| Union College vs. #5 Quinnipiac University |
| Friday, Oct. 23, 2026 • Schenectady, N.Y. • M&T Bank Center • 6:00 PM |
| Live Stats • Video Stream |
| Union College vs. #6/7 Princeton University |
| Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026 • Schenectady, N.Y. • M&T Bank Center • 3:00 PM |
| Live Stats • Video Stream |
HOME SWEET HOME:
The Union College women's hockey team wraps up its six-game road stretch going 5-1 before returning home to open ECAC Hockey play. The Garnet Chargers will host No. 4/5 Quinnipiac University on Friday night and No. 7 Princeton University on Saturday afternoon at M&T Bank Center for their highly anticipated home opener.
LAST WEEKEND:
Union College wrapped up its six-game road stretch with a weekend split at Delaware Junior Jill Willis scored Union's lone goal on the power play, in Friday night's 2-1 loss, the Garnet Chargers bounced back with a 5-2 win Saturday, led by junior Karianne Engelbert's two goals. First-years Ella Skotty, Madi Gaines and Evie Hanson made key contributions, with Skotty scoring her first collegiate goal, while senior Maddie Leaney added a late third-period tally.
ABOUT THE BOBCATS: No. 4/5 Quinnipiac split its weekend series with No. 4 Northeastern, earning a 2-2 shootout victory Friday before falling 5-1 Saturday. Makayla Watson and Kahlen Lamarche, who led the nation with 42 goals and 64 points last season, scored Friday, while Aynsley D'Ottavio netted the deciding shootout goal. Goaltender Casey Clausen made 21 saves, and Avery Bairos scored Quinnipiac's lone goal Saturday, her sixth of the season.
ABOUT THE TIGERS:
No. 7 Princeton swept No. 8 UConn over the weekend, opening with a 2-1 victory before earning a thrilling 6-5 overtime comeback win. Goaltender Uma Corniea made 36 saves in Friday's opener, while first-year Chloe Brinson tallied her first collegiate goal and three points in Saturday's win, including the overtime power-play winner. Rookie Caroline Averill added two goals, and Mackenzie Alexander three assists as Princeton came from a 5-2 third period.
INSIDE THE SERIES:
• Quinnipiac holds a 42-1-4 all-time record against the Garnet Chargers, including 10 consecutive wins in the series. At home, Union owns a 1-16-3 record against the Bobcats. The Garnet Chargers' lone victory came on Nov. 16, 2019, when Union earned a 3-1 win at Messa Rink.
• Princeton holds a 40-2-2 all-time record against the Garnet Chargers, with 20 victories coming at Baker Rink and the other 20 at Messa Rink. Both of Union's wins over the Tigers came at home, with the Garnet Chargers earning a 2-1 victory in 2013 and a 4-1 win in 2022.
NUMBERS TO KNOW:
• 18 Union's first-year class has combined for 18 points through the team's first six games.
• 86 Shots on goal last weekend against Delaware
• 9 Junior Jill Wills started the season with nine points over spreading across six games
RECORD BREAKING START:
Union's 4-2 win over Merrimack on October 3rd moved Union to 4-0-0 for the first time in program history and moved the team four games above .500 for the first time ever. The four game stretch also matched the longest winning streak of the program's Division 1 era first achieved in 2022 and tied the 2003-04 season.
LEANEY MAKES HISTORY:
Senior Maddie Leaney opened the season by making program history, recording a goal and an assist in Union's 4-3 overtime comeback win over Franklin Pierce on Friday September 25th. Leaney has now moved to 76 career points, becoming the all-time program leader and surpassing Stephanie Bourque '26.
CATCHING UP:
Junior Karianne Engelbert is quickly climbing Union's record books and sits just behind teammate Maddie Leaney with 61 career points on 35 goals and 26 assists. Engelbert already owns the program record for career power-play goals with 16 and passing Maddie Leaney's program record with ten career game-winning goals . She entered her junior season ranked fifth in career goals, seventh in points and 10th in assists on Union's Division I ledger, continuing her push toward the top of the record book.
MAKING AN IMPACT: Freshman Lily Oster earned ECAC Rookie of the Week honors for the week ending September 28th, after recording two assists in Union's 4-3 overtime comeback win over Franklin Pierce on September 25th. The Calgary, Alberta, native picked up her second assist on the game tying power-play goal, helping spark the Garnet Chargers' comeback.
LEADING THE CHARGE:
On Wednesday, October 14, head coach Tony Maci announced Union's leadership group for the 2026-27 season. Senior Megan Ognibene returns for her third season in a leadership role, while senior Maddie Leaney, juniors Jill Willis, Klara Kenttälä and Karianne Engelbert, and sophomore Kaitlyn Toner, all will serve as alternate captains, wearing the "A" for the Garnet Chargers this season.
FRESHMEN ON FIRE:
Union's first-year class has made an immediate impact, combining for 18 points through the team's first six games. Leading the way is Lilly Oster, who has recorded seven points, including two multi-point performances. Madi Gaines follows with four points, three of which are goals. Ella Skotty and Evie Handson have each scored their first collegiate goals, while Lily Leckelt has added two assists. Handson has also contributed three assists, including two connections with fellow first-year Oster, highlighting the chemistry developing among the Garnet Chargers' newest class.
GOING STREAKING:
Senior Maddie Leaney enters her senior season having played in every game over her first three years at Union, riding a streak of 114 straight games played. Junior Jill Willis is the only other current upperclassman to go at least two years without missing a game, having played all 79 contests over her first two seasons in Schenectady.
TAKING (AND KEEPING) OFFENSE:
Union returns its top-seven goal scorers from last season and 86 percent (68-of-79 goals) of its offensive scoring production from 2025-26.
WILLS STAYS HOT:
Jill Willis, a junior from Glens Falls, has made an immediate impact this season after a strong offseason. Through six games, she has recorded nine points with five goals and four assists, finding the scoresheet in every game played so far. She has also put together two multi-goal performances as she looks to build on her hot start heading into this weekend's series.
WELCOME TO SCHENECTADY:
Head coach Tony Maci welcomes seven newcomers to the program this season, six first-years and one sophomore transfer. Among the rookies, four hail from Alberta and two are Illinois natives. Sophomore Madison Macaulay is the lone transfer into the program this year, as the Queensbury native returns to the Empire State after one year at Saint Anselm College. The group features two pairs of former teammates, as Madi Gaines and Ella Skotty both skated for the Chicago Mission while Evie Hanson and Lily Leckelt both played for the Edmonton Jr. Oilers. The septet comprise
three forwards, three blueliners and one goalie.
LOOKING TO SURPRISE:
Union will look to surprise the ECAC Hockey landscape under the leadership of third-year head coach Tony Maci, as the Garnet Chargers were picked to finish in a tie for 10th place in the ECAC Hockey Preseason Poll out of 12 teams. The team received 27 points, tied with Dartmouth College and ahead of only Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (11 points). Reigning conference tournament champion Quinnipiac University was picked to repeat, earning 112 points and six first-place votes.
FEELING RIGHT AT HOME:
In their first season in the brand-new M&T Bank Center, the Garnet Chargers won a program-record nine games on home ice in 2025-26, three more wins than the previous record of six achieved on three previous occasions. Included in those nine wins was a 4-3 (OT) victory over #4/5 Cornell on November 21, which was the program's first-ever win over a top-five team. Maddie Leaney scored the first goal in M&T Bank Center history on September 26, 2025 in Union's 3-0 victory over Franklin Pierce. COACHES CORNER: Head coach Tony Maci is back for his third season at the helm of the program along with assistant coaches Shawn Skelly and Courtney Hall. Hall is moving into a full-time position with the program for the first time in 2026-27 after two years as the team's hockey operations coordinator. Hall's role will be filled by Allie Kelley, who is in her first season with the Garnet Chargers following a decorated collegiate career at Quinnipiac University (2019-
21), Saint Anselm College (2021-23) and Syracuse University (2023-25). Kelley finished her career with the most saves in NCAA men's or women's hockey history, accumulating 4,594 stops over her time on the ice, including the second-most saves in a season in NCAA women's hockey history when she turned aside 1,241 shots in her final graduate season at Syracuse in 2024-25.
