puck out from behind the net and back to Vidmar, who converted on his second attempt. The assist was Supinski’s fifth point in the last three games (3G-2A).

Foo doubled Union’s lead from an odd-man rush at 6:50 of the third, blasting a one-timer past Madsen high on the blocker side after Vecchione forced a turnover in the Dutchmen’s defensive zone immediately after his penalty expired.

The Crimson managed to pull one back with an Alexander Kerfoot power-play goal at 19:50 of the third, but the Dutchmen held on for the 2-1 win.

Harvard outshot Union 32-22, including an 18-4 edge in the third period. The Dutchmen went 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Crimson was 1-for-6 with man advantage.

Union plays its final non-league game of the regular season on Thursday, Jan. 19, taking on crosstown rival Rensselaer in the Fifth Annual Capital District Mayor’s Cup at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.