ON THE ROAD: Women's Hockey travels to #8 (first-seeded) Yale University for a best-of-three quarterfinal playoff series against the Bulldogs. Puck drop is set for 3:00 p.m. on Friday, followed by another 3:00 p.m. start on Saturday. A third game, if necessary, will be played on Sunday.
LAST WEEKEND: Union upset #12 Clarkson in the opening round of the ECAC Hockey playoffs, earning a 2–1 victory.
Karianne Engelbert opened the scoring on the power play, netting her eighth power-play goal of the season to set the single-season record.
Megan Duplantie added the game-winning goal later in the first period, and Emma Rhéaume made 39 saves in net to backstop Union to the win.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS: Yale concluded the regular season as co-champions of the ECAC regular-season title, earning a first-round bye in the conference playoff tournament. The Bulldogs secured the title and bye with a 2–0 win over #9 Princeton and picked up an extra point in a 4–3 overtime loss to #7 Quinnipiac. On Friday against the Tigers, Jordan Ray and Mariya Raug scored for Yale, while goaltender Samson Frey made 23 saves to record her fifth shutout of the season. In Saturday's overtime loss, Gracie Gilkyson, Stephanie Stainton, and Ray each tallied a goal, and Frey added 27 saves in net.
CONQUERED CLARKSON
Head Coach
Tony Maci returned to Clarkson to face off against his former team as Union's head coach on Friday. The 2–1 victory marked Maci's first postseason meeting and win against Clarkson and Union's first playoff meeting and second ever victory against the Golden Knights in program history.
The win also represented Union's second opening round playoff victory in program history. The first playoff win ever came last season on Saturday, Feb. 22, when Union upset Brown University, 2–0, at Meehan Auditorium. Sophomore
Karianne Engelbert netted both goals in the historic win. Senior captain
Stephanie Bourque also tallied an assist on Engelbert's first goal.
Prior to being named Union's head coach ahead of the 2024-25 season, Maci spent eight years at Clarkson University, serving as the top assistant on Matt Desrosiers' staff before earning a promotion to Associate Head Coach. During his time with the Golden Knights, he helped lead the team to back-to-back Division I national championships, and seven NCAA Tournament and Frozen Four appearances. As the program's recruiting coordinator and skills coach, Maci recruited and developed two Patty Kazmaier Award winners, nine AHCA All-Americans, and 38 All-ECAC Hockey honorees.
ENGELBERT'S EXCELLENCE
With the game-opening goal Friday night against #12 Clarkson, sophomore
Karianne Engelbert broke the program's single-season power-play goals record, netting her eighth power-play goal of the year. The record had previously stood for 12 years and was held by Stefanie Thomson '14. Engelbert also added an assist on first-year
Megan Duplantie's game-winning goal.
The weekend prior, Engelbert set the program's single-season points record with a goal against Dartmouth on Friday, Feb. 13. Her 28th point of the season surpassed the previous mark of 27 set by Riley Walsh during the 2023–24 campaign. Engelbert had tied Walsh's record the week prior at Colgate on Friday, Feb. 6, netting a goal.
Through 32 games this season, Engelbert has tallied 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points.
As a first-year last year, Engelbert set the program's rookie single-season points record, finishing with 24 points after scoring two goals against Brown on Feb. 22, 2025, at Meehan Auditorium in Union's first-ever playoff win. Her 24 points surpassed Walsh's record of 23 points set 2022-23 season. Engelbert's 15 goals last season also tied the rookie single season record, previously also set by Walsh. Engelbert's standout rookie campaign earned her ECAC All-Rookie Team honors.
Through 69 career games, Engelbert has totaled 30 goals and 24 assists for 54 points.
REMARKABLE RHÉAUME
First-year goaltender Emma Rhéaume earned her second consecutive ECAC honor, having been named ECAC Hockey Mac Goaltending Goaltender of the Week on Tuesday.
Rhéaume posted 39 saves and a .975 save percentage to backstop Union to a 2–1 upset victory over #12 (fifth-seeded) Clarkson on Friday night in the opening round of the ECAC Playoffs, and to also earn her first career playoff win.
Rhéaume previously earned ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week honors on Tuesday, Jan. 17 after tallying 43 saves against Dartmouth on Feb. 13 to preserve a 1–0 shutout victory over the Big Green. The shutout marked the third of her season, tying the program's single-season record and ranking second all-time.
DUPLANTIE'S DOMINANCE
In Friday's upset victory over Clarkson, first-year forward
Megan Duplantie scored the game-winning goal and assisted on
Karianne Engelbert's opening tally. With the two points, Duplantie tied the program's rookie points record (24), originally set by Engelbert last season.
Among Duplantie's standout performances was a two-goal effort in Union's 7–5 semifinal win over Saint Anselm on Friday, Oct. 17. She also scored twice against Merrimack College on Saturday, Oct. 4, including the game-tying goal with 50 seconds remaining to force overtime.
Duplantie earned ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week honors on Tuesday, Oct. 7, and Tuesday, Oct. 21, following her performances against Saint Anselm and Merrimack.
She has recorded six additional multi-point games, highlighted by a three-point performance (one goal, two assists) in a 7–0 win over Delaware on Friday, Nov. 28. Her other multi-point efforts came against #4 Cornell (two assists) in a 4-3 overtime upset on Nov 21, #10 Yale (two assists) on January 2, and Brown (two assists) on January 30.
Through 34 career games, Duplantie has tallied seven goals and 17 assists for 24 points. Her 17 assists rank first among rookies in the single-season Division I era and third on the program's single-season list.
BRINGING HOME BRONZE
Junior goaltender
Monja Wagner was named to Switzerland's Olympic Team announced by the Swiss Hockey Federation on Wednesday, Jan. 7, and competed in the Olympics from Feb. 5 -22.
With a 2-1 overtime win against Sweden on Thursday, Feb. 19, Switzerland secured their first medal in 12 years, winning bronze.
The Games marked Wagner's inaugural appearance on Switzerland's Olympic team, and was the first Union women's hockey player named to an Olympic roster.
She was one of only four NCAA women's hockey players representing Switzerland, alongside Alessa Baechler of Northeastern University, Naemi Herzig of the College of the Holy Cross, and Laura Zimmerman of St. Cloud State University.
Wagner, Baechler, Herzig, and Zimmerman joined a Swiss roster that also featured notable figures including Alina Muller of the PWHL's Boston Fleet - who scored the game winning overtime goal and previously played for Northeastern University. The roster also featured Nicole Vallario of the PWHL's New York Sirens, who previously played for the University of St. Thomas. Switzerland participated in Group A alongside the United States, Canada, Finland, and Czechia.
Wagner previously represented Switzerland five times, including earning a spot on the National Team for the second consecutive season. She participated with Switzerland's National Team at the 2025 Lidl Hockey Games in Ängelholm, Sweden (November 5–8), and the Finnish Tournament in Lahti and Hämeenlinna, Finland (December 10–12), as part of the 2025 Women's Euro Hockey Tour.
Wagner made her international debut in net at the Lidl Hockey Games, earning her first international win in a 2-1 shootout victory over Sweden and Player of the Game honors on November 7.
Wagner secured a spot on the National Team in the 2024–25 season and represented Switzerland at the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championships in České Budejovice, Czechia. She also competed internationally with Switzerland's Under-18 Team at the 2019 and 2020 IIHF U18 Women's World Championships in Obihiro, Japan, and Bratislava, Slovakia, respectively.
GOING STREAKING
Senior captain
Stephanie Bourque (140 games) and junior
Maddie Leaney (106) are riding multi-year ironwoman streaks, having appeared in every game of their three- and two-year careers, respectively. Bourque will break the program's ironwoman streak record on Friday against Yale, surpassing
Emma Hebert '25, who set the mark last season by finishing her career with 140 games played. The previous record of 136 games had stood for five years and was last matched by Cheyenne Harris '20 and Jordi Naidrich '20. Sophomore
Jill Willis has also appeared in every game since arriving at Union, with 71 under her belt.
BRICKWALL BRIGADE
Union enters the season with a four goaltenders consisting of senior
Emily Evans, junior
Monja Wagner, sophomore
Sara Da Silva, and first-year Emma Rhéaume.
Wagner has started 17 games for Union this season, posting a 5–9–3 record with a 2.96 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. Her wins came against Franklin Pierce (Sept. 26), Merrimack (Oct. 3), Saint Anselm (Oct. 17), #4 Cornell (Nov. 21), and Rensselaer (Jan. 24). Wagner also earned ties against Merrimack (Oct. 4), New Hampshire (Oct. 10), and Dartmouth (Dec. 6). Her losses came against #1 Wisconsin (Oct. 18), #9 Clarkson (Oct. 24), #7 Quinnipiac (Oct. 31), #13/12 Colgate (Nov. 22), Harvard (Dec. 5), #15/14 Yale (Jan. 2), #15 Brown (Jan. 3), #9 Princeton (Jan. 9), and St. Lawrence (Jan. 16).
Among Wagner's highlights was backstopping Union to an overtime upset victory against #4 Cornell on Nov. 21, stopping 43 shots. The performance came shortly after her return from the Lidl Hockey Games with Switzerland's National Team as part of the 2025 Euro Hockey Tour, held Nov. 5–8.
Wagner also recorded her second shutout of the season on Dec. 6, making 35 saves against Dartmouth. The shutout marked the third of her career and moved her into second place on Union's all-time shutout list. It also represented the fifth shutout of the season by Union goaltenders. Wagner and first-year Emma Rhéaume combined for consecutive shutouts against Franklin Pierce on Sept. 26 and 27, becoming the first goaltending duo in program history to accomplish the feat. Later in the season, senior
Emily Evans and Rhéaume recorded back-to-back shutouts against Delaware on Nov. 28 and 29, marking the second time Union goaltenders achieved consecutive shutouts this season.
Rhéaume has appeared in 14 games this season, posting a 5–9–0 record with a 2.67 GAA and a .924 save percentage. She earned her first collegiate win and shutout in a 2–0 victory over Franklin Pierce on Sept. 27. Rhéaume picked up her second career win against cross-town rival Rensselaer on Nov. 1, stopping 22 shots in a 7–4 victory, and recorded her second shutout of the season and of her career against Delaware on Nov. 29. She extended her shutout streak to three games, making 43 saves to earn her third shutout on Feb. 13 in a 1-0 win over Dartmouth. Her three shutouts this season are tied for first in the single-season record book and rank second all-time. Last weekend, she earned her first playoff win, tallying 39 saves to upset #12 (fifth-seeded) Clarkson in the opening round of playoffs.
Her losses came against New Hampshire (Oct. 11), Saint Lawrence (Oct. 25), Princeton (Nov. 1), and Rensselaer (Nov. 7), #7 Quinnipiac (Jan. 10), #11/12 Clarkson (Jan. 17), Yale (Jan. 31), Colgate (Feb. 6) and #12 Cornell (Feb. 7). Rhéaume also appeared in relief against #7 Quinnipiac on Oct. 31 and Harvard on Dec. 6, making 18 and five saves, respectively.
Evans has made four appearances in net this season. She made her season debut in relief against #7 Quinnipiac on Oct. 31, playing 26 minutes and making 10 saves on 12 shots. She earned her first career start on Nov. 28 against Delaware, recording her first collegiate win and shutout. Evans made her second start of the season against Brown on Jan. 30, tallying 22 saves in the loss. She then made her third start of the season against Harvard on Feb. 14, recording 25 saves in a narrow 2–1 loss. Through four games played this season, Evans has posted a .866 SV% and a 3.27 GAA.
OH CAPTAINS, OUR CAPTAINS
Senior blueliner
Stephanie Bourque will serve as team captain for the Garnet
Chargers while junior defenseman
Megan Ognibene returns as an alternate captain for a second consecutive season. Senior forward
Mallory Mauracher joins the leadership grou as a first-time alternate captain.
COACHES CORNER
Tony Maci was named the fifth head coach in the history of Union women's hockey on July 31, 2024, and begins his second season behind the bench for the Garnet Chargers in 2025-26. Maci and his staff made an immediate impact in his first season in Schenectady, leading the Garnet Chargers to the most wins in program history and earning the team's first-ever postseason victory. Union finished the season with a 13-23-1 record and won a program-record eight conference games as part of a very challenging ECAC Hockey slate, including the team's first-ever win over a top-10 opponent with a 3-2 win at #9 Cornell University in November. Playing a total of 19 games against nationally ranked foes, eight losses came by a single goal and Union was less than 70 seconds away from taking eventual conference champion and national semifinalist #3 Cornell to a third game in their ECAC Hockey Quarterfinal series. The squad also set new program records for most goals scored and fewest goals allowed in a season in the school's Division I era, while also earning the program's first ECAC postseason honor since 2008 with first-year
Karianne Engelbert's All-Rookie Team nod.
HERE TO ASSIST
Joining Maci are second-year coaches
Shawn Skelly,
Tina Shortridge, and
Courtney Hall. Skelly, Shortridge, and Hall were all a part of a staff that made an immediate impact in their first season in Schenectady, leading the Garnet Chargers to the most wins in program history and earning the team's first-ever postseason victory. Union finished the season with a 13-23-1 record and won a program-record eight conference games as part of a very challenging ECAC Hockey slate, including the team's first-ever win over a top-10 opponent with a 3-2 win at #9 Cornell University in November. The squad also set new program records for most goals scored and fewest goals allowed in a season in the school's Division I era, while also earning the program's first ECAC postseason honorsince 2008 with first-year
Karianne Engelbert's All-Rookie Team nod.
