CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. - Following an impressive first month of her collegiate hockey career, first-year Maddie Leaney has been honored as the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Month, the league announced Thursday afternoon.
 
In addition to her selection as the conference's Rookie of the Month, Leaney was selected as a Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) runner-up for their National Rookie of the Month.
 
Leaney currently leads all ECACH first-years with five goals and eight points, good for second and third, respectively, on the team after the first month and change of the season.
 
The beginning of Leaney's collegiate career was highlighted by a three-goal performance on October 7th against Holy Cross. After sophomore Riley Walsh, the last Garnet Charger to win conference Rookie of the Month after her performance last November, potted a hat trick with the overtime winner on the 6th, Leaney did the same thing the next night, scoring her first three goals in garnet and white in dramatic fashion. Her performance earned her ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week honors.
 
Leaney would score her fourth goal - and second game-winner - less than two weeks later, scoring on the power-play in the first period of Union's victory at Harvard, the program's first ECAC Hockey victory in their conference opener since 2017.
 
Leaney found the back of the net once more this past weekend in Union's loss to #9 Cornell, cleaning up the rebound on the shot from junior Ashley Adams to give the Garnet Chargers a 1-0 lead.
 
While successful at finding the back of the net, Leaney has also been a factor in helping her teammates do the same, tallying three assists, tied for fourth-most on the squad. Leaney picked up her first collegiate point on junior Maddie Suitor's goal in Union's 5-2 victory over Robert Morris on September 29th, before adding an assist on classmate Iliana Smith's goal on October 14th at RIT and senior Emily King's goal October 21st at Dartmouth.
 
Leaney and the Garnet Chargers will be back at Messa Rink this upcoming weekend, set to host #5 Clarkson Friday and #6 St. Lawrence on Saturday for their Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Game. Puck drop for both games is scheduled for 3:00 PM.