Jay Ruzicka

Women's Ice Hockey 10/29/2026 11:15:00 AM Skylar Evans, Athletic Communications Assistant

Women’s Hockey Hits the Road for Pair of Ranked Matchups

Union College vs. Cornell University
Friday, Oct. 30, 2026 • Ithaca, N.Y. • James Lynah Rink • 3:00 PM
Live Stats • Video Stream

Union College vs. Colgate University.
Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026 • Hamilton, N.Y. • Class of 1965 Arena • 3:00 PM
Live Stats • Video Stream

Preview
Union Game Notes • Cornell Game Notes • Colgate Game Notes

ON THE ROAD AGAIN:
The Union College women's hockey team hits the road this weekend for its first pair of ECAC Hockey road games of the season. The Garnet Chargers enter the weekend with an impressive 5-1-0 record away and look to carry that momentum into conference play. With two important ranked matchups ahead,

LAST WEEKEND:
The Union College women's hockey team opened ECAC Hockey play with a pair of hard-fought battles against nationally ranked opponents, falling 4-2 to No. 5 Quinnipiac on Friday before dropping a 2-1 overtime decision to No. 7/6 Princeton on Saturday. Junior Karianne Engelbert and first-year Madi Gaines scored against the Bobcats, while sophomore Megan Duplantie netted Union's lone goal against the Tigers on the power play. Senior goaltender Monja Wagner recorded 32 saves against Princeton to help push the game into overtime

ABOUT THE BIG RED:
No. 13 Cornell split its weekend series against No. 15 Boston College, falling 2-0 on Friday before bouncing back with a 5-3 victory on Saturday. The Big Red saw five different players score, including first-year Rachel Bishop, who recorded her first collegiate goal. Delaney Fleming netted the game-winner early in the third period, followed by Rose Dwyer's power-play goal just 59 seconds later to extend Cornell's lead.

ABOUT THE RAIDERS:
No. 1 Ohio State handed No. 8 Colgate its first losses of the season, sweeping the weekend series with a 3-0 win on Friday and an 8-0 victory on Saturday. Junior goaltender Brooke Davis made 37 saves in Friday's matchup to keep the Raiders within reach, while Colgate's offense struggled to break through against the Buckeyes. Ohio State took control in Saturday's contest with a six-goal second period, securing the series sweep.

INSIDE THE SERIES:
•Cornell holds a 40-3-3 all-time record against the Garnet Chargers, but Union upset the ranked Big Red last season in the first meeting at M&T Bank Center on Nov. 21. Maddie Leaney recorded a hat trick to lead the Chargers to an overtime win, while goaltender Monja Wagner made 43 saves.
•Colgate holds a 41-0-3 all-time record against the Garnet Chargers and is riding a 19-game winning streak. Union's last tie against the Raiders came on Jan. 31, 2015, in Hamilton, N.Y.

NUMBERS TO KNOW:
• 20 points by Union's first-year class through the team's nine games.
• 4 Upset over a ranked Cornell last season, earning a 4-3 overtime victory at M&T Bank Center.
• 23 Number of points the line of Karianne Engelbert, Maddie Leaney, Jill Willis, Lily Leckelt, and Madison Macaulay have combined

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.

LOOKING TO UPSET:
The Chargers went 1-1 last season against a ranked Big Red. Winning it at home for only the second time in history. Also marking the first top-five win in program history. Senior Maddie Leaney recorded a hat trick, including the overtime game-winner. Junior Karianne Engelbert added a goal and three assists, while goaltender Monja Wagner made 43 saves.

LINE CONNECTION:
The line of Karianne Engelbert, Maddie Leaney, Jill Willis, Lily Leckelt, and Madison Macaulay continues to build chemistry for the Garnet Chargers, recording at least one point in every game through nine contests. The line has combined for 12 goals, 11 assists, and 23 points, with Jill Willis leading the way with five goals and five assists for 10 points.

FRESHMEN ON FIRE:
Union's first-year class has made an immediate impact, combining for 20 points through the team's first nine games. Leading the way is Lilly Oster, who has recorded seven points, including two multi-point performances. Madi Gaines follows with five points, four 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 four assists, including two connections with fellow first-year Oster, highlighting the chemistry developing among the
Garnet Chargers' newest class.

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 77 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 36 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.

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 116 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 81 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.

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 comprises 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.

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Players Mentioned

#26 Stephanie Bourque: D; 5' 4"; Senior

#24 Megan Duplantie: F; 5' 6"; Sophomore

#17 Karianne Engelbert: F; 5' 10"; Junior

#19 Maddie Leaney: F; 5' 4"; Senior

#29 Monja Wagner: G; 5' 5"; Senior

#91 Jill Willis: F; 5' 2"; Junior

#12 Lily Oster: D; 5' 6"; First Year

#61 Ella Skotty: F; 5' 7"; First Year

#3 Evie Hanson: F; 5' 10"; First Year

#8 Madison Macaulay: D; 5' 4"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#26 Stephanie Bourque
: 5' 4"; Senior
: D

#24 Megan Duplantie
: 5' 6"; Sophomore
: F

#17 Karianne Engelbert
: 5' 10"; Junior
: F

#19 Maddie Leaney
: 5' 4"; Senior
: F

#29 Monja Wagner
: 5' 5"; Senior
: G

#91 Jill Willis
: 5' 2"; Junior
: F

#12 Lily Oster
: 5' 6"; First Year
: D

#61 Ella Skotty
: 5' 7"; First Year
: F

#3 Evie Hanson
: 5' 10"; First Year
: F

#8 Madison Macaulay
: 5' 4"; Sophomore
: D