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Tonight on NBCSN: No. 18 Union hosts No. 16 Dartmouth in ECAC clash

2012 NCAA Division I Men's Hockey Championships - Semifinals

TAMPA, FL - APRIL 05: Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere #14 of the Union College Dutchman advances the puck against the Ferris State Bulldogs during the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Hockey Championship Semifinal Game at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on April 5, 2012 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

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The ECAC meat grinder rolls along and sees the defending conference champions Union looking to stay hot as they go up against Dartmouth.

No. 18 Union Dutchmen (13-8-4) vs. No. 16 Dartmouth Big Green (11-7-2) -- 7:30 p.m. ET

Union College’s season following their first Frozen Four appearance in school history has seen them face a bit of a hangover. At one point they had a stretch of five games that saw them go winless going 0-2-3 winding up the first half of their ECAC schedule and losing to a struggling Vermont team. Lately, things are on the upswing. They’ve won three in a row with conference wins over Colgate and Harvard and winning the inaugural Mayor’s Cup over rival Rensselaer. Coach Rick Bennett hopes his team has turned the corner in time for a crucial battle for third place in the ECAC with Dartmouth.

The Big Green, meanwhile, are just two spots ahead of Union in the USCHO.com Top 20 poll but even they’ve had some struggles lately. They’re 3-2-0 in their last five with wins over weaker teams like Brown, Clarkson, and Harvard. Meanwhile the losses are to second place Yale and an improving St. Lawrence squad. Coach Bob Gaudet’s squad started off hot this season and they’re hoping they can get that back starting tonight.

NHL prospects to watch

Each team has but one player per side who’s been drafted by an NHL team.

For Union, you’ve likely heard all about sophomore defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere (Philadelphia – 2012 3rd Round). He was a part of this year’s Team USA World Junior Championship squad that took home gold in Ufa, Russia. He and senior blue liner Greg Coburn (Braydon Coburn’s little brother) are their biggest threats to score and set up offense on the blue line.

Others: Troy Grosenick (JR – G; 9-6-4, 2.22, .921), Wayne Simpson (SR – F; 12-16-28), Kyle Bodie (SR – F; 6-20-26)

For Dartmouth it’s senior forward Dustin Walsh (Montreal – 2009 6th Round) to take note of. Walsh is fourth on the team in points and we watched him have a big game earlier this season on NBCSN scoring two goals in a 4-2 win over Vermont. For some perspective, he’s got just seven goals this season.

Others: Tyler Sikura (SO – F; 9-16-25), Matt Lindblad (JR – Dl 9-14-23), Eric Robinson (JR – F; 10-6-16)