Nicole Zuniga

Men's Ice Hockey 10/22/2026 10:19:00 AM Tim LaDuca, Assistant Athletic Communications Director

Men's Hockey Preparing for Series on the Road With Niagara

Union College vs. Niagara University
Friday, Oct. 23, 2026 • Niagara University, N.Y. • Dwyer Arena • 7:00 PM
Live Stats • Video Stream

Union College vs. Niagara University
Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026 • Niagara University, N.Y. • Dwyer Arena • 6:00 PM
Live Stats • Video Stream

Preview
Union Game Notes • Niagara Game Notes

LAYING OUT THE ROAD MAP
The Union College men's hockey team travels to Niagara University for a pair of road games on Friday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 24 at 6 p.m., marking the team's first overnight trip of the season, four weeks into the campaign.

BATTLE TESTED
After starting the season 2-0, Union faced a highly ranked Providence team and held a 2-1 lead in the third period. Sophomore goaltender Brayden Gillespie made 29 saves, helping Union force overtime after Providence tied the game up midway through the third.

PURPLE EAGLE EATERS
Union is 11-0-2 against Niagara all-time and currently riding a six-game winning streak against the Purple Eagles. The Garnet Chargers outscored Niagara 9-2 last season in two games at home and have a +31 goal differential against the Purple Eagles in 13 matchups since 1998.

LAYING THE GROUNDWORK
Niagara is 3-3 this season, coming off a sweep of then-ranked #18/19 Bowling Green last weekend. It was Niagara's first win against a ranked opponent since Jan. 11, 2024 (RIT). The Purple Eagles' goaltender Charles-Edward Gravel was named the AHA Goaltender of the Week after posting a .973 save percentage on 37 shots on Saturday. Tomas Anderson earned an overtime win on Friday with 23 saves.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Union has never lost to Niagara, and the last time the Garnet Chargers didn't earn a win against the Purple Eagles was on Oct. 21, 2011 in a 3-3 tie. Senior Tyler Dunbar has the most points among active Union players against Niagara with three goals and an assist in two games. Sophomore Troy Pelton, who is coming off a two-assist game against Providence, recorded his first career point in his collegiate debut against Niagara last season on Oct. 18, assisting on a Carter Korpi '26 score.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
3 - Only three active Garnet Chargers have scored goals against Niagara, with senior Tyler Dunbar leading the way with three. Senior Jacob Jeannette and junior Connor Smith have also scored.
3 - Sophomore Etienne Lessard has three career assists against Niagara. He had two assists against the Purple Eagles on Oct. 18, 2025, marking his second multi-assist game in only his fifth career game.
3 - Junior Connor Smith leads Union with three goals and has scored twice on the power play this season.

AHA MOMENT
After defeating Army at the beginning of the season, Union improved its unbeaten streak to 12 straight games against Atlantic Hockey America teams. The Garnet Chargers are 71-43-13 (.610) all-time against current AHA teams and 22-5-4 (.774) in the last 11 seasons.

SERIES SUCCESS
Union enters this weekend's matchup with Niagara boasting an unbeaten 11-0-2 all-time record against the Purple Eagles. Niagara is one of two opponents in Union's 75-year hockey history that it has faced at least five times without suffering a loss, joining Saint Anselm (5-0-0). Union's best winning percentage against one team with at least five games is .933 against American International (14-1-0).

MEMORABLE GAME
Sophomore Alex Laurenza scored a game-tying goal in the first period, and first-year Nathan Free scored a go-ahead goal on Friday as the M&T Bank faithful were treated to a memorable game at the Harbor, even though Union fell 3-2 in overtime to #7/8 Providence. Union earned 47 votes in the subsequent USCHO poll, the most of any unranked team. The Friars maintained their #7 ranking in that poll but fell one spot in the USA Hockey rankings.

NATHAN FOR YOU
First-year Nathan Free scored his first collegiate goal on Friday against Providence and also assisted on sophomore Alex Laurenza's goal. Along with first-year Luke Garry's three-point game against Alaska, Union is one of two ECAC Hockey teams to boast multiple rookies with multi-point games already this season. Quinnipiac has three newcomers with mutli-point games, but the Bobcats have also played two more games.

GOTTA HAVE A CHANCE
Union has led in all three games it has played this season, marking the first time it has played with a lead in its first three games of the season since 2021-22.

GOING THROUGH DUNBAR
Senior Tyler Dunbar has two goals so far this season and leads his team with 20 shots. He has taken 16 shots over the course of the last two games, marking his most in a two-game stretch of his career. He is currently on pace for over 200 shots in the regular season. Union's most shots in a season since 2005-06 came from Shayne Gostisbehere in 2013-14 (159 in 42 games). Dunbar has attempted 27 shots overall, meaning 74% of his attempts are on target.

LEADERSHIP QUARTET
Junior Lucas Buzziol was chosen as the Union captain for the 2026-27 season. He is the first junior to be named captain under Josh Hauge's guidance as head coach in the last five seasons. Junior Riley Brueck, and seniors Tyler Dunbar and Carter Rose will serve as alternate captains.

HEAVY GOAL APPETIZER
Union scored 11 goals in its first two games of the season for the first time since 2010-11 and only the third time in its Division I history. Union scored 16 times in two games to begin the 2010-11 season and also scored 11 at the beginning of the 1993-94 campaign.

OVERCOMING PENALTIES
Union defeated Alaska Fairbanks 7-1 despite having 23 penalty minutes. It was Union's seventh win in the last five seasons when serving 20+ penalty minutes. Additionally, Union's seven goals were its most in a game with 20+ penalty minutes since a 7-3 win over Princeton on Feb. 5, 2022.

HUMMIN' POWER PLAY
The Garnet Chargers scored three power-play goals on eight opportunities through their two games this season. It is the first time Union has scored power-play goals in back-to-back games to open a season since 2019-20 and its three man-up goals over that span are the most since starting the 2013-14 season with six power-play goals in the first two games.

GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION
Sophomore Tommy Cronin and junior August Falloon had assists in their debut for Union after transferring in from Alaska Fairbanks and Minnesota, respectively. Cronin is the first Union player to have two or more points in their debut for the team since 2022 when Carter Korpi '26, Nate Hanley '26, and Chris Theodore '23 all did it in the same game against RIT on Oct. 1, 2022. Korpi had two goals, Hanley had two assists, and Theodore had three helpers in a 4-3 win over the Tigers that day.

DOWN TWO THE WIRE
The Garnet Chargers trailed Army West Point 2-0 in the first period and came back to win 4-2 last game. It was Union's fifth comeback win by at least two goals since the beginning of last season. Union also erased two-goal deficits against Colgate and Dartmouth last season before those games ended in ties, and Union also forced overtime against Clarkson last season despite trailing by two on two separate occasions throughout the game.

HAUGE HEAT CHECK
Four full years into the Josh Hauge-era in Schenectady, the Garnet Chargers have shown marked improvement each season with him at the helm. After 14 wins in 2022-23, his squad increased its single-season win total by two the next year, three the year after that, and three more from 2024-25 to 2025-26. Hauge has also coached two All-Americans in John Prokop '26 and senior Tyler Dunbar, and Prokop and Brandon Buhr '26 have both moved on from Union under Hauge's guidance to sign professional contracts.

20 AIN'T BAD
The Garnet Chargers won 22 games last season marking their most in a single year since 2016-17. It was also the program's first 20-win season since 2018-19. Union had five different winning streaks of at least three games throughout 2025-26 as well.

TROPHY SZN
There were plenty of Union Hockey alums hoisting hardware last season. Shayne Gostisbehere '15 won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes, becoming the 35th player in NHL history to win both a Stanley Cup and an NCAA Championship. Brandon Buhr '26 and John Prokop '26 were members of the AHL champion Toronto Marlies, as the team went on to win the Calder Cup.

JUNIOR BUT MIGHTY
Union returns 17 of its 18 non-seniors from a season ago, including a large junior class. Union's nine juniors are tied for the fifth-most juniors in college hockey this season. Including transfers Jack Henry and August Falloon, Union's current junior class combined for 88 points during the 2025-26 campaign.

LAND OF 10,000 LAKES AND 6 GARNET CHARGERS
Senior Jacob Jeannette, junior Connor Smith, sophomore Tommy Cronin, first-year Gavin Garry, first-year Luke Garry, junior August Falloon and head coach of the Garnet Chargers Josh Hauge all hail from the state of Minnesota. The Electric City of Schenectady is located over 1,000 miles away from the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

A GOPHER, HUSKY, AND NANOOK…
Juniors Jack Henry and August Falloon and sophomore Tommy Cronin transferred into Union ahead of this season after previous stops in the NCAA. Cronin comes from Alaska Fairbanks, Falloon played in the Big 10 with Minnesota, and Henry comes from Northeastern and Hockey East. (Bonus, unofficial note, Henry has now lived in and played in two of the hardest cities to pronounce in New York State, being raised in Skaneateles, N.Y. (Skinny-at-liss) and playing hockey here in Schenectady, N.Y.

STILL A FAMILY AFFAIR
Despite Carter Korpi '26 flying the nest and graduating last season, Union is still home to a pair of siblings on the hockey team. First-years Luke and Gavin Garry will team up in Schenectady this season on Coach Hauge's squad. Unlike the Korpi brothers, this will not be the first time the Garrys have played together. The twins were on the same juniors team just a season ago in Sioux City.

HERE'S TO 300 MORE!
Union earned its 300th ECAC Hockey victory with a win against #20/19 Princeton on Jan. 10. The Garnet Chargers originally accepted the ECAC's invitation to join its Division I men's hockey league on Jan. 28, 1991. The program replaced Army, keeping the number of teams in the league at 12. Union played its first Division I contest Nov. 1, 1991, a 9-6 loss to Merrimack. On Jan. 17, 1992, Craig Ferrero scored with 10 seconds left in overtime as Union recorded its first ECAC victory, a 2-1 triumph at Dartmouth. Luigi Villa stopped 45 shots for Union in goal. 12,047 days later, Tyler Dunbar scored the game-winner while Brayden Gillespie made 21 saves in Union's 300th conference win.

M&T BANK CENTER
The men's and women's Union hockey teams call the state-of-the-art M&T Bank Center home. The Garnet Chargers are the primary tenant of the 100,000-square-foot multi-purpose venue. The arena holds 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. M&T Bank Center is the 16th hockey venue in the NCAA to open in the last 10 years.

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Players Mentioned

#14 Brandon Buhr: F; 6' 2"; Senior

#24 Nate Hanley: F; 5' 11"; Senior

#12 Carter Korpi: F; 5' 11"; Senior

#27 Riley Brueck: F; 6' 2"; Junior

#16 Lucas Buzziol: F; 6' 0"; Junior

#21 Tyler Dunbar: D; 6' 1"; Senior

#29 Brayden Gillespie: G; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#22 Jacob Jeannette: F; 6' 1"; Senior

#9 Alex Laurenza: F; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#28 Etienne Lessard: D; 5' 9"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#14 Brandon Buhr
: 6' 2"; Senior
: F

#24 Nate Hanley
: 5' 11"; Senior
: F

#12 Carter Korpi
: 5' 11"; Senior
: F

#27 Riley Brueck
: 6' 2"; Junior
: F

#16 Lucas Buzziol
: 6' 0"; Junior
: F

#21 Tyler Dunbar
: 6' 1"; Senior
: D

#29 Brayden Gillespie
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: G

#22 Jacob Jeannette
: 6' 1"; Senior
: F

#9 Alex Laurenza
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: F

#28 Etienne Lessard
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: D