“It helps that these guys had a chance to fight, play a full 60 minute game and try to get their legs under them,” Union coach Rick Bennett said. “I think it’s really important. That’s why we train, but everyone knows that training is very different from games, so it was good that they had the chance to play a game before the next two.

Union trailed 3-0 early at Harvard but Bennett was encouraged by what he saw of the final 40 minutes of the contest with hopes the positive feelings will continue and after the first practice of the week he There’s a good vibe right now in Union.

“I liked the effort outside of the first one, but it wasn’t like the effort wasn’t there in the first one, it was a matter of trying to find your legs and your lungs,” Bennett said. “It finally happened in the second and the third. It hadn’t been playing for a month. Practice (on Monday) was very lively. We’ve put together some drills that we think will help us not just this weekend, but overall for the second season here. I was satisfied with the practice, the detail, their habits and the structure.

Union (5-10-3, 3-5-1-0-1) beat Clarkson in overtime in November at Messa Rink before leveling St. Lawrence the following night, although the Saints took the shootout after a session goalless overtime.

Like Union, Clarkson and St. Lawrence have had recent hiatuses to their schedules due to COVID-19 protocols as St. Lawrence lost two games last weekend to New Hampshire and Merrimack and Clarkson one game at Merrimack on Friday last.

“Not just us, a lot of teams are coming out of COVID, so I don’t see them changing their systems too much,” Bennett said. “Coming into our games, it’s always tough battles with those two teams. St. Lawrence is always really fast, like Harvard with their speed and Clarkson just plays a tough brand of hockey. They’re also very well structured. We don’t We’re not going to two totally different (style) games, but there is a different look.

Despite the variety of styles Union will face this weekend, Bennett believes Union can match either system he will face this weekend.

“If we can play like second or third (against Harvard) and generate a few more scoring chances, I like our chances up there against those two teams,” Bennett said. “I think we proved it here at home (in November), but you have to do it on the road. We haven’t played consecutively for over a month, so there is a challenge there, but we have to accept it.

In the battle for playoff positioning, Union has eight points in the ECAC standings while Clarkson is fourth in the league with 16 and St. Lawrence is tied for sixth with RPI with 12 points.

After this weekend’s action, Union returns home for the first time since Dec. 4 when it hosts Brown next Friday and Yale the following night.

Sean Martin, a local freelance writer, is a frequent contributor to The Times Union.