The 1926–27 Union Skating Dutchmen men's ice hockey season was the 14th season of play for the program. The Skating Dutchmen represented Union College and were coached by Harold A. Larrabee in his 2nd season.
Season
The situation for Union's ice hockey team looked to be improving this season as not only was the Central Park Rink still available to the Dutchmen but H. A. Larrabee returned as coach, the first time the program had the same leader since the end of the war.[1] The player hit the ice as soon as the weather turned cold enough and got as much practice time in as they could before the match with Syracuse. While expectations were for a close game, Union surpassed those predictions with a resounding victory. The returning forward line of Clifford, Gilmour and Hyland played just as well as they had in '26 with the speedy Hyland recording a hat-trick. A big boost to the team was the return of Bruce Mulqueen to the blueline. After missing all of the previous season, Mulqueen was a bulwark on defense and helped new starter Cunningham post the first shutout of his college career.[2]
Union faced a much toucher challenge in its second game when the team travelled to take on Williams. Despite being played in a snowstorm, the game was an exciting match that saw both teams have a chance to win all the way until the end. Clifford opened the scoring early and the two then played scoreless for nearly two periods. Beale raised Union's lead at the start of the third but the Ephs finally broke through the pair of goals in quick succession. Hyland gave his team the lead once more but that too was swiftly erased by Williams. The offense continued to press but was unable to secure another goal, leaving Williams' final tally at the end of the period as the game-winner.[3] The team had two home games scheduled before the exam break, however, warm weather forced the cancellation of both.[4]
The team was looking forward to a home game after the break but weather intervened once more. This time, however, the team was prepared for the situation and moved the game to their opponent's rink. With Gilmour injured and Mulqueen lost to graduation, the Garnet played one of their finest games to date at Amherst for the second win of the season. Cunningham was particularly notable for his outstanding play that kept his time in long enough for Clifford's second of the match to decide the outcome.[5] A third cancellation was made after the match and left the team with but one home game left on the schedule.
The conditions were so bad at the time that even the game with Hamilton was at risk despite their possession of a covered rink. Fortunately, however, the ice was in good enough shape when Union arrived. Union went down to defeat in the game but, after losses of 2–13 and 1–8 over the previous two seasons, the scores were at least getting closer.[6] Following the loss the fifth and final home game was also cancelled. Union was able to play the last game on their schedule when they headed down to Brooklyn to face NYU. The Violets were a very large team, averaging over 180 lbs. per player but that size came at a cost. Union was able to skate rings around the home team and the return of John Gilmour saw the Garnet win their final match of a very trying year.[7]
This was the last winning season for the Dutchmen for 13 years.