HOME AND HOME: The Union College women's hockey team travels to cross-town rival Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Friday for a 3:00 p.m. match up before hosting the Engineers on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. at M&T Bank Center.
LAST WEEKEND: Union dropped a 6–1 decision to #7 Quinnipiac on Friday and fell 5–2 to Princeton on Saturday. Blueliner
Quinn Dunkle scored the lone unassisted tally for the Garnet Chargers against the Bobcats. Junior goaltender
Monja Wagner played 33 minutes, making 18 saves on 22 shots, while senior
Emily Evans stopped 10 of 12 shots in 26 minutes of relief against the Bobcats. On Saturday, junior
Emma Fulawka and sophomore
Jill Willis found the back of the net against the Tigers. First-year netminder
Emma Rhéaume turned aside 37 shots in the loss.
ABOUT THE ENGINEERS: Rensselaer's Mia Montanari tied the game with one second remaining in regulation to force overtime against Princeton on Friday night, but the Engineers ultimately fell 4–3 in the extra frame. Charlotte Wensley and Nina Christof also found the back of the net for RPI, while goaltender Reese Keating made 30 saves in the effort. On Saturday, the Engineers suffered an 8–0 loss to the #7 Quinnipiac Bobcats. Keating turned aside 50 shots in net.
M&T BANK CENTER
This season, Union Hockey 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 boasts 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. Convenient on site parking is available, with an additional 700-space lot within walking distance.
DYNAMIC DUNKLE
With her fourth goal of the season Friday night at #7 Quinnipiac, junior bluenliner
Quinn Dunkle added to her tally and leads the team with eight points on four goals and four assists through 12 games played.The Minnesota Duluth transfer has totaled four goals and nine assists for 13 points over 84 career games.
FIVE-STAR FULAWKA
Junior
Emma Fulawka has made an immediate impact this season, recording three goals and one assist for four points through 10 games. In her season debut on October 3, against Merrimack College, she notched a two-point performance with a goal and an assist. Fulawka sits just one goal shy of matching her career high of four goals and three points away from tying her personal best of seven points, both set during her first-year 2023-24 season.
WONDERFUL WILLIS
Sophomore
Jill Willis notched her second goal in three games on Saturday afternoon against Princeton. Through just 12 games this season, Willis is two goals shy of matching her career high of four from her first year (2024-25). Willis also sits just one point away from tying her career-best of six points. Over 49 career games, Willis has recorded six goals and five assists for 11 points.
RETURNING ROSTER
The team is comprised of 18 returners, including nine forwards (sophomores
Mikayla Blomquist,
Karianne Engelbert, Klara Kenttälä, and
Jill Willis; juniors
Emma Fulawka and
Maddie Leaney; and seniors
Amanda Quan,
Greta Kropp, and
Mallory Mauracher), six blueliners (sophomores
Lauren Johnson and
Giavanna Mancy; juniors
Quinn Dunkle,
Brigitte McGuire, and
Megan Ognibene and senior
Stephanie Bourque), and three goaltenders (sophomore
Sara Da Silva, junior
Monja Wagner, and senior
Emily Evans).
NEW BLOOD
Union welcomes six first-year players— forwards
Natalie Andelova,
Megan Duplantie, and
Reanna Loberg; blueliners
Isabel Powers and
Kaitlyn Toner; and goaltender Emma Rhéaume—along with two transfers, forward
Hayley Kelleher and blueliner
Peyton O'Neill, to the program for the 2025-26 season. The incoming class represents two countries, three provinces, and three states, and features four forwards, three blueliners, and one goaltender, each eager to make an immediate impact.
FORWARD FLEET
Union returns two of its top forwards from last season. Key contributors junior
Maddie Leaney and sophomore
Karianne Engelbert appeared in all 37 games for the Garnet Chargers. The forward group also features returning veterans
Greta Kropp,
Mallory Mauracher, and
Amanda Quan, along with juniors
Mikayla Blomquist and
Emma Fulawka, and sophomores Klara Kenttälä and
Jill Willis.
Engelbert looks to build on one of the most productive rookie seasons in program history. In 2024-25, Engelbert tallied 15 goals and nine assists for 24 points, setting a new Union rookie single-season points record and tying the first-year goals mark. Her 10 goals in the first half of the season led all first-years nationally, and she finished third among all Division I rookies in goals scored.
Leaney contributed eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points, ranking second on the team in scoring. Her 15 helpers also ranked third all-time for most assists in a single season at Union.
ANCHORING THE BLUELINE
Union returns two of its top-six defensemen from last season. Senior captain
Stephanie Bourque appeared in all 37 contests, while junior
Quinn Dunkle skated in 36. The Garnet Chargers also bring back junior blueliners
Megan Ognibene and
Brigitte McGuire, along with sophomores
Lauren Johnson and
Giavanna Mancy. Transfer sophomore
Peyton O'Neill and first-years
Isabel Powers and
Kaitlyn Toner look to make an immediate impact on the blue line.
Bourque anchors the defense after a record-breaking 2024-25 campaign, tallying eight goals and 14 assists for 22 points. She ranked third on the team in scoring, and her five power-play goals tied for third-most in a Division I single season. Bourque set the Union single-season record for goals by a defenseman with her eighth of the year against Quinnipiac on February 15. One week later, her assist in the program's first-ever ECAC Tournament win over Brown broke the school record for single season points by a defenseman and ranked fifth among all skaters.
BRICKWALL BRIGADE
Union enters the season with a four goaltenders consisting of senior
Emily Evans, junior
Monja Wagner, sophomore
Sara Da Silva, and first-year Emma Rhéaume.
Wagner has started seven games for Union posting a 3-3-2 record with a 2.66 GAA and a .918 save percentage. Wagner earned wins against Franklin Pierce (Sept. 26), Merrimack (Oct. 3), and Saint Anselm (Oct. 17), earned ties against Merrimack (Oct. 4), and New Hampshire (Oct. 10), and the three losses came against #1 Wisconsin (Oct. 18), #9 Clarkson on (Oct. 24), and #7 Quinnipiac (Oct.
31).
Rhéaume has appeared in four games for Union this season posting a 1-3-0 record. Rhéaume earned her first collegiate shutout and win in the 2–0 victory over Franklin Pierce on Sept. 27, and her losses came against New Hampshire (Oct. 11), Saint Lawrence (Oct. 25), and Princeton (Nov. 1).
Evans made her first season debut on Friday against #7 Quinnipiac playing 26 minutes of relief, tallying 10 saves on 12 shots.
GOING STREAKING
Senior
Stephanie Bourque (118 games) and junior
Maddie Leaney (84 games) are both riding multi-year iron-woman streaks, having appeared in every game of their three and two-year careers, respectively. Sophomore
Jill Willis also skated in 37 contests as a first yeawr and look to build on her streak.
OH CAPTAINS, OUR CAPTAINS
Senior blueliner
Stephanie Bourque will serve as team captain for the Garnet Chargers, while junior defenseman
Megan Ognibene returns as an assistant captain for a second consecutive season. Senior forward
Mallory Mauracher joins the leadership group as a first-time assistant captain.
ENGELBERT'S EXCELLENCE
Sophomore
Karianne Engelbert will look for more success after registering one of the most productive rookie seasons in program history in the 2024-25 season, scoring 15 goals with nine assists for 24 points while playing in all 37 games as a first-year. Engelbert's points broke the school D-I record for points by a rookie and tied the school's first-year goals mark. Her goals ranked second in program D-I history in single-season goals and points overall. Engelbert also scored six power-play goals to finish second on the school single-season list and tallied a team-leading three game winning goals. Engelbert's 10 goals in the first half of the season led all first-years nationally and she finished the season third among all Division I rookies in goal scoring.
COACHES CORNER
Tony Maci was named the fifth head coach in the history of Union women's hockey on July 31, 2024, and begins his second season behind the bench for the Garnet Chargers in 2025-26. Maci and his staff made an immediate impact in his first season in Schenectady, leading the Garnet Chargers to the most wins in program history and earning the team's first-ever postseason victory. Union finished the season with a 13-23-1 record and won a program-record eight conference games as part of a very challenging ECAC Hockey slate, including the team's first-ever win over a top-10 opponent with a 3-2 win at #9 Cornell University in November. Playing a total of 19 games against nationally ranked foes, eight losses came by a single goal and Union was less than 70 seconds away from taking eventual conference champion and national semifinalist #3 Cornell to a third game in their ECAC Hockey Quarterfinal series. The squad also set new program records for most goals scored and fewest goals allowed in a season in the school's Division I era, while also earning the program's first ECAC postseason honor since 2008 with first-year
Karianne Engelbert's All-Rookie Team nod.
HERE TO ASSIST
Joining Maci are second-year coaches
Shawn Skelly,
Tina Ciraulo, and
Courtney Hall. Skelly, Ciraulo, and Hall were all a part of a staff that made an immediate impact in their first season in Schenectady, leading the Garnet Chargers to the most wins in program history and earning the team's first-ever postseason victory. Union finished the season with a 13-23-1 record and won a program-record eight conference games as part of a very challenging ECAC Hockey slate, including the team's first-ever win over a top-10 opponent with a 3-2 win at #9 Cornell University in November. The squad also set new program records for most goals scored and fewest goals allowed in a season in the school's Division I era, while also earning the program's first ECAC postseason honor since 2008 with first-year
Karianne Engelbert's All-Rookie Team nod.
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
Union will look to surprise the ECAC Hockey landscape under the leadership of second year head coach
Tony Maci, as the Garnet Chargers were picked to finish 9th in the ECAC Hockey Preseason Poll out of 12 teams. The team received 56 points, finishing three points behind Brown University in 8th place and 14 points ahead of Harvard University in 10th place, 25 points ahead of Dartmouth in 11th place, and 27 points ahead of Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute.
