On the surface, Union has all the ingredients: a 15-2-2 record since Dec. 31; one of the nation’s top offensive and defensive units; the school’s first Hobey Baker Award finalist in sophomore goalie Troy Grosenick.The Dutchmen have been on the national stage before, making its NCAA tournament debut last March here in Bridgeport (a loss to eventual champion Minnesota-Duluth).How Union transformed into a national power is a story in itself. A long time bottom feeder after elevating from Division III in 1991, the school offers no athletic scholarships. Messa Rink, a cramped arena with gymnasium-style bleacher seats, is among the least impressive venues in the league. In 2004, after another eighth-place finish, former school president Roger Hull famously stated the hockey team should be proud of its winning percentage of 40 percent.It took 18 years for the program to finally win an ECAC playoff series, which it accomplished in 2009. The following season, Union reached the league title game, and last winter won the first of two straight regular-season championships. Last weekend, it beat Harvard for the Whitelaw Cup as tournament champions.“I could never have envisioned that when this program first started,” said Ken Schott, who has covered Union hockey for the Schenectady Gazette since 1991. “There are no athletic scholarships and a president at the time who didn’t want to treat the program any differently. That may have been the barrier that kept the team from progressing any further.”A new school president, Stephen Ainlay, threw his support behind athletics and hockey. Head coach Nate Leaman and assistant Rick Bennett began bringing in a steady procession of loaded recruiting classes. When Leaman abruptly left for Providence last spring, Bennett was hired and little changed.Union, with endless depth and the emergence of Grosenick — who took over when sophomore Keith Kinkaid signed with the New Jersey Devils — have handled nearly every obstacle with the same, low-key approach.“We haven’t grown any playoff beards, we all have clean haircuts,” Welsh said. “It’s all business for us. There’s a time to have fun and joke around, but come (today) we’re going to be ready to go.”EXTRA POINTS♦ Michigan State has four sons of NHL players, including Dean and Jake Chelios, son of longtime star Chris Chelios. Trevor Nill’s father, Jim, spent 10 seasons in the league and is the assistant general manager of the Red Wings. Brett Perlini is the son of former Maple Leaf Fred Perlini. Continued… 1 2 3 See Full Story