NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Four first-period goals proved to be the difference in the Union Women's Hockey team's 6–1 game two quarterfinal loss to #8 (first-seeded) Yale on Saturday afternoon at Ingalls Rink, closing out the Garnet Chargers' season.
First-year
Reanna Loberg scored the lone goal for Union on the power play in the third period. Sophomores
Hayley Kelleher and
Jill Willis picked up assists on the goal.
Yale scored four times in a 10-minute span in the opening period to take control early. The Bulldogs opened the scoring four minutes in when Cami Bell slid the puck across the crease to Stephanie Stainton, who finished into the bottom-right corner for a 1–0 lead. Four and a half minutes later, Kennedy Walker doubled the advantage with a shot from the top of the slot into the lower-left corner.
Yale struck twice more in similar fashion to the first goal. Yale took a penalty just six seconds following Union's, and the teams skated four-on-four. The Bulldogs capitalized on the open ice as Gracie Gilkyson sent a pass across the crease to Molly Doyle for another goal. Minutes later, Gilkyson set up Carina DiAntonio to tuck the puck inside the left post, extending the lead to four.
Following the fourth goal, Union made a goaltender change, as junior
Monja Wagner replaced first-year
Emma Rhéaume in net.
The second period featured back-and-forth action, with both teams recording eight shots on goal. The Bulldogs capitalized on a late power play when Ray set up Boyle in the slot, and she fired home her second goal of the game to make it 5–0.
Loberg eliminated the shutout for Yale's goaltender Anna Phillips with 1:21 remaining in regulation, finishing a cross-crease pass from Kelleher on the power play.
Union pulled Wagner with 2:34 left for the extra attacker, but Ray sealed the 6–1 victory with an empty-net goal.
Senior goaltender
Emily Evans entered to close out the final minute. Rhéaume finished with five saves, Wagner recorded 21, and Evans did not face a shot.
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Union continued to make strides in the 2025-26 season, accomplishing several remarkable feats.
To open the season, goaltenders Wagner and 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. It also marked the first time a first-year goaltender earned a shutout in their career debut. Later in the season, 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. Wagner and Rhéaume each added shutouts against Dartmouth on Dec. 6 and Feb. 13, their third of their careers, moving them to second on the all-time program list and tying them for the single-season record.
Bourque broke the all-time points and assists record among defensemen, recording her 38th assist and 52nd career point on Oct. 24 with an assist on sophomore
Klara Kenttälä's goal against #10 Clarkson. The following day, she became the all-time assists leader with her 39th career assist against #15 St. Lawrence on Oct. 25.
On Nov. 7–8, junior
Maddie Leaney tallied four points (3 goals, 1 assist) against cross-town rival Rensselaer. She continued her hot streak on Nov. 21, when Union upset #4 Cornell, 4-3, in overtime. It marked the second consecutive season that Union defeated Cornell in the first meeting of the season. Leaney scored a hat trick, including the game-winning goal—the second of her career—making her the first player in program history to record multiple hat tricks. The win also marked the program's first victory over a top-five opponent.
Leaney capped off November with a goal against #13/12 Colgate on Nov. 22 and two goals, including the game-winner, against Delaware on Nov. 28. The game-winner was the eighth of her career, breaking the all-time record. Her nine goals in November were the most by any Union player in a single month during the program's Division I era. Due to her standout performances, Leaney earned ECAC Hockey Forward of the Week honors, becoming the first player in program history to win the award twice in a single season and only the second to do so in a career. She finished the season with 16 goals, tying the program's single-season goals record, including 10 goals against conference opponents.
On Jan. 24, Union captured its second straight Mayors' Cup with a 4-3 victory over Rensselaer. Sophomore
Karianne Engelbert broke the all-time power-play goal record with her 11th career power-play goal, while Bourque set the single-season assists record with her 19th assist of the season on Engelbert's goal.
With a goal against Dartmouth on Feb. 13, Engelbert broke the single season points record, registering her 28th point of the season. Bourque also broke the all-time points record, a mark that had stood for 19 years, recording her 69th career point with an assist on Engelbert's power-play goal.
In the opening round of the ECAC playoffs, Union upset #12 Clarkson, 2-1, marking only the second opening-round playoff win in program history—the first coming the previous season against Brown. Engelbert scored a power-play goal, her eighth of the season, breaking the single-season record.
In the first quarterfinal game against #8 Yale on Friday night, freshman
Megan Duplantie scored a goal to break the rookie single-season points record, tallying her 25th point of the season. Bourque also extended her ironwoman streak, playing in her 141st consecutive game, having appeared in every game of her collegiate career.