SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - Two goals in the first 12 minutes paved the way for the Union College women's hockey team to complete the weekend sweep over their crosstown rival Rensselaer Saturday night, as the Garnet Chargers would go on to defeat the Engineers by a score of 3-1.
 
First-year Emma Fulawka scored her first collegiate goal to open the scoring just over halfway through the first period before senior Celeste Beaudoin picked up her first goal of the season 1:45 later. Beaudoin would add an empty netter in the third period for her second goal of the night, the second multi-goal game of her career (November 4th, 2022 vs. Harvard).
 
After killing off an early penalty just over two and a half minutes into the contest, Union got their first opportunity on the power play 9:47 into the opening frame. Senior Meredith Killian would see her point shot die right in front of Rensselaer goaltender Amanda Rampado, but Fulawka would be there to shovel home the backhand for her first goal in garnet.
 
Union would cash in on another loose puck in Rampado's crease for the second goal of the game. Sophomore Stephanie Bourque would fire a shot from the faceoff dot to the right of Rampado that got caught in the skates of sophomore Riley Walsh at the far post, and after neither Walsh or her defender could locate the puck in their skates in the middle of the crease, Beaudoin crashed the net and pushed the puck over the goal line to make it 2-0.
 
Rensselaer would cash in before the end of the feverish first period, bringing their deficit back to one three and a half minutes after Union made it a two-goal game. Sabrina Beaudoin would deflect home an Andrea Trnková shot from the doorstep to make it 2-1 with 5:32 left in the first.
 
That would be the limit of the goals for the next 42:43. After a second period that saw just a combined 15 shots on goal, four shots less than the next quietest period, both offenses stepped up in the third, with Union looking to add some insurance and Rensselaer looking to tie the game. The two sides combined for 26 shots on goal, but the only one that found the back of the net was Beaudoin's clearing attempt off the glass with the Engineers net empty that trickled all the way down the ice and into the Rensselaer net.
 
After getting outshot 30-19 the night prior, Union turned the tides offensively on Saturday, outshooting their opponents 34-26 Saturday, their second highest game total this season. For a second straight night, Union's penalty kill was perfect and cashed in on the special teams, although Saturday's goal was the more typical power play type. The Garnet Chargers have now killed off 15 of 16 penalties over the last six games and have killed off 19 of their last 20.
 
Junior Sophie Matsoukas made 25 stops on the night, and rejected 53 of the 56 shots she faced on the weekend, good for a .946 save percentage. Paired with her season-best 44 save performance last Saturday at Princeton, the Ottawa, Ontario native has stopped 97 of the 101 shots she's faced across the last three games, lowering her goals against average by .38 points below three and raising her save percentage .16 points.
 
Beaudoin and Walsh would pace the Garnet Chargers with +2 ratings, while Beaudoin would pick up her first multi-point effort since she had a five-point- all coming on assists- this past January 2nd against Saint Michael's.
 
The win would complete Union's first weekend sweep over their crosstown rivals since the 2019-2020 season, when Union defeated Rensselaer at home on the 24th before picking up their first Mayor's Cup victory the next day. Union will look to go for their second Mayor's Cup win and the season sweep in the sixth annual edition of the game on January 27th at MVP Arena.
 
Union will head into the holiday break with a pair of wins and ECAC Hockey points in three straight games. The Garnet Chargers will be off until New Year's Day, when they kick off 2024 at Saint Michael's. Puck drop is scheduled for 2:00 PM in South Burlington.