SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Sophomore Luke Buss scored his first collegiate goal, and senior Brandon Buhr recorded his fourth game winner of the season to lift the Union College men's hockey team over Alaska Fairbanks 3-2 on Saturday evening at M&T Bank Center.

The Garnet Chargers (12-5-2) swept Alaska Fairbanks (4-10-1) and go into the winter break on a three-game winning streak. Their 12 wins are tied for the most in ECAC Hockey along with #8 Dartmouth and #10 Quinnipiac.

The Garnet Chargers had three power plays in the first period, and they appeared to break through for their first goal of the game during their third chance with the man advantage. Hosting the first Teddy Bear Toss in team history, fans threw hundreds of teddy bears and other plush toys onto the ice as a donation to local children for the holiday season and in celebration of what they thought was a goal from sophomore Lucas Buzziol. However, after the toys had been collected and removed from the ice, Alaska Fairbanks asked the referees to review if Buzziol had kicked the puck across the goal line. The Nanooks won the challenge, removing Buzziol's score off the board.

Despite not putting a shot on target for the first 12:46 of the game, Alaska Fairbanks found the back of the net first for the second night in a row and took a 1-0 lead 52 seconds before the first intermission.

Midway through the second period, senior Parker Lindauer forced a turnover in the neutral zone, and junior Jacob Jeannette picked up the loose puck. He found Buss skating up the left side, and the transfer from Ohio State fired a wrister past Calvin Vachon and earned the first point of his collegiate career. He is the fourth Garnet Charger to score his first goal this season, joining senior Brendan Miles and first-years Alex Laurenza and Etienne Lessard. 

The 1-1 tie only lasted 23 seconds as sophomore Ben Muthersbaugh potted his second goal in as many games, taking a shot immediately after senior Nate Hanley won a draw in the right circle. 

Muthersbaugh registered back-to-back games with a goal for the second time in his career and has a three-game point streak, tied for the longest active streak on the team. 

After failing to score on a two-minute 5-on-3 late in the second period, the Garnet Chargers also went scoreless on their seventh opportunity with an extra skater in the third.

Union entered the game with a power-play goal in three straight games, and Buhr finally extended that streak at the 7:00 mark of the final stanza. Laurenza and Lessard cycled the puck around the outside to Buhr, where he deposited it from the left side for his seventh power-play goal of the season. 

Buhr's 14th score of the season ended up becoming the game winner after Alaska Fairbanks drew within one with an empty-net goal at 15:22. 

The Nanooks continued to apply pressure and had an extra skater out there again shortly after making it 3-2, but an offensive-zone penalty on Alaska Fairbanks gave the Garnet Chargers their ninth power-play opportunity and nearly wiped away all of the visiting team's hopes of forcing overtime. 

After the power play was over, the Garnet Chargers survived 48 seconds of 6-on-5 hockey without allowing the Nanooks to take a final shot. 

First-year Brayden Gillespie finished with 17 saves and earned his third consecutive win in the crease. He also made three saves while Union was on the kill, helping the Garnet Chargers extend its streak to 12 straight penalties without allowing a power-play goal. Union now boasts a 92.4% penalty-killing percentage – the second-best in NCAA Division I men's hockey. 

Union carries its third separate three-game winning streak of the season into a three-week break. The Garnet Chargers' next test comes in Schenectady on Saturday, Jan. 3 at 5 p.m. against Royal Military College in an exhibition, and Union plays #10 Quinnipiac in Hamden, Conn. on Friday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m.