Union at #9 Quinnipiac

Friday, February 16, 2024 • Hamden, Conn. • M&T Bank Arena • 7:00 p.m.

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Union at Princeton

Saturday, February 17, 2024 • Princeton, N.J. • Hobey Baker Rink • 7:00 p.m.

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Game Preview

Union Game Notes

This Weekend
Union is back on the road this weekend with a trip to #9 Quinnipiac on Friday and Princeton on Saturday. Four of Union's final six games of the regular season are on the road.

Last Weekend
Union split last weekend at home with a 5-3 win against Colgate and a 6-1 loss to #12 Cornell. Senior Liam Robertson recorded the program's first hat trick in almost seven years with a pair of power-play goals and an empty net goal to seal the victory. The win was the first over Colgate on home ice since March 9, 2019. 

Junior Cullen Ferguson scored on the powerplay in Saturday's loss to Cornell. 

Century Mark
Juniors Cullen Ferguson and Josh Nixon are projected to skate in their 100th career games this weekend. Ferguson will reach the milestone on Friday and Nixon is projected to reach it on Saturday.

Scouting Quinnipiac
The Bobcats are coming off a weekend split against the North Country duo. Quinnipiac fell 3-1 to St. Lawrence on Friday night before defeating Clarkson 4-2 on Saturday. 

The Bobcats are led up front by Collin Graf who has 38 points (16-22-38) in 24 games. Joining Graf in the 30-point club is Jacob Quillan (12-19-31) and Sam Lipkin (12-18-30).

Vinny Duplessis is 14-4-2 with three shutouts in 19 starts. Duplessis boasts a .918 save percentage and a 1.92 GAA. 

Scouting Princeton
The Tigers also split the weekend in the North Country with a 4-2 loss at Clarkson and a 5-4 overtime win at St. Lawrence. 

The Tigers boast one of the best powerplay units in the country with a 32.8% conversion rate. Kai Daniells has five power-play goals in 23 games. Adam Robbins has 24 points (10-14-24) in 23 games. 

Ethan Pearson and Arthur Smith have split the time in net this season. Pearson is 2-6-1 with a .857 save percentage and a 4.13 GAA. Smith is 5-6-1 with one shutout, a .890 save percentage, and a 3.34 GAA. 

Prokop for Hobey
Sophomore John Prokop was named a 2024 Hobey Baker Award nominee. Prokop leads the team in points (28) and assists (22) and is the first defenseman in the league in scoring. Fans can vote once a day for Prokop between January 26 and March 10 at hobeybaker.com/vote.

Heating Up
The race for conference points is on as only seven points separate third place and seventh place in the league standings. Union has eight games remaining on the schedule with five of those games against teams that are currently ahead of the Garnet Chargers in the standings. 

Depth Scoring
Union is averaging 3.38 goals a game with six skaters over 20 points this season and 12 skaters in double-digit scoring. This is the first team to have six 20+ point scorers since the 2018-19 season and the first team to have 12 skaters in double-digits since the 2018-19 season that boasted 13. 

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. 

Three-Peat
Union won their third straight Mayor's Cup with a 5-3 victory over RPI last weekend. The win is Union's 8th in the 11 years of the rivalry game. 

It's Been A While
The road weekend at Dartmouth and Harvard saw several firsts for the program in several years. Saturday's win at Harvard was the first since January 30, 2015, a 5-4 victory. The ECAC Hockey weekend sweep on the road was the first in exactly six years, when Union swept Brown and Yale January 19-20, 2018 .

Forward of the Week
After a five-point weekend, senior Liam Robertson was named the ECAC Hockey Foward of the week. Robertson scored the game-winning goal Friday night at Dartmouth before turning in a career-high four-point night (2-2-4) against the Crimson on Saturday. 

Back in November
Union and RPI both won on the road in the home-and-home series in November. The 14 combined goals at Messa Rink were the most in the series in Union's Division I era. Union went on to win at Houston Field House, marking the first victory at RPI since October 26, 2019.

Shorty Watch
Union's special teams have been a big factor in the team's success so far this season. The Garnet Chargers have six short-handed goals this season, which is the most for the program since the team put up six in the 2016-17 season. The team record is eight short-handed goals, set in  1994-95 and tied in the 2014-15 season.

Shorty for Korpi
Sophomore Carter Korpi has scored three shorthanded goals this season, the most for a Union skater since Mike Vecchione '17 potted four in the 2016-17 season. Korpi is one goal away from tying Union's single-season record. 

At the Top
Union boasts one of the top-ranked penalty kill in NCAA Division I men's hockey with a 87.7% success rate through 27 games. Union has ranked in the top three since November 9.

On the Dot
Union's centers have been excellent on the faceoff dot, ranking 17th with a 52.2% win percentage. Seniors Liam Robertson and Ville Immonen are first and third, respectively in ECAC Hockey in win percentage. Robertson has won 60.1% of draws while Immonen has a 57.5% 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
Connor Murphy '23 earned his first AHL win on Tuesday for the Calgary Wranglers. Murphy made 32 saves in the 4-2 win over the Manitoba Moose. 

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. 

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.  

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. 

Captaining the Ship
Senior Ben Tupker returns as captain for the second season in a row. Fellow seniors Tyler Watkins and Chaz Smedsrud will each don the "A" for the 2023-24 season. 

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.