BELFAST, Northern Ireland – Miami University won the 2025 Friendship Four title after defeating the Union College men's hockey team 3-2 on Saturday night at SSE Arena in front of a crowd of 5,122.

First-year Etienne Lessard and sophomore Connor Smith scored game-tying goals in the second and third periods, respectively,  for #20 Union (9-4-2), but Miami's (10-4-0) score at the 16:22 mark of the third period sealed the game for good, sending the Belpot Trophy to Oxford, Ohio.

The RedHawks netted the game's first goal at the 13:02 mark of the first period. The Garnet Chargers entered the game 3-1-2 when their opponent scores first and had beaten Sacred Heart in comeback fashion on Friday.

Sophomore goaltender Cameron Korpi made 10 saves in the opening stanza to keep the Miami lead at one.

Union killed off a pair of penalties to begin the second period, and once the Garnet Chargers were back to full strength at the 3:07 mark, they held the puck in their offensive zone until they scored. Union had two shots blocked, and senior Nate Hanley had a shot saved before Lessard sniped a wrist shot past Miami's goaltender Matteo Drobac. Lessard notched his second goal of the season, and junior Tyler Dunbar and first-year Alex Laurenza assisted on the play. 

However, Union was unable to successfully kill off its third penalty of the day as Miami retook the 5:48 later.

Miami was not penalized through the first two periods, but a boarding call against the RedHawks just as the horn sounded for the second intermission earned the Garnet Chargers their first power play of the night. Union only put one shot on frame during its first opportunity on the man advantage and finished with three shots across two power plays overall.

Despite not scoring on the power play for the first time in seven games, Smith was able to retie the game at the 3:24 mark of the third period. With Smith standing in front of Drobac's crease, he tipped in a shot attempt from his classmate Lucas Buzziol. Smith's redirection slowly slid along the goal line, and since Drobac had lost his stick earlier in the sequence, he was unable to clear the puck from the back of his cage.

Miami outshot Union 9-4 in the minutes after Smith's game-tying and seventh goal of the season. Miami's Matteo Giampa dealt the final blow for the RedHawks with 3:38 left in regulation. His shot went off the skate of a Union defenseman and got past Korpi for the game-winning goal. Korpi finished the championship game with 25 saves. 

Union's netminder went to the bench with 2:35 left in the third period, giving Union a last look at tying the game up for a third time. The Garnet Chargers fired off six shots on frame, but Drobac came up the denial each time while Union had six skaters on the ice. 

When the final horn sounded, Miami became the seventh different winner of the Friendship Four. The tournament started in 2015, but has only been played seven times.

Union hosts Princeton on Friday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. and Quinnipiac on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 5 p.m. when the team returns stateside.