SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Riding a three-game winning streak, the Union College men's hockey team jumped back into the USCHO poll, appearing at #20 in the national rankings released Monday afternoon.
Union ended its December schedule with an upset victory over #8 Quinnipiac on Dec. 5 and a weekend sweep over Alaska Fairbanks on Dec. 11-12. With 12 wins so far, the Garnet Chargers have totaled their most wins before January since winning 14 in the first half of the 2016-17 season.
Union averages five goals per game in its victories this season and has outscored opponents by an average of 3.83 goals per game in those 12 wins. In all 19 of their games, Union has the fifth-highest scoring margin in all of NCAA Division I men's hockey at 1.74.
The Garnet Chargers also have the second-best penalty-kill unit in the country (92.4%) and the 11th-best power-play unit (24.7%). They lead college hockey in even strength expected goals against (1.80) as well, according to Ryan Sikes of Puck Preps.
Senior Brandon Buhr (14g, 7a) and junior Tyler Dunbar (8g, 13a) share the team lead in points with 21 each. Dunbar leads Division-I defensemen in points this season. Senior Parker Lindauer leads the team in assists with 16, and he has been the primary assist on 10 of his helpers.
Union was previously ranked #20 in the USCHO and USA Hockey polls in mid-November, but fell out of the USA Hockey poll after one week and out of the USCHO rankings after two. Union is still on the outside of the USA Hockey poll, receiving the most votes (22) of any non-top-20 squad. The Garnet Chargers have 14 fewer votes than T20 Augustana and T20 New Hampshire. Union shut out New Hampshire 6-0 on Nov. 15.
Dunbar, sophomore Ben Muthersbaugh, and first-year Brayden Gillespie earned player of the week honors from ECAC Hockey on Monday. So far this season, six Garnet Chargers have combined to win 11 weekly awards from the league through three months of games.
Union's next regular-season game will feature a ranked matchup on the road against #10 Quinnipiac on Friday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. Union hosts Royal Military College for an exhibition before then, on Saturday, Jan. 3 at 5 p.m.
