SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Sophomore Connor Smith scored the game-tying goal, and senior Brandon Buhr scored the game-winning goal in the Union College men's hockey team's third-period comeback victory over Niagara University on Friday night at M&T Bank Center. 

Buhr's 10th-career game-winning score solidified a 3-2 victory over the Purple Eagles and kept Union (3-0-1) unbeaten on the season.

Sophomore Lucas Buzziol fired off Union's first shot on goal 31 seconds into the game, but Niagara owned a majority of the remaining scoring chances in the first period. By the time the Purple Eagles scored their first goal of the game at the 5:13 mark, they had attempted six more shots than the Garnet Chargers. 

While Niagara did end up scoring the first goals of both the first and second period, Union had an answer each time. First, it was junior Tyler Dunbar who tied up the game at the 13:53 mark of the first. Quickly after senior Parker Lindauer won a faceoff in the left circle, senior Colby MacArthur corralled the puck and found Dunbar, who netted his first goal with the Garnet Chargers. Lindauer also went on to win a total of 12 faceoffs, leading the team with a 75% (12-16) success rate. 

Union entered the game averaging 43.7 shots per game, marking the second-highest average in Division I. The Garnet Chargers finished the night with 49 shots, tying their season high, and outshot Niagara 15-7 in the second period. However, the Purple Eagles broke through yet again early in the second period and took a 2-1 lead into the second intermission. 

The deficit could have been worse for the Garnet Chargers when they were down two men on the ice for 33 seconds nearing the end of the second period. Niagara arrived in Schenectady with the 11th-best power play in DI at 30.8%, but Union was able to kill off both penalties successfuly. 

The Garnet Chargers earned their third power player of the game at 12:47 in the third period, and while they did not score, they were able to dial up the pressure on the Purple Eagles. Union ripped off six shots with five on goal during the man advantage, but Niagara's goaltender Deivs Rolovs withstood the barrage for the time being. Rolovs finished the night 44 saves, making that three consecutive games where an opposing goaltender has made at least 40 stops against Union. 

Then, for the second home game in a row, Smith stepped up and delivered a game-tying goal in front of the Union faithful. Sophomore Riley Brueck picked up a Niagara turnover in the zone, left it for Smith, and the Hugo, Minn. native buried it for his third goal of the season. It marked the ninth and 10th points for Union's third line of Brueck, Smith, and Buzziol. That trio earned the start in front of the 1,712 fans inside M&T Bank Center on Friday night.

Not only did Niagara boast one of the top power-play units in the country entering the game, but the Purple Eagles were also one of 10 teams nationally not to have allowed a power-play goal yet in the 2025-26 season. That changed when Buhr inherited a bouncing puck along the point and ripped a slapshot through Rolovs' five-hole to give Union the lead. It marked the 10th game winning goal of the senior's career and his eighth power-play tally. Buhr had been held without a shot in the first period but finished the night with five looks on net.

Union is now 2-0-1 in games where the opponent scores first, are unbeaten all-time against the Purple Eagles, and have not lost a game to an Atlantic Hockey America foe in nine consecutive contests.

Dunbar led the team in shots with six, and sophomore Cameron Korpi made 16 saves on his way to a third consecutive victory in net for the Garnet Chargers. Sophomore Will Felicio became the fourth different player in as many games to lead the team in blocks, getting in the way of four Purple Eagles shots.

On Saturday, Oct. 18 at 8 p.m., Union looks to extend its winning streak to four, its unbeaten streak to five, and secure a second-consecutive season sweep of the Purple Eagles.