DANBURY, Conn. – Union College men's hockey junior
Tyler Dunbar was named ECAC Hockey's Adapt Nutrition Defender of the Month, and first-year
Brayden Gillespie earned Rookie of the Month honors, as the conference revealed its award winners for December on Thursday.
Dunbar and Gillespie join senior Brandon Buhr (Forward of the Month, November) and sophomore Cameron Korpi (Goalie of the Month, October) as Union's four monthly award winners this season. The Garnet Chargers are the only team to produce a winner in each of ECAC Hockey's four monthly award categories and lead the conference with four total honorees. Dartmouth, Princeton, Quinnipiac and Colgate have two winners each.
Dunbar led Union in scoring during December as the Garnet Chargers went 3-1, recording three goals and three assists. He did most of his damage in Union's 4-0 shutout of #8 Quinnipiac on Dec. 6, contributing to all four goals.
Gillespie also delivered his top performance of the month in that victory, making 31 saves for his first collegiate shutout and the program's first shutout of a ranked opponent since Alex Sakellaropoulos '17 blanked #13 Merrimack on Nov. 28, 2015. Gillespie stopped all four shots he faced from Quinnipiac's Ethan Wyttenbach in the win.
After Wyttenbach claimed the first two ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Month awards, Gillespie earned the honor by posting a 3-0-0 record in December with a 0.92 goals-against average and a .958 save percentage.
With six points in the final month of 2025, Dunbar moved into a tie with Buhr for the team lead with 21 points and ranks second among NCAA Division I defensemen in scoring. He also leads Union with a plus-15 rating, the sixth-best mark in the conference. After blocking seven shots in his last four games, Dunbar is second on the team with 25 for the season.
Union's two December award winners also garnered national recognition from the Hockey Commissioners Association, with Dunbar being named a runner-up for the HCA's Defender of the Month award, and Gillespie was a runner-up for the HCA's Goalie of the Month award.
Dunbar, Gillespie, and the Garnet Chargers face rematches with #8 Quinnipiac and #20/#19 Princeton, beginning with a trip to Quinnipiac's barn on Friday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m.
