This Weekend
Union closes out the homestand with the second half of the series against the North Country teams. The Garnet Chargers host Clarkson on Friday and St. Lawrence on Saturday. Fans are asked to bring non-perishable food and hygiene items to both games to support Schenectady Shares and over 20 local food pantries.
Union's Last Time Out
Union returned to home ice to open the 2024 season of the schedule and fell to Brown, 3-2, in overtime, on Friday night and 4-2 to Yale on Saturday.
Junior
Thomas Richter scored his first goal of the season and sophomore
Carter Korpi tallied his second short-handed goal of the season in the second period against Brown on Friday.
Sophomore
Brandon Buhr and senior
Chaz Smedsrud both registered goals on Saturday, bringing their season totals to six and eight, respectively.
Scouting Clarkson
Clarkson is 10-7-1 and 4-1-1 in ECAC Hockey. The Golden Knights are currently third in the conference standings with 13 points and three games in hand. Last weekend, Clarkson fell 4-0 at RIT before defeating Canisius 4-3.
Ryan Taylor paces the Golden Knights with 14 points (8-6-14) and leads the team in goals, including three game-winners in 18 games. Ayrton Martino is second on the team with 12 points (6-6-12) in 15 games. Three players have 29 or more blocked shots through 18 games this season.
Austin Roden previously played at Providence College and Nebraska-Omaha and has played in 14 games this season. Roden is 8-5-1 with one shutout and boasts a .918 save percentage and a 2.14 GAA.
Scouting St. Lawrence
St. Lawrence is 5-11-2 overall and 3-3-0 in conference play with nine points. The Saints return to conference action this weekend after falling at Canisius last weekend, 5-1, and tying at RIT, 1-1.
Felikss Gavars leads the team with eight goals and 13 points (8-5-13). Mason Waite leads the team in assists with nine while Luc Salem is bolsters the defensive effort with 26 blocked shots.
Arizona State transfer Ben Kraws has seen the majority of the playing time between the pipes and has a 5-10-2 record with one shutout. Kraws has a .921 save percentage and a 2.57 GAA in 16 starts and 17 total games.
League Play
Union sits in eighth in the league standings with 10 points in eight league games. Aside from Mayor's Cup, all of Union's games are conference games for the remainder of the regular season.
First Game, First Goa
Junior
Thomas Richter played his first game of the season against Brown and made the most of the opportunity with his first goal this year.
Honoring the 2014 Team
Union is honoring the 2014 National Championship team on Feb. 23 during the game against Harvard. A larger, public celebration will take place in the summer. More details will be available in the upcoming months on unionathletics.com and the Union Men's Hockey social media accounts.
Make It Double
Sophomore
Carter Korpi has scored two short-handed goals this season. Korpi is the first player to score two SHG since Brett Supinski '19 tallied both of Union's short-handed goals in the 2017-18 season. Korpi is tied for third in the men's Division I rankings.
Shorty Watch
Union's special teams have been a big factor in the team's success so far this season. The Garnet Chargers have five short-handed goals this season, which is the most for the program since the team put up five in the 2018-19 season.
At the Top
Union boasts one of the top-ranked penalty kill in NCAA Division I men's hockey with a 91.0% success rate through 19 games. Union has allowed seven goals on 77 attempts while on the penalty kill. Quinnipiac also ranks in the top ten, coming in fourth at 89.6%.
On the Dot
Union's centers have been excellent on the faceoff dot, ranking 30th with a 51.1% win percentage. Seniors
Liam Robertson and
Ville Immonen are second and third, respectively in ECAC Hockey in win percentage. Immonen has won 58.8% while Robertson is right behind with a 57.7% win rate.
Sharib with the Win
Junior
Joe Sharib earned his first collegiate win on Dec. 8 in Union's 5-4 win at Vermont. Sharib went on to make his first collegiate start the following night against the Catamounts.
Alumni Watch
Taylor Brierley signed a standard player contract with the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL on Dec. 27
Nick DeSimone scored his first NHL goal on Dec. 21 at Anaheim. DeSimone has five points (1-4-5) in 15 games for the Calgary Flames this season.
Connor Murphy made his first AHL start for the Calgary Wranglers on Dec. 16. Murphy stopped 17 shots, but the Wranglers fell 5-2.
Josh Jooris was named to Team Canada for the Spengler Cup taking place between Dec. 26-31. Jooris scored a goal for Team Canada in the game against HC Davos.
Awards Keep Coming
Sophomore
John Prokop has been honored three times in the last two weeks by ECAC Hockey. The blueliner earned back-to-back Defender of the Week honors. Prokop was named the ECAC Hockey Defender of the Month for the month of November.
Gone Streaking
Sophomore
John Prokop went on a seven-game point streak from Nov. 3 to Dec. 1, recording 12 points (2-10-12) in that span. The seven-game point streak is tied for the longest in ECAC Hockey this season.
You Get A Point
Union has been strong offensively through 16 games with an average of 3.38 goals per game. Out of the 23 skaters that have seen playing time, 21 have at least one point. Of those 21 skaters, 16 have scored at least one goal. Seven Union skaters have reached the double-digit mark.
Standout Sophomores
Union's sophomore class has made a big impact so far in the 2023-24 season. The sophomores have scored 59 of Union's 143 points.
John Prokop leads the way with 20 points while
Carter Korpi pace the sophomores in goals with six.
Double Up
The sophomore duo of
John Prokop and
Carter Korpi both earned ECAC Hockey weekly honors after the weekend sweep of Stonehill. Prokop was named the Defender of the Week and Korpi was honored as the Forward of the Week presented by Bluebird by Lark Hotels.
He'd Be Honored
Sophomore goaltender
Kyle Chauvette was honored for a second time this season as ECAC Hockey's MAC Goaltending Goaltender of the Week after his performance against UConn. In the 4-1 win, Chauvette made a career-high 36 saves before turning in a 62-save performance the following night to set Union's single-game save record.
Light it Up
The sophomore duo of
Ethan Benz and
Brandon Buhr combined for six goals against RPI with three goals each. In nine games, 13 Union skaters have recorded at least one goal.
Flames Watch
Union currently has two alumni in the Calgary Flames organization. Nick DeSimone scored his first NHL point, an assist, in Calgary's 6-3 win over Seattle. The blueliner registered two assists against Nashville, including an assist on the eventual game-winning goal. Calgary is 5-4 since DeSimone joined the lineup.
Connor Murphy '23 earned his first professional win for the Rapid City Rush (ECHL) on Oct. 20. Murphy posted a 2-2-0 record with a .901 save percentage and a 3.26 GAA. Murphy earned his first AHL call up to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) on Nov. 9.
Set Records, Take Names
Sophomore goaltender
Kyle Chauvette made 62 saves in the October 21 loss to UConn. The 62 stops is the most for a Union player in a single game.
Season Opening Shutout
Sophomore
Kyle Chauvette was stellar in Union's 6-0 victory over Army West Point on Sunday. The shutout to open the season is the first for Union in exactly 13 years. The last season opening shutout was on October 8, 2010, a 9-0 shutout of Sacred Heart.
Nice to Meet You
Union welcomes eight newcomers to the program for the 2023-24 season, including two transfers and six first-years. They hail from six states and two Canadian provinces and consist of four forwards, three defenders, and one goaltender.
Transfer Commits
Union added two out of the transfer portal in the offseason. Junior
Cole Kodsi joins the team from Bentley University (AHA) and sophomore
Brandon Buhr comes from ECAC Hockey foe Clarkson University. Kodsi, a former captain with the Falcons, skated in 83 career games and scored 41 points (18-23-41). Buhr left Clarkson last December to return to the Alberni Valley Bulldogs (BCHL) where he registered 18 points (12-6-18) before leading the team in playoff scoring with 24 points (8-16-24) in 19 playoff games.
Looking to Surprise
Union was picked to finish eighth in the ECAC Hockey preseason coaches poll, earning 45 points.
Defense First
Sophomore defender
John Prokop earned a spot on the ECAC All-Rookie team last season after a stellar first-year campaign. Prokop is the first rookie defenseman in Union's Division I history to lead the team in scoring. The last defenseman to lead the team in scoring was Brandon Estes in the 2021-22 season and the last rookie to lead in points was Adam Presizniuk in the 2007-08 season.
New Year, New Name
Union's teams will be playing under a new name this season, as the College rebranded as the Garnet Chargers over the summer. Garnet has been Union's official school color for more than 150 years, while Chargers harkens to Schenectady's legacy as a hub of electrical innovation and invention. With the rebrand comes an additional Union "U" logo, which will be used alongside the traditional "Block U" logo that has been in place for many years.
