KEEP BOUNCING BACK: For the first time in four weeks, the Union College men's hockey team hosts non-conference opponents at M&T Bank Center. The River Hawks of UMass Lowell come to town on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m., and the Wildcats of University of New Hampshire visit the Garnet Chargers on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 5 p.m.
During last week's slate,
Union lost its Friday matchup but bounced back with a dominant victory the next night for the second weekend in a row. Union rebounded from a 5-1 loss to Clarkson on Friday with a 5-2 victory over St. Lawrence. Union earned its 10th victory following a loss since the beginning of the 2024-25 season and saw first-year
Brayden Gillespie make 27 saves, emerging victorious in his first collegiate start.
SENIOR SURGE: Head coach
Josh Hauge praised his seniors' efforts after Union's 5-2 win over St. Lawrence. Union seniors accounted for 11 of Union's 15 points in the victory, led by three assists from
Parker Lindauer, three points from
Brandon Buhr, and two goals from
Colby MacArthur.
Nate Hanley had two points, and
Cal Mell had an assist as well.
BACK TO NON-CONFERENCE ACTION: The Garnet Chargers take a detour from ECAC Hockey play and host a pair of Hockey East teams in UMass Lowell and New Hampshire. Union is 67-104-18 (.402) all-time against current Hockey East members and only has a winning record against UConn (9-4-4) and Boston College (2-0).
HOCKEY EAST FOES: Union last took on UMass Lowell on March 24, 2012 in the NCAA East regional championship. Union downed the River Hawks in that game and earned its first Frozen Four appearance in program history. UMass Lowell's head coach Norm Bazin was in his first year at the helm that season. Saturday's matchup features a more recent familiar face. UNH's goaltender
Kyle Chauvette played in 81 games for the Garnet Chargers over three seasons with a 35-31-7 record. He has made every start this season for the 4-5-0 Wildcats, who are in a tie for eighth in the Hockey East standings.
INSIDE THE SERIES: While Union does sport a losing record all-time against both teams this weekend, the "recent" history has been more favorable for the Garnet Chargers. Union has won four straight against the River Hawks dating back to the 2005-06 season, and Union swept the Wildcats last time they met in the 2022-23 campaign. While Union has dominated the recent meetings, that was not always the case. UMass Lowell was unbeaten through its first eight games against Union. Also, the two sides have met on neutral ice three times, with Union leading those games 2-1. Recently against New Hampshire,
Cal Mell and
Nick Young both had multi-assist games against the Wildcats when the two teams met up for a weekend series in 2022.
GAME-WINNING BUHR
Against St. Lawrence,
Brandon Buhr became the first Garnet Charger to post multiple game-winning goals this season. With the deciding score, the senior moved into a six-way tie for the seventh-most game-winning goals in Union's Division I history. Wayne Simpson '13 holds the record with 16.
LINDAUER POWER
Parker Lindauer notched three assists against St. Lawrence and leads his team with eight helpers on the year. He is the only Garnet Charger with a three-assist game this season and is one of four ECAC Hockey players with a playmaker so far this year (Daniel Panetta, Colgate; Ryan Bottrill, Clarkson; Aaron Schwartz, Quinnipiac).
EASY AS PIE
Brayden Gillespie made his collegiate debut and earned the win against St. Lawrence 5-2, making 27 saves. That's the most saves by a Union first-year in their debut since Colin Stevens made 27 against Niagara on Oct. 21, 2011.
BRANDON BUHR BOOST
So far this season, the Garnet Chargers have gone as far as
Brandon Buhr has taken them. Buhr was held scoreless in the loss to Clarkson but notched the third three-point game of his career in Saturday's win over St. Lawrence.
Brandon Buhr's team is 0-2-1 when he doesn't record a point and 6-0-0 when he does.
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MARGINS
Union has the second-most goals in ECAC Hockey behind Quinnipiac's 35, and Union's +11 goal differential is the second-best in the league behind Dartmouth's +12. Dartmouth leads NCAA Division I men's ice hockey with an average scoring margin of 3.00, while Union is 11th nationally at 1.22.
STILL KILLING IT ON THE KILL
While Union did allow its first power-play goal in 22 chances on the kill on Friday against Clarkson, the Garnet Chargers still boast the third-best penalty-kill unit in the country at .931 (27/29). Union is one of six teams nationally with two or less power-play goals allowed. Union and Augustana are the only non-Ivys on that list.
OUTSHOOTING STREAK
Union hasn't been outshot yet in a game or even in a single period this season. There have been five periods this season where SOG were tied. St. Lawrence tied Union in shots over the course of the final two periods on Saturday.
FACEOFF WINS
As a team, Union has won faceoffs at a .549 clip. That's the eighth-best mark in Division I.
Lucas Buzziol is the leader in the locker room in that department, winning 61.1% of his faceoffs (91-149).
Colby MacArthur is also above 60%, at 60.9% (67-110).
A WINNING COMBINATION
The Garnet Chargers have three games in which they have scored both a power-play and an empty-net goal this season. The Garnet Chargers had six such games a season ago.
RISK - REWARD
Two of Union's top defensemen have risked their bodies to keep the puck out of the net for Union and are seeing the benefits.
Tyler Dunbar (13) and
Nick Young (10) lead the team in blocked shots, and Dunbar is in a tie with
Riley Brueck for the team lead in plus-minus at +8, and Young is in a tie for third with
Connor Smith at +6.
FACING A WALL
Entering the St. Lawrence game on Saturday, opposing goaltenders were averaging 41.25 saves per game against the Garnet Chargers. St. Lawrence's goaltender only made 26 saves against the Garnet Chargers on Saturday, marking the first time an opposing goalie has made less than 30 saves in a game all season.
THESE SHOTS STATS ARE CRAZY
Union has had more than double the amount of shots than its opponents in six games this season, most recently outshooting Clarkson 40-17. Union doubled its opponent's shots in four straight games from Oct. 10 - 18, and Union is outshooting the opposition by 194 shots this season. Opponents have a total of 193 shots on goal against the Garnet Chargers.
OF "CORSI" UNION LEADS IN THESE STATS, TOO
Union leads all of NCAA Division I men's hockey in total "Corsi For %" (64.3), even-strength "Corsi For %" (63.1), and power-play "Corsi For %" (75.7). Michigan State leads "close Corsi For %" at 63.3, but Union is only two percentage points off in sixth place at 61.3%. Corsi is an advanced stat used to measure shot-attempt differential while at even strength play. This includes shots on goal, missed shots on goal, and blocked shot attempts towards the opposition's net minus the same shot attempts directed at your own team's net.
THERE'S A FIRST FOR EVERYTHING
Etienne Lessard became the first Union rookie to score this season when he netted a power-play goal against RPI on Friday, Oct. 31. The next night,
Alex Laurenza also scored his first collegiate goal, also on the power play.
Brandon Buhr and
Drew Sutton are the only other current Garnet Chargers to record career-goal No. 1 on the man advantage.
DJ Hart scored his first collegiate goal while Union was short-handed.
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.
DON'T COUNT THESE GUYS OUT
Union stormed back from a 3-0 deficit and scored five unanswered goals in a 5-3 win over Mercyhurst on Oct. 11. 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.
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."
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.
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 as transfers 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.
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.
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 from The Wolverine State.
