Union College vs. Mercyhurst University

Friday, Oct. 10, 2025 • Erie, PA • Mercyhurst Ice Center • 7:00 PM

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Union College vs. Mercyhurst University

Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025 • Erie, PA • Mercyhurst Ice Center • 5:00 PM

Live Stats • Video Stream

Preview

Union Game Notes • Mercyhurst Game Notes

ROAD WARRIORS: Union travels to Erie, Pa. for its first road series of the year, making the 5 1/2-hour trek west on I-90 to face Mercyhurst. With a flight to Belfast coming up in November, this is the Garnet Chargers' longest drive of the year and their only true, non-conference away series. The next road game for Union will be much shorter, with a visit to rival Rensselaer on Nov. 1.

BREAKING OUT: Union opened the season with its lowest goal total in an opener since 2021. Now the Garnet Chargers will aim to get the offense rolling against a Mercyhurst team that gave up 18 goals in two games at Michigan. Union found the back of the net often against the Lakers last season, netting nine goals in the series matchup.

ONE OF THE BEST: Mercyhurst head coach Rick Gotkin is fourth among active NCAA head coaches across all divisions with 611 wins. Gotkin took over as the head coach of the Lakers 38 seasons ago in 1988 and is the longest tenured active coach. He announced in March that he will retire after this season. Gotkin oversaw the move to scholarship hockey in DII and eventually to DI where the Lakers have remained since 1997.

HOMECOMING: While it actually is Homecoming and Family Weekend back on campus in Schenectady, the Lakers will be making their home debut in Erie after dropping two games on the road against Michigan, 11-1 and 7-0, to open the season.

INSIDE THE SERIES: This will be Union's first time visiting Erie for a matchup with the Lakers. Mercyhurst won the first meeting between the two teams on Feb. 27, 1990, but Union has not lost in the four games since. Ben Muthersbaugh recorded a hat trick against the Lakers on Oct. 18, 2024 in a 6-2 victory and had seven points in the season series.

UNTYING TIMES
Union is 6-2 in games after a tie under fourth-year head coach Josh Hauge. The Garnet Chargers skated to a tie with Army West Point on Saturday, Oct. 4. They did play Colgate the next day in a scrimmage, but the weekend series with Mercyhurst gives Union an official chance to improve upon its strong track record following tied games. 

DÉJÀ VU ALL OVER AGAIN
For the second consecutive season, Connor Smith scored and Parker Lindauer assisted in an opening-night overtime game against Army. The only difference is Union wound up winning its 2024-25 debut against the Black Knights, while the game on Saturday ended in a 1-1 tie. Union also recorded 39 shots in the tie on Saturday. The last time the Garnet Chargers got 39 looks on goal, the game also ended in a tie (3-3 vs Yale; 1/31/25).

SCRIMMAGIN' IN CLINTON
Union played Colgate in an exhibition game on Sunday, Oct. 5. First-years Brayden Gillespie and Brendan Holahan split time in net, and Brandon Buhr, Ben Muthersbaugh, and Carter Rose scored.

NEW ON THE BLUE
All three defensive pairings on Saturday featured at least one new Union defenseman. The top D pairing featured two newcomers in junior transfer Tyler Dunbar and first-year Etienne Lessard. Dunbar led the team with six blocked shots and was tied with fellow transfer defenseman Will Felicio and forward Ethan Benz for the team lead in shots. Lessard fired off three attempts on net, blocked a pair of shots, and served two minutes in the penalty box. 

STRONG FIRST IMPRESSION
Cameron Korpi posted a .962 save percentage on 26 shots in his Union debut against Army. After allowing a power-play goal in the first period, he locked down the opposition and made 11 saves throughout the third period and overtime. For his efforts, Korpi won the MAC Goaltending Goalie of the Week award from ECAC Hockey. A Union goaltender won one such weekly award from the conference last season. 

ON THE DOT
Six different Garnet Chargers took faceoffs against Army. Drew Sutton took the most, going 8-15 (53.3%), and Parker Lindauer had the best success rate, winning 77.8% (7-9). Sutton led the 2024-25 squad in faceoff percentage, winning 57.4% (171-298). 

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
Union ran into Army's goaltender JJ Cataldo on the wrong night. The sophomore from Stuart, Fla. made 38 saves on 39 shots, posting a .974 save percentage. Union recorded 39+ shots on three occasions last season and were 2-0-1 in those games. Despite Cataldo's sterling performance in the crease, he did not earn his conference's weekly goaltender of the week award. He was outdone by Canisius' Chase Clark, who made 65 saves across two wins against Clarkson and St. Lawrence. 

BEN'S BREAKOUT
Ben Muthersbaugh introduced himself to the Union faithful in a big way last season against Mercyhurst. He scored seven points in the two games against  the Lakers and was the first Union skater to score five points in a game since Mike Vecchione '17 recorded five (4-1-5) on Oct. 22, 2016. Muthersbaugh became the first Union rookie to record a hat trick since Daniel Carr '14 recorded one in a 6-2 win against Army on Dec. 11, 2010. 

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. 

BLUE LINE BOOST
The Union defensemen room is composed of two first-years, three transfers, and four returners. It could take some time to see who pairs well with whom defensively throughout the season, but at least they'll be grounded by having the captain of the team, Nick Young, leading the way for the defensemen group. Junior Tyler Dunbar, a transfer from Colorado College, and first-year Etienne Lessard were the starting defensive pair in Union's season-opener.

FRESH CREASE
All three starting goaltenders are new to Union this season, but Cameron Korpi does have 18 collegiate games under his belt after a BIG 10 All-Freshman Team season at Michigan in 2024-25. First-years Brayden Gillespie (OHL) and Brendan Holahan (NAHL) will both be making their collegiate debuts this season. 

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.

SPECIAL TEAMS SPOTLIGHT
Union took advantage of 22.3% of its power-play opportunities last season, good for the 23rd-best power-play unit in the nation. A trio of Garnet Chargers led the team with five power-play goals each last season, and two of them, Colby MacArthur and Ben Muthersbaugh, are still on the team. On the penalty kill, Carter Korpi has scored five short-handed goals in his career and is back in the lineup after his 2024-25 campaign ended due to injury. Korpi is tied with RIT's Tyler Mahan for the active lead in short-handed goals across all of Division I men's hockey.

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, Miles, and Cameron and Carter Korpi all hail from Michigan as well. Across Division I men's hockey, there are 91 players hailing from The Wolverine State. 

GOING FOR 50
Head coach Josh Hauge is sitting on 49 wins at the helm of the Garnet Chargers. Once he gets to 50, he'll become the sixth head coach in the program's history to win 50+ games.