Union College vs. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers

Friday, Oct. 30, 2026 • Troy, N.Y. • Houston Field House • 7:00 PM

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Union College vs. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers.

Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026 • Schenectady, N.Y. • M&T Bank Center • 5:00 PM

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Union Game Notes • RPI Game Notes

RIVALRY WEEK
The Union College men's hockey team begins ECAC Hockey play with rivalry games against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. on Friday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. and then at home at M&T Bank Center on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 5 p.m. The two sides split the conference games last season, both winning on the road, then Union won the overall season series by defeating RPI in overtime in the Mayor's Cup for a fifth straight time. 

THE SKATES
After sweeping RPI in conference action in 2024-25 to reclaim the Capital Skates Trophy, Union kept the hardware in the Electric City by splitting the league games with RPI in 2025-26. Union had to go on the road to do it after falling 5-2 at home in the first matchup of 2025-26 but responded with a shutout of the Engineers in Houston Field House the next night. Last year's 3-0 win for Union was its ninth shutout of RPI. Union has shut out RPI in Troy three times, and last year marked the first time RPI was blanked by Union at home since 2009. 

DÉJÀ VU AHA ROAD BUMPS
Union and RPI come into the weekend with just two losses each and winning records, but both sides are also coming off road splits with AHA teams. Union scored six power-play goals in two games against Niagara but lost to the Purple Eagles for the first time in program history on Saturday. RPI lost to RIT for the first time in program history on Saturday after a win on Friday. Both teams trailed by 4-2 in their losses and scored third-period power-play goals to tie the game 4-4 but lost 5-4. 

FREEZING…HOT?
First-year Nathan Free is on a four-game point streak with two goals and four assists since Oct. 10. He is tied for the league lead in points by a rookie with six and was named the conference's rookie of the week on Monday. He scored his first collegiate power-play goal and also had a pair of assists with Union on the man advantage against Niagara. 

INSIDE THE SERIES
Union is outscoring RPI 52-31 since Josh Hauge took over as head coach of the Garnet Chargers and is 9-3 over that span. Hauge's teams have shut out the Engineers three times since the start of the 2022-23 campaign. RPI's five goals against Union on Oct. 31 last season were its most since Nov. 3, 2023. Union and RPI are playing on Halloween for only the fourth time, and RPI is 3-0 all-time on Oct. 31 against Union. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW
.800 - Union is 8-2 in its last 10 matchups against RPI
.429 - After scoring six times on the power play against Niagara, Union owns the best power-play percentage in the country at 42.9 percent
.968 - Sophomore Brayden Gillespie had a .968 save percentage against Niagara on Friday in a 4-1 win. It was his second game of the season with a save percentage of .960 or better and the eighth of his career

MORE THAN HUMMIN'
Union has scored nine power-play goals through its first five games of the season for the first time since 2013-14. Since 2005-06 when data is available, Union has had nine or more power-play goals through its first five games three times, including 10 in 2010-11. Five players have scored a power-play goal for the Garnet Chargers this season with juniors Connor Smith and Riley Brueck leading the way with three each. Senior Tyler Dunbar has taken eight shots on goal during the power play this season. 

HUGE IMPACT FROM THE HUGO, MINN. KID
Junior Connor Smith leads the team with four goals and is tied with his classmate Riley Brueck for the team-lead in power-play goals (3). Smith's 0.80 goals per game are tied for the 13th-most in the country. He is tied for the most power-play goals in the country with seven other players. 

WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE
Junior Riley Brueck entered the Niagara series with three points and found the back of the net for the first time this season with three goals against the Purple Eagles. He also had an assist for a four-point weekend, marking his most points or goals in back-to-back games in his career. All three of his goals came on the power play. He had one career power-play goal through his first 72 games. Brueck is tied with six other players nationwide for the 15th-most points per game this season (1.40). 

GOING THROUGH DUNBAR
Senior Tyler Dunbar remained on track for 200+ shots this season, getting 10 more on frame in two games against Niagara. He has 30 shots on goal this season which are the fifth-most in the country. Dunbar registered his third assist of the year during Saturday's OT loss to the Purple Eagles as well. His forecheck freed the puck up for sophomore Tommy Cronin, who fed first-year Luke Garry for his first collegiate power-play goal. 

FELICIO FEELING GOOD
Junior Will Felicio has five assists in his last four games and scored the game-winner five games ago against Army West Point to start the season. Felicio did not accumulate his fifth assists last season until Dec. 6 against Quinnipiac, but that win against the Bobcats opened a stretch of eight points in 12 games for the defender. 

HENRY & HART GET IN THE WAY
Senior DJ Hart and junior Jack Henry lead their team with nine blocks each. Henry has blocked at least two shots in all but one game so far, and Hart has blocked a shot in every game he's played. Dating back to last season. Hart has registered at least one blocked shot in 15 of his last 16 contests. 

ALMOST ANOTHER ALL-TIMER
Union trailed Niagara by three on Saturday in its overtime loss, and had Union been able to complete the comeback, it would have been the team's third three-goal comeback since the start of last season (5-3 vs Mercyhurst; 7-6 vs Colgate). 

GETTING IN A GROOVE AS THE GAME GETS GOING
Union has scored 18 of its 21 goals (85.7%) this season in the second and third periods. Union is also averaging 2.2 goals per game in the third period. Last season, Union scored 104 of its 140 goals (74.3%) in the final two periods and averaged 1.54 goals in the third period of games. 

DEFENDING OUR NEW TURF
Since Union moved into M&T Bank Center last season, only five teams have managed to beat Union in its new barn. RPI was the first team to do it, and Providence became the first non-conference team to defeat Union at home when the Friars defeated Union in overtime on Oct. 16. Union is 14-5-2 at M&T Bank Center overall. 

STAR-SPENGLERED DUNBAR
Senior Tyler Dunbar was one of the first six players named to the 2026 U.S. Collegiate Selects roster for the upcoming Spengler Cup. As 2025-26 AHCA All-American, Dunbar earned a spot on the roster that will play in Switzerland this upcoming holiday season. 

BOUNCE BACK
Since the start of the 2023-24 season, Union is 22-16-4 following a loss. It has been especially hard to beat the Garnet Chargers twice in a row the last few seasons, with only three back-to-back losses since the start of 2025-26.

OUTSHOOTING THE OPPOSITION
Army West Point is the only team to have outshot Union this season, getting seven more shots off than the Garnet Chargers. Union's shot differential for the season is +31, and Union has outshot its opponents in 10 of its last 11 games, including the final six games of 2025-26. Union had the shots-on-goal advantage in 30 of its 37 games last year.

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. Players wearing letters for Union have combined for 13 points this season so far.

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.  

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.