UNDEFEATED MATCHUP: Union and Niagara both enter the weekend series undefeated. Union is 2-0-1 and carrying its best start to a season since going 4-0-1 at the outset of the 2018-19 campaign. Niagara is unbeaten through its first three games for the first time in 15 years, when the Purple Eagles were 1-0-2 to start the 2010-11 season. Niagara's 3-0 start is its best in program history.
RECEIVING VOTES: Union and Niagara are receiving votes in the USCHO.com and USA Hockey polls. Union has five votes in the USCHO poll and seven in the USA Hockey rankings. Niagara received three votes from USCHO voters and one in the USA Hockey poll.
SCORING AT WILL: Both teams have scored at least five goals in two of their first three games this season. Union hung 10 total goals on Mercyhurst during a weekend sweep that featured a three-goal comeback and five unanswered scores in a 5-3 victory.
SCORING DICHOTOMY: Union's and Niagara's leading scorers both have three goals this season. However, Union's top goal scorer is a familiar face in senior
Brandon Buhr, who led the Garnet Chargers in goals last season. First-year Maxim Muranov has three goals and an assist so far in his collegiate debut for the Purple Eagles out of Moskva, Russia.
DON'T COUNT THESE GUYS OUT
Union stormed back from a 3-0 deficit and scored five unanswered goals in Saturday's 5-3 win over Mercyhurst. It marked the Garnet Chargers' first victory after trailing by three goals since Dec. 1, 2013, when they erased a 4-1 deficit to beat Penn State. Daniel Ciampini scored the game-winner in that comeback with three seconds left in regulation, breaking the hearts of 5,177 Penn State fans in University Park, Pa.
HOME COOKING
After an undefeated weekend, the Garnet Chargers return home looking for their first win in their new building. They debuted in M&T Bank Center with a 1-1 tie against Army West Point but did get 39 shots off. Over the last four seasons, Union is 11-5-2 in regular-season non-conference home games under
Josh Hauge.
SMITTY STREAK
Sophomore
Connor Smith has recorded a point in three straight games to start the season. He only had one point in 22 contests last year, but so far, he's been the hero, scoring the game-tying goal against Army and a highlight-reel, game-winning goal against Mercyhurst.
IT'S ONLY A "MUTHER" OF TIME
Sophomore
Ben Muthersbaugh has been held without a goal through the first three games this season. However, he leads the team with 15 shots on goal. His 5.0 shots per game this season outpace his 3.3 shots per game from his first year. Muthersbaugh scored 13 goals with 15 assists in 2024-25 but was also held scoreless in his first three games. He broke out in a big way, recording a hat trick in his fourth game.
SHOTS! SHOTS! SHOTS!
Union is averaging 43.7 shots on goal through its first three games this season. The Garnet Chargers' 131 shots are their most through the first three games of the season since at least 2005-06 (the extent of Union's game-by-game statistical data). Union also has taken the eighth-most shots across all of Division I men's hockey, and the second most among teams that have only played three games (UMass, 143).
AHA MOMENT
Union takes on Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) opponent Niagara University riding an eight-game unbeaten streak (7-0-1) against AHA opponents. The Garnet Chargers are 67-43-13 (.598) all-time against current AHA members and 18-5-4 over the last 10 years.
FORWARD OF THE WEEK
For the second week in a row, a Garnet Charger was featured in ECAC Hockey's weekly awards. Senior
Brandon Buhr scored three goals, including one on the man advantage, on his way to the second Forward of the Week award of his career.
DOUBLE U
Union swept its road series with Mercyhurst last weekend. The Garnet Chargers won back-to-back road games on the same weekend twice last season, and the last time they beat the same team in two consecutive road games was Nov. 29-30, 2024 against Niagara.
KORPI IN THE CREASE
Sophomore
Cameron Korpi made 31 saves across the two games against Mercyhurst and has played all of the goaltender minutes for the Garnet Chargers so far. With his two wins against the Lakers, Korpi earned back-to-back Ws for the third time in his collegiate career.
BRUE-ING UP SOME OFFENSE
Sophomore
Riley Brueck's two goals over the weekend against the Lakers covered approximately 285 feet of ice. His first score came from center ice, thanks to a fortunate bounce off the boards, and his second goal was an empty netter from nearly the full length of the rink.
KILLING IT ON THE KILL
After giving up a power-play goal in the first period to Army on Oct. 4, Union has successfully killed eight straight extra-man opportunities from their opponents. Union's 90% penalty-kill percentage ranks 16th in Division I. Niagara is one of 10 teams in the country to have a perfect record on the penalty kill, killing off all 14 of their penalties.
POINTS PARTY
Union skaters combined for 14 points in the 5-2 win over Mercyhurst on Friday. The Garnet Chargers produced double-digit points in 12 games last season.
Brandon Buhr,
Riley Brueck,
Connor Smith,
Lucas Buzziol,
Tyler Dunbar,
Etienne Lessard,
Carter Rose, and
Drew Sutton all had multiple points during the weekend sweep. Buhr, Brueck, Buzziol, and Lessard all had multi-point games.
ERIE DEBUTS
Senior
Cal Mell, first-year
Alex Laurenza, and junior
Jacob Jeannette all made their first starts of the season in Erie against the Lakers. For Laurenza, it was also his first collegiate game, debuting at left wing on the first line with seniors
Nate Hanley and
Brandon Buhr.
MILES MILESTONE
In his 42nd-career game, senior defenseman
Brendan Miles scored his first-collegiate goal in the first period of Friday's 5-2 win over Mercyhurst. Sophomore
Drew Sutton and junior
Carter Rose assisted on the goal.
NICE, ROUND NUMBERS
Friday's 5-2 victory for the Garnet Chargers was head coach
Josh Hauge's 50th win with the program. The next night, the 5-3 win marked Union's 500th victory as a Division-I ice hockey program in its 34th season.
BUHR WATCHING
College Hockey News released its "Players to Watch" in ECAC Hockey and recognized
Brandon Buhr with some high praise. "Buhr is shifty and has a good shot, which makes him successful. He is also good at getting to the important areas of the ice, which is the way his coach,
Josh Hauge, would like his team to play. Union as a whole is returning a deep group, and [Buhr] could be in the mix for Player of the Year."
M&T BANK CENTER
This season, the men's and women's Union hockey teams will call the state-of-the-art M&T Bank Center its home, becoming the primary tenant of the 100,000-square-foot multi-purpose venue. The arena holds a capacity of 2,200 for hockey games and expands to 3,600 for other sporting events, trade shows, special events, and conventions. Highlights include seven luxury suites, a spacious hospitality suite, two full-service concession stands, and an elegant bar overlooking the Mohawk River. M&T Bank Center is the 16th hockey venue in the NCAA to open in the last 10 years.
NEED A RECHARGE?
The Garnet Chargers lost 12 players from its 2024-25 roster to graduation, the transfer portal, and the pros. Those departures accounted for 101 points last season, but Union still kept its top goal scorer in
Brandon Buhr (19) and point scorer in
Colby MacArthur (29). Not to mention, four of Union's 20-point scorers from last season are still on the squad, and Union's 78 "returning" goals are the seventh-most in Division I.
FRESH FACES
Hauge and his staff brought in two of each positional group to round out their recruiting class.
Alex Laurenza (F),
Troy Pelton (F),
Etienne Lessard (D),
Ollie Chessler (D)
Brayden Gillespie (G), and
Brendan Holahan (G) will all get their first taste of college hockey this season.
TRANSFER POWER
Will Felicio (D, Michigan),
Carter Rose (D, Clarkson),
Tyler Dunbar (D, Colorado College),
Cameron Korpi (G, Michigan), and
Luke Buss (F, Wisconsin) end up in Schenectady after earlier stops around the Division I hockey landscape.
WHAT'S UP BROTHER?
They say your teammates are like your brothers. For Carter and
Cameron Korpi, one of their teammates actually is their brother. Carter is three years older than Cameron, and this will be the first time they've played hockey on the same team together (other than knee hockey games in the basement of their childhood home).
PROFESSIONAL PROKOP
It's no secret
John Prokop was a massive part of the Union defense last year. In three seasons, Prokop notched 65 assists and registered 85 points. Now, the AHCA East Second Team All-American is skating professionally for the Toronto Marlies in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. He's looking to join the likes of Nick DeSimone and Shayne Gostisbehere as former Union hockey players in the NHL.
BUHR GETS THE NOD
For the second season in a row, Union was represented on the ECAC Hockey Preseason All-League team, selected by the conference's coaches. The senior forward was one of only six players in the ECAC to receive this recognition, and half of the 12 teams in the league were represented. Buhr is coming off a 28-point campaign in which he led the Garnet Chargers with 19 goals and was named to the All-ECAC Hockey third team.
(GOOD) SCORING QUESTIONS TO ASK
Over the course of head coach
Josh Hauge's first three seasons at Union, he's produced a different leading goal and point scorer each year. With four 20+ point scorer's returning to the squad, will this be the first time Hauge's leading scorer repeats? That'll be up to
Colby MacArthur to continue leading the team in points after seven goals and 22 assists, or up to
Brandon Buhr to back up his preseason All-ECAC selection. A follow-up question: will anyone get 20? Union has not produced a 20-goal scorer since Ryan Scarfo '18 in 2017-18.
Brandon Buhr came close a season ago after lighting the lamp 19 times.
YOU LOVE TO "C" IT
Nick Young earned captain honors in his senior season. He's been along for the ride for all of head coach
Josh Hauge's tenure so far. The alternate captains on the team are
Parker Lindauer and
Brandon Buhr.
HIGH HOPES IN SCHENECTADY
Head coach
Josh Hauge told the media on Tuesday, Sept. 30 that if his team equals its No. 5 preseason ranking, then the season will be a disappointment. Union did finish fourth in the standings last year before an early exit at home to Dartmouth in the ECAC playoffs. That fourth-place finish was Union's best since placing second in 2017-18. The Garnet Chargers' most recent regular-season title came in 2013-14, the same season Union won its first national championship.
THE STATE OF COLLEGE HOCKEY
More than half of the nation's teams (33/63) have reached the NCAA Tournament over the last five years. 258 NHL draft picks will play college hockey this season, including 17 first-round selections. More college hockey alumni than ever before are playing in the National Hockey League, and a record 42% of all NHL debuts last season were made by college hockey alumni. 93% of NCAA Division I men's hockey players earn a degree, among the top graduation rates of all men's sports.
ACROSS THE POND
Union will be joined by RIT, Miami (Ohio), and Sacred Heart in Northern Ireland at the end of November for the Friendship Four.
SENIORITY PRIORITY
Union hits the ice with eight seniors, tied with Niagara and St. Thomas for the seventh-largest senior class across Division I. The Garnet Chargers' average age as a team is 22.5, making them tied for the seventh-oldest team in the country.
GO BIG BLUE?
Three Garnet Chargers previously played college hockey at the University of Michigan.
Cameron Korpi and
Will Felicio both played for Michigan last season, and
Brendan Miles transferred to Union after the 2023-24 campaign.
Tyler Dunbar,
Brendan Miles, and Cameron and
Carter Korpi all hail from Michigan as well. Across Division I men's hockey, there are 91 players from The Wolverine State.
