| Union vs. #14/#15 Yale Bulldogs |
| Friday, December 6, 2024 • Schenectady, NY • Messa Rink at Achilles Center • 6:00 PM |
| Live Stats • Video Stream |
| Union vs. Brown University |
| Saturday, December 7, 2024 • Schenectady, NY • Messa Rink at Achilles Center • 3:00 PM |
| Live Stats • Video Stream |
AT HOME: The Union College women's hockey team rounds out the first half of the season, and continues home stand against #14/#15 Yale Bulldogs and the Brown University Bears.
LAST WEEKEND: Union skated to a 2-2 tie against #8/#9 St. Cloud this past Friday night. Sophomore
Mikayla Blomquist opened the scoring for the Garnet Chargers and senior
Paige Greco netted the second goal for Union. Sophomore goaltender
Monja Wagner stopped 31 shots to help secure the tie. On Saturday, the Garnet Chargers fell 2-1 to the Huskies. Senior
Maddie Suitor netting the lone goal for Union while senior goaltender
Sophie Matsoukas stopped 36 shots.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS: Yale played in the Nutmeg Classic last weekend versus Connecticut and #7 Quinnipiac. The Bulldogs won 3-1 over the Huskies on Friday night with Mariya Rauf scoring the first goal and Carina DiAntonio netting the GWG and empty netter to secure the win. On Saturday, the Bulldogs won the Nutmeg Classic in a shootout. The Bulldogs skated to an 1-1 tie through regulation/OT (Cami Bell scored the regulation goal) with Gracie Gilkyson netting the shootout goal.
ABOUT THE BEARS: Brown won the annual Mayor's Cup against Providence College for the first time in 10 years (since 2014). Jess Ciarrochi and Jade Iginla scored for Brown while India McDadi scored the GWG, 39 seconds into the third period. On Sunday, Brown skated past Holy Cross 4-1. Norehad Margot scored twice, while Ella Muralt and Ava DeCoste also scored for the Bears.
A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH: For the first time in history, at the D1 level, Union's penalty killing percentage is ranked Top 10 at 7th. Union's penalty kill percentage has only been ranked Top 20 in two seasons - 19th in the 2014-15 season and 17th in the 2018-19 season. Over the last 20 seasons, the penalty kill percentage average has been ranked at 30th.
BLOMQUIST BURIES: Sophomore
Mikayla Blomquist kicked off the scoring Friday night against #8/#9 St. Cloud, netting her third goal of the season. The goal marks her second consecutive game with a point, having also opened Union's scoring last Tuesday against RPI. Blomquist has now scored the first goal three times this season, including her first career goal at Colgate on Nov. 2. She has recorded three goals and one assist for four points in 17 games this season.
GRECO'S GOAL: Senior
Paige Greco netted a second consecutive point, with a goal in the 2-2 tie against #8/#9 St. Cloud on Friday night. Greco netted her first career game winning goal in overtime versus the RPI last Tuesday. Making an impact as the first line center, Greco has three goals and five assists for eight points in 17 games played this season. Through 115 career games played, Greco has tallied 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 career points.
EMMA'S EXCELLENCE: Sophomore
Emma Fulawka netted a helper in a second consecutive game, as well. Fulawka dished out the primary assist on Blomquist's game-opening goal Friday night's 2-2 tie against #8/#9 St. Cloud State University and in last Tuesday's 3-2 overtime win against RPI. The sophomore also recorded the lone goal of weekend in the series against New Hampshire on Oct. 18.
MONJA'S MAGNIFICENCE: Sophomore goaltender
Monja Wagner made 31 saves in Friday night's 2-2 tie against #8/#9 St. Cloud State University. The game marked Wagner's third start and fourth appearance this season. Wagner also registered her first collegiate shut out in the 1-0 victory against the University of Vermont on Nov. 20, making 28 saves in the Garnet Chargers win. Through 11 career games, Wagner holds a 2.58 GAA and a .923 SV%.
TGIF (TOP GOALSCORER IS FRIDAY): Senior
Maren Friday netted her 16th career goal in the 3-2 win over the Engineers. Currently, Friday is the all-time leading goal scorer amongst all blueliners in D1 program history breaking a tie with Cheyenne Harris '20 and Megan Ryan '20, netting her 13th goal of her career on September 27 at Robert Morris. Through 113 career games, Friday has 16 goals and 25 assists for 41 points which ranks third in career points amongst defensemen, only behind Harris (49 points) and Alex Tancrell-Fontaine '15 (42 points).
UNCHARTED TERRITORY: With the victory over Cornell on Nov. 1, Union improved to 3-0-0 in ECAC Hockey play for the first time in program history and also won three straight conference games for the first time as a Division I program. The team's previous best conference start came in 2017-18, when the squad started off with three wins in its first six ECAC Hockey games.
TOP-10 TRIUMPH: The win over #9 Cornell marked the first time that Union had ever defeated a team ranked in the top-10 nationally. The Garnet Chargers have now beaten a nationally ranked squad in three straight seasons, following last year's 2-1 (OT) win at #15 Penn State and a 4-1 triumph over #15 Princeton on December 3, 2022. Including last weekend, Union is in the midst of a stretch that sees 10-of-14 opponents with current national rankings.
BACK-TO-BACK WINS: First-year
Jill Willis netted the game-winning goal for the second game in the row in November 1's 3-2 win against Cornell University. Willis first netted the game winning goal with four minutes left in regulation versus Dartmouth College on Oct. 26. With her two game-winners, the first-year already is tied for sixth on the school's single-season GWG list.
SOPHIE'S SHUTOUTS: Senior goaltender
Sophie Matsoukas recorded her fifth career shutout by stopping all 24 shots she faced in a victory over Harvard on Oct. 25. She is one shutout away from tying the all-time record of six held by Shenae Lundberg '15.
BOURQUE'S BRILLIANCE: Junior
Stephanie Bourque tied the game versus Dartmouth six minutes in the third period after overcoming a 1-0 deficit through two periods on Oct. 26. The goal marks the second time this season that Bourque has tied a game in the third period. Bouque scored with two minutes left in regulation on Oct. 5 against RIT to overcome a 3-2 deficit and send the game to overtime. Bourque currently has four goals and five assists for 9 points in 12 games played this season.
LEANEY LEADS: After scoring two goals on Oct. 12 versus Penn State, sophomore
Maddie Leaney became Union's active goal-scoring leader and moved into 14th place all-time in goals (15). Leaney passed senior
Maren Friday, who recorded her 14th career goal on Sept. 27 versus Robert Morris.
ADDING TO HER TOTAL: Every win for senior netminder
Sophie Matsoukas this season extends her own program career record after setting the program standard with her 21st victory in 2023-24. She also moved into second place all-time in career saves against RIT with 2,229 stops, ranking behind only Shenae Lundberg '15 and her 3,023 career saves.
GOING STREAKING: Senior
Emma Hebert enters the weekend having played in all 115 games during her Union career. Junior
Stephanie Bourque (81 games) and sophomore
Maddie Leaney (47 games) also are currently riding multi-year games-played streaks, having played in every game of their three- and two-year careers, respectively.
CAREER FIRSTS: First-years
Karianne Engelbert and
Klara Kenttala both recorded their first collegiate points in the season-opening weekend at Robert Morris, with Kenttälä earning the primary assist on Engelbert's first-period tally in September 28's 4-2 win. Charged Up Power Play Union went 4-for-9 on the power play against Robert Morris to start the season, led by two player-advantage goals by
Maren Friday and one each from
Karianne Engelbert and
Stephanie Bourque. The three power-play goals against RMU are the most for the team in a game since netting a program-record four in a 6-1 win over St. Michael's on January 2, 2023.
OH CAPTAINS, OUR CAPTAINS: Senior blueliners
Maren Friday and
Emma Hebert will wear the "C" on the sweater for Union this season, the first season with a letter for both players. Senior
Sophie Matsoukas, junior
Stephanie Bourque and sophomore
Megan Ognibene will wear the "A" as assistant captains for the Garnet Chargers this season.
ANCHORING THE BLUELINE: Union returns four top-six defensemen from last season. Seniors
Maren Friday and
Emma Hebert and junior
Stephanie Bourque played in all 35 games last season, while sophomore
Kendal Davidson played in 33 games. Sophomore
Quinn Dunkle also brings a year of collegiate experience after appearing in 36- of-39 games for the University of Minnesota Duluth last season.
SOMEONE TO LEAN ON: Sophomore
Maddie Leaney will look for more success after registering one of the most productive rookie seasons in program history in 2023-24, scoring 12 goals with seven assists for 19 points while playing in all 35 games as a first-year. Her 12 goals tied for third on the school's rookie goals list (and tied for second in the D-I era), while her 19 points were seventh-best all-time and third among D-I players at the school. Her 12 goals and three game-winning goals both ranked fourth all-time overall in the program's Division I record books.
NEW BLOOD: Union welcomes six first-year players and four transfers to the program for the 2024-25 school year. The class is made up of student-athletes from three countries, two provinces and five states, and includes five forwards, four blueliners and one goaltender, all of whom will look to make an immediate impact on the program. This year's class is the largest incoming class for the program since 2017.
A NEW LEADER: Tony Maci was named the fifth head coach in the history of Union women's hockey on July 31 and begins his first season behind the bench for the Garnet Chargers in 2024-25. Maci comes to Union from Clarkson University, spending the last eight years as the top assistant for Matt Desrosiers. During his time in Potsdam, the Golden Knights blossomed into a perennial title contender, winning a pair of Division I national championships in 2017 and 2018, reaching four Frozen Fours and making the NCAA Tournament seven times. A 2005 graduate of St. Lawrence University, he got his coaching start at Division III Adrian College for three years before one season at Princeton University.
HERE TO ASSIST: Joining Maci is an entirely new set of assistant coaches as well.
Shawn Skelly spent the last six years as the head women's hockey coach at Division III Adrian College, leading the Bulldogs to a 140-22-7 record, a pair of Frozen Four appearances, and four NCAA Tournament berths in five years.
Tina Ciraulo worked with the USPHL's Metro Jets since 2020, including directing the Metro Jr. Jets girls program, and was the first woman to win a junior hockey game as head coach.
Courtney Hall played four years at St. Cloud State University from 2019-23 and spent her graduate year at Robert Morris University in 2023-24, while also working the U18 National Women's Development Camp, as well as with the Detroit Little Caesars and Selects Hockey.
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS: Union will look to surprise the ECAC Hockey landscape in head coach
Tony Maci's first season, as the Garnet Chargers were picked to finish 12th in the ECAC Hockey Preseason Poll. The team received 12 points, finishing five points behind Dartmouth College in 11th place and nine points behind Harvard University in 10th.
GOODBYE TO MESSA RINK: Goodbye to Messa Rink The 2024-25 season will be the final one for Union men's and women's hockey at Messa Rink at Achilles Center, as the team prepares to move into the brand-new Mohawk Harbor Event Center across the street from campus for the 2025-26 season.
ALL-MESSA RINK FAN VOTING: All season long, Union fans can cast their vote for the best players in Union women's hockey history (both Division I and III) at all home games this season or by voting online at
UnionAthletics.com/AllMessaTeams. The All-Messa Teams will be announced and recognized on the team's annual Alumnae Day on Saturday, February 8.
