Schenectady

At the end of the day, style points mean little and every hockey game boils down to the matter of gaining two points in the standings.

For Union, snapping a modest two-game losing streak was important, as was the two points gained in its 5-4 win over St. Lawrence as Union looks for a top-four finish in the conference standings and a first-round bye in the ECAC playoffs.

Against a Saints team searching for its first conference win, Union was pressed but pulled through on the strength of three power-play goals and an even-strength tally from Luc Brown at the 6:59 mark of the third period that turned into the game-winning score in turning away St. Lawrence on Saturday at Messa Rink.

Union (12-12-1, 8-4-0) is tied for third in the ECAC standings with 10 games to play.

"You get 22 (ECAC) games and it seems like every game is a Stanley Cup game," Union coach Rick Bennett said. "From the bench perspective tonight, it is kind of what we needed. A nice, tight, close win and you could feel it on the bench. It was a different feel and kind of what the doctor ordered."

The teams entered the third period tied at 3 but Union took the lead when freshman Brandon Estes scored his first career goal with a blast from the high slot that went just inside the post at 5:12 with the Dutchmen skating with a 5-on-3 power play.

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UNION 5, ST. LAWRENCE 4

St. Lawrence 2 1 1 — 4

Union 2 1 2 — 5

First period—1. St. Lawrence, Gicewicz 3, (Lough, Pritchard), 9:11, (pp); 2. St. Lawrence, Laidley 1, (Marnell, Stevens), 11:04; 3. Union, Kolias 3 (Morgan, Scarfo), 15:34, (pp); 4. Union, Rinaldi 12, (Walker, Vidmar), 15:47. Penalties—Union bench, (too many men on the ice), 7:50; Woolf, Stl, (tripping), 14:22; Gicewicz, Stl, (elbowing), 19:12.

Second period—3. Union, Maier 8, (Brassard, Kolias), 1:03, (pp); 6. St. Lawrence, Alftberg 3, (Cusinato, Nielsen), 3:18. Penalties—Pritchard, Stl, (hooking), 4:52; Campolieto, Uni, (hitting from behind), 7:01; Stevens, Stl, (holding), 8:27.

Third period—7. Union, Estes 1, (Brassard, Maier), 5:12, (pp); 8. Union, Brown 3, (Harrison), 6:59; 9. St. Lawrence, Marnell 6, (unassisted), 8:35. Penalties—Woolf, Stl, (tripping), 4:08; Sullivan, Stl, (holding), 4:28.

Shots on goal—St. Lawrence 7-14-7—28; Union 16-14-16—46.

Power-play opportunities—St. Lawrence 1 of 2, Union 3 of 6.

Goalies—St. Lawrence, Arthur Brey 1-14-1 (46 shots-41 saves); Union, Jake Kupsky 5-9-1 (28-24).

T—2:25. A—2,111.

"It feels really nice. I can't stop smiling about it but a lot goes to (Sebastian) Vidmar for screening the goalie there and all the guys moving around making space," Estes said. "I saw that lane and thought, 'There it is, I'll just shoot it.' "

Brown made it 5-3 for the Dutchmen less than two minutes later when he scored his third goal of the season.

"(Parker) Foo got in there on the forecheck, it went off his stick and I happened to be in the right place at the right time and put it on net," Brown said. "Good things were happening tonight when we put the puck on net."

St. Lawrence (4-16-2, 0-9-1) took an early 2-0 lead before Union finally got things going in the later stages of the first period.

Freshman Liam Morgan won a puck battle for the Dutchmen, who were on the power play, and emerged from the corner with the puck before spotting defenseman Vas Kolias crashing toward the net.

Morgan threaded the pass to Kolias, who beat Saints goaltender Arthur Brey at 15:34.

"A lot of credit goes to my teammates on that one. They were creating space for me," Kolias said. "When he came out of the corner, I was yelling to the heavens, saying 'We got this, we're going to get this one'. He made an unbelievable pass, I obviously reaped all the rewards from him but thankfully I was able to put that one in."

Kolias was active in the offensive zone throughout the game, creating chances with his speed and picking up an assist on Cole Maier's second-period power-play goal.

"It's one thing to be fast, but to make plays by being fast is what separates Vas from a lot of people," Bennett said. "It was good tonight to see him get rewarded for it."

Anthony Rinaldi tied the game 13 seconds after Kolias' goal as Union finished the first period by firing off the last 13 shots of the period.

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