Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content
a men's hockey player wearing a white jersey and black helmet, holding his hockey stick across his waist
Mary Gettens
2
Union (NY) UNI 15-9-2, 5-8-1
4
Winner Dartmouth DAR 15-6-1, 9-4-1
Union (NY) UNI
15-9-2, 5-8-1
2
Final
4
Dartmouth DAR
15-6-1, 9-4-1
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
Union (NY) UNI 0 1 1 2
Dartmouth DAR 0 2 2 4

Game Recap: Men's Ice Hockey | | Tim LaDuca, Assistant Athletic Communications Director

Men's Hockey Comes Up Short Against #14/13 Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. – The Union College men's hockey team was unable to upset #14/13 Dartmouth College on Friday night at Thompson Arena despite a pair of game-tying goals in a 4-2 defeat against the Big Green.

Sophomore Lucas Buzziol tipped in the first game-tying goal for Union (15-9-2, 5-8-1 ECAC Hockey), and first-year Alex Laurenza scored second, but Dartmouth (15-6-1, 9-4-1 ECAC Hockey) prevented the Garnet Chargers from recreating their magical comeback against Rensselaer in the Mayors' Cup. 

First-year Brayden Gillespie made his fifth consecutive conference start and finished the first period with eight saves. However, it took both sides a while to find any scoring chances. Union registered its first shot 8:04 into play, and Gillespie did not have to make a stop until midway through the opening period.  

The Garnet Chargers got into a rhythm nearing the final five minutes of the first and produced a strong shift resulting in four shot attempts. Emmett Croteau saved two of those attempts and the defenders in front of him blocked the others, resulting in a scoreless first 20 minutes. 

Senior Nick Young reached a milestone at the 5:35 mark of the second, blocking the 200th shot of his career. Union's blocked-shots leader in 2025-26 got in the way of two more during the middle stanza, but Dartmouth eventually snuck one past Young and Gillespie at 7:01, converting on a 2-on-1. 

Late in the period, Union was tested on the penalty kill for the first time and answered the call. Shortly after successfully killing off their 76th penalty of the season, the Garnet Chargers earned a trip to the power play of their own. 

Junior Tyler Dunbar fed sophomore Ben Muthersbaugh atop the right circle, and Muthersbaugh quickly sent it back to the blue line and sophomore Will Felicio. Causing traffic in front of the crease, Buzziol redirected Felicio's shot into the back of the net, tying things up 1-1. Buzziol has points in back-to-back contests after snapping a six-game pointless streak against RPI on Jan. 24 with two assists. 

Dartmouth prevented Union from heading into the second intermission with any momentum though, and retook the lead with 21 seconds remaining in the period.

Union retied the game 2-2 during the third in similar fashion to their game-tying effort in the second. Laurenza redirected first-year Etienne Lessard's shot from distance, giving him his first goal since Nov. 14. Laurenza leads Union's rookie contingent with 15 points, and Lessard is not far behind, boasting three goals and 11 assists of his own. Senior Nate Hanley initiated Laurenza's scoring play, skating out from deep in Dartmouth's zone and setting up Lessard for the primary assist. Hanley entered the night in a tie for the seventh-most assists among active DI players and now has 67 helpers. The Rocky Point, N.Y. native has the 10th-most assists in Union's DI history. 

Union survived its second penalty of the game, only conceding one shot to the Big Green, but Dartmouth was able to break through for a third and final time with 2:50 left in regulation.

Gillespie made his way towards the bench with 2:07 left trailing 3-2, and senior Colby MacArthur won the first faceoff with the extra attacker. MacArthur had a point-blank look at the equalizer, but he was robbed by Croteau.

Union had four more shots after a flurry of dangerous chances at the 18:27 mark, but none of them were on target. Nikita Nikora added an empty-net goal to polish off a four-point night with three assists, and the Big Green extended their winning streak over Union to eight games. 

Gillespie ended the evening with 27 saves, and the Garnet Chargers went 2-2 on the kill, bringing their #2-ranked penalty kill up to 90.5% on the season. 

Union gets Saturday off and will prepare for a trip to the North Country, beginning on Friday, Feb. 6 against St. Lawrence at 7 p.m.
Print Friendly Version