This Weekend
Union returns home for the first time in almost a month to host Colgate and Cornell in a pivotal ECAC Hockey weekend.
Mental Health Awareness Game
Friday is Union's Mental Health Awareness Game, an initiative that the team is really passionate about. Throughout the week, the team has been promoting different initiatives and resources around campus in collaboration with the team at Wicker Wellness Center.
The team spent time with some of the therapy dogs on campus on Monday before painting the U in front of Messa Rink green on Tuesday. On Wednesday night, senior captain
Ben Tupker introduced guest speaker, Victoria Arlen, to the student body before a moderated discussion on mental health. Thursday saw the team use green tape at practice since green is the official color for mental health. Friday will see posts on mental health on social media, green pins worn, and a joint photo with a banner signed by members of Union and Colgate prior to warmups.
Last Weekend
Union saw a five-game unbeaten streak snapped on Friday with a 3-1 loss to Yale. Sophomore
John Prokop was the lone goal-scorer for the Garnet Chargers. On Saturday, Union battled back from a two-goal deficit to force overtime. Sophomore
Kyle Chauvette made two big saves in the shootout while classmates
Carter Korpi and
Nate Hanley both scored.
Scouting Colgate
Colgate is 5-1 in their last six games with the lone loss coming at Harvard on Jan. 27.
Three members of the Raiders have reached 20+ points. Ryan McGuire (13-8-21) and Ross Mitton (6-15-21) lead the way with 21 points each. Brett Chorske has 20 points (6-14-20) to round out the trio.
Carter Gylander has made 23 starts in goal for a 10-10-3 record for a 2.89 GAA and a .906 save percentage.
Scouting Cornell
The Big Red are currently riding a 10-game unbeaten streak. Their last loss was on December 2, a 4-2 loss at home to Colgate. The team is coming off a weekend sweep of St. Lawrence and Clarkson.
Leading the team is former Union skater, Gabriel Seger, who has 26 points (9-17-26) in 21 games. Dalton Bancroft (9-11-20) is the other skater over 20 points.
Ian Shane has been dominant for Cornell with a 13-2-4 record and a pair of shutouts. The junior boasts a 1.69 GAA and a .919 save percentage.
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. Prokop averages 1.12 points per game to rank 31st nationally and fourth among defenders. His 0.88 assists per game is 12th nationally and fifth among blueliners. 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 four points separate fourth place and ninth 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.
Ten for Fourteen
Sophomore
Brandon Buhr scored his team-leading 10th goal of the season on Saturday. Buhr scored his second extra-attacker goal of the season with under a minute to go to tie the game and force overtime.
Depth Scoring
Union is averaging 3.8 goals a game with four skaters over 20 points this season and 12 skaters in double-digit scoring. This is the first team to have four 20+ point scorers since the 2021-22 season and the first team to have 12 skaters in double-digits since the 2018-19 season that boasted 13.
Active Point Streaks
Sophomore
John Prokop is on a six-game point streak with eight points (2-6-8) in his last six games while senior
Ville Immonen has five points (2-3-5) in his last three games.
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 87.9% success rate through 26 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 19th with a 52.1% win percentage. Seniors
Liam Robertson and
Ville Immonen are second and third, respectively in ECAC Hockey in win percentage. Robertson has won 60.1% of draws while Immonen has a 57.3% 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
Nick DeSimone scored his first NHL goal on Dec. 21 at Anaheim. DeSimone has five points (1-4-5) in 23 games for the Calgary Flames this season. DeSimone was claimed off waivers by the New Jersey Devils on January 25.
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.
