#20 Union College vs. Brown University

2026 ECAC HOCKEY TOURNAMENT OPENING ROUND

Saturday, March 7, 2026 • Schenectady, N.Y. • M&T Bank Center • 5:00 PM

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Union Game Notes • Brown Game Notes

THE ROAD TO LAKE PLACID: For the sixth straight season, the #20 Union College men's hockey team earned the right to host a playoff game in the ECAC Hockey Tournament and will welcome 12th-seeded Brown University to town on Saturday, March 7 at 5 p.m. for a single-elimination Opening Round contest, marking the first college playoff game inside M&T Bank Center. The winner of Saturday's matchup will take on fourth-seeded Princeton University in New Jersey for a three-game quarterfinal series, beginning Friday, March 13. 

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY? The Garnet Chargers are the 20th-ranked team in the country according to the USA Hockey coaches poll, are receiving votes in the USCHO poll, and are 21st in the NPI rankings. Union has won six of its last eight games, posting a 6-1-1 record in February and is unbeaten in its last six contests. 

MUTH, KORPS & Co.: Ben Muthersbaugh was a two-time ECAC Hockey Laurel Lake Placid Forward of the Week in February, tallying eight goals and a pair of assists. Cameron Korpi earned one MAC Goaltending Goalie of the Week award from the league in February, going 5-0-1 with 147 saves and a shutout. Colby MacArthur didn't receive any recognition from the league last month, but he did lead the team with 12 points and a +9 rating during the final eight games of the regular season.

BEAR SCOUTING: Brown is looking to win an Opening Round game for the second straight season after knocking out ninth-seeded Princeton in 2024-25. However, the Bears have not won a road game this season and have been outscored 7-0 by the Garnet Chargers in 2025-26. Tyler Shea made 39 saves against Union in the previous matchup on Feb. 28 and has made 40+ saves in three games this season.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
90.6% - Union has killed 14 straight penalties and has the #1 penalty-kill percentage in NCAA Division I men's hockey. 

12 - Colby MacArthur led the team with 12 points (4g, 8a) in February. 

147 - Cameron Korpi made 147 saves in February while posting a 5-0-1 record. 

INSIDE THE SERIES
Union is 2-0 against Brown in the postseason, including the 2013 ECAC Hockey Championship Game. Fourteen of Union's 24 skaters (58.3%) have recorded at least one point against the Bears this season. Brandon Buhr has the team's most points against the Bears in 2025-26 with three assists and leads with six career points against them as well. Colby MacArthur has five career assists against Brown, and 20 of Union's 24 skaters have at least one point against Brown in their careers (Will Felicio, Etienne Lessard, Brendan Miles, and Connor Smith have never recorded a point in the all-time series). 

GETTING OFF TO A GOOD START
The Garnet Chargers have scored the first goal in five of their last six games and are 5-0-1 over that stretch. However, Union is also 7-6-3 this season when its opponent scores first. 

PENALTY KILL
The Garnet Chargers have not allowed a power-play goal in the last five games, killing 14 straight penalties off. Union went six games without allowing a man-up goal from Oct. 10 - Nov. 1 and erased 22 straight penalties during that time. That all adds up to Union boasting the #1 penalty-kill in the country at a 90.6% success rate.

SINCE STEVENS
Cameron Korpi became the first Union men's hockey goaltender to post four shutouts in a season since Colin Stevens '15 (six) and only the fifth netminder to do it in program history. Another shutout this season would tie Korpi with Troy Grosenick and Kris Mayotte for the second-most single-season clean sheets in program history. Currently, Korpi is tied with eight other NCAA Division-I men's hockey goalies for the fourth-most shutouts this season.

IN OTHER SHUTOUT NEWS
Union shut out Brown for the second straight time during a 3-0 win on Feb. 28 to close out the season. The Garnet Chargers have never shut out a team three matchups in a row, but they have posted three shutouts against the same team within a four game span on two occasions. Union kept Rensselaer out of the net three times in a span of four meetings from Jan. 29, 2022 - Jan. 28, 2023 and did the same to Penn State. However, those three shutouts in four games against the Nittany Lions came across a span of nearly 75 years, dating from Jan. 17, 1930 - Jan. 2, 2005. 

SECRET SAUCE
Colby MacArthur posted the most productive month of his career in February, leading the team with 12 points (4g, 8a). He nearly doubled his season point total from the beginning of February and is fifth on the team with 27 points.  During Union's comeback victory over Yale on Feb. 27, he had a single-game career-high four points to go along with the first playmaker of his career (three assists). He was the secondary assist on Brandon Buhr's overtime score against the Bulldogs. 

NO SOPHOMORE SLUMPS
Ben Muthersbaugh is tied with Brandon Buhr for the team lead in points at 33 (18g, 15a). He is tied for the 12th-most points among sophomores in all of college hockey, and second-year Garnet Chargers have accumulated 109 points this season.

+++++++++++++++
Riley Brueck is the team leader in +/- at +15. He has 17 games in the positives and seven games at +2. Nick Young, Carter Rose, and Tyler Dunbar are the only three Union players to earn a +4 in one game this season, doing so in three different contests. In 2024-25, John Prokop, Nick Young, and Ben Muthersbaugh all had a +5 rating in the same game against Mercyhurst. 

FOUR POINTER
Parker Lindauer (vs Niagara, Oct. 18), Tyler Dunbar (vs Quinnipiac, Dec. 6), Etienne Lessard (@ Clarkson, Feb. 7), and Colby MacArthur (@ Yale, Feb. 27) have all produced four-point games this season. It is the most 4+ point games in a season for Union since 2016-17 when Mike Veccione '17 (twice), Spencer Foo '17, and Sebastian Vidmar '19 combined for four. 

RESILIENT-GC
For the fourth time this season, Union trailed by two goals and won. The Garnet Chargers trailed Yale by two on two occasions, last at 8:48 in the second period (4-2) on Feb. 27. They came back to win in overtime. Union has salvaged at least one point in games it trailed by two or more on seven occasions in 2025-26. They beat Mercyhurst, RPI, Colgate, and Yale after trailing by at least two goals, trailed Colgate and Dartmouth by two and came back to earn ties, and lost in overtime to Clarkson after trailing by two at two different points in the matchup.

SEEING DOUBLE
Brandon Buhr (17g, 11a), Tyler Dunbar (12g, 17a), Ben Muthersbaugh (15g, 15a), Lucas Buzziol (12g, 11a), and Colby MacArthur (10g, 17a) all have double-digit goals and assists this season. The last time Union boasted five players with double-digit goals and assists was 2018-19, led by Ryan Walker '19 (15g, 14a). 

70 AND COUNTING
Nate Hanley registered his 70th career assist on Feb. 27 when he helped set up Etienne Lessard for a goal against Yale. He has the 10th-most assists in Union's Division-I history and is four away from cracking Union's all-time assist leaderboard. Hanley is tied for the 11th-most helpers among active Division I players and has the 18th-most across DI and DIII. He also has 95 career points, which is tied for the 20th-most among active players in DI hockey. 

UNION DID WHAT?
In their 5-4 win over RPI on Jan. 24, the Garnet Chargers won a game in which they allowed an empty-net goal for the first time since Dec. 7, 2013. However, that rare instance occurred under slightly different circumstances compared to Union's miraculous comeback in this year's Mayors' Cup. Back in 2013, Quinnipiac scored on an empty net during a delayed penalty in the second period. Union retook the lead shortly after and eventually skated to a 6-4 victory. Prior to Saturday, Union had not won a game when allowing an empty-net goal under traditional circumstances since at least 2005-06 (when game-by-game stats are available).

HOBEY BAKER VOTE!
Add this number to your contacts because we need you to text it daily! 844-623-9688!!
Text 26024 to 844-623-9688 to vote for Brandon Buhr for the Hobey Baker Award, and text 26023 to 844-623-9688 to vote for Tyler Dunbar for the Hobey Baker Award! You can vote once per day, and voting closes at 11:59 p.m. on March 9.

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.

2026 RICHTER AWARD WATCH LIST
Cameron Korpi was named to the 2026 Richter Award Watch List. Korpi already has three shutouts on the season and made a season-high 32 saves against UMass Lowell on Nov. 14. He helped Union start the season 4-0-1 and won ECAC Hockey's Goalie of the Month award for October. Of the 29 netminders listed, Korpi is one of eight Americans garnering Richter Award recognition. 

LIMITING THE Ls
Union suffered back-to-back losses for the first time against Miami and Princeton, 16 games into the season. The last time it took Union that long to drop consecutive games was 2016-17, when the Garnet Chargers didn't lose in back-to-back contests until their 21st game of the season. 

TEAM OF THE WEEK
Union was featured as College Hockey News' "Team of the Week" after a 2-0 weekend on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8 where it outscored UMass Lowell and New Hampshire 13-1 overall and improved to 8-2-1 on the season. During an interview with College Hockey News' editor, head coach Josh Hauge said, "I love our hockey team ... We believe we're good ... We're excited about trying to continue to grow the program and get it back to where it can be."

M&T BANK CENTER
This season, the men's and women's Union hockey teams will call the state-of-the-art M&T Bank Center its home, becoming 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. 

SENIORITY PRIORITY
Union hits the ice with eight seniors, tied with Niagara and St. Thomas for the seventh-largest senior class across Division I. The Garnet Chargers' average age as a team is 22.5, meaning they are tied for the seventh-oldest team in the country. 

BUHR WATCHING
College Hockey News released its "Players to Watch" in ECAC Hockey and recognized Brandon Buhr with some high praise. "Buhr is shifty and has a good shot, which makes him successful. He is also good at getting to the important areas of the ice, which is the way his coach, Josh Hauge, would like his team to play. Union as a whole is returning a deep group, and [Buhr] could be in the mix for Player of the Year."

NEED A RECHARGE?
The Garnet Chargers lost 12 players from its 2024-25 roster to graduation, the transfer portal, and the pros. Those departures accounted for 101 points last season, but Union still kept its top goal scorer in Brandon Buhr (19) and point scorer in Colby MacArthur (29). Not to mention, four of Union's 20-point scorers from last season are still on the squad, and Union's 78 "returning" goals are the seventh-most in Division I.

FRESH FACES
Hauge and his staff brought in two of each positional group to round out their recruiting class. Alex Laurenza (F), Troy Pelton (F), Etienne Lessard (D), Ollie Chessler (D) Brayden Gillespie (G), and Brendan Holahan (G) all get their first taste of college hockey this season. Will Felicio (D, Michigan), Carter Rose (D, Clarkson), Tyler Dunbar (D, Colorado College), Cameron Korpi (G, Michigan), and Luke Buss (F, Wisconsin) end up in Schenectady as transfers after earlier stops around the Division I hockey landscape.  

WHAT'S UP BROTHER?
They say your teammates are like your brothers. For Carter and Cameron Korpi, one of their teammates actually is their brother. Carter is three years older than Cameron, and this will be the first time they've played hockey on the same team together (other than knee hockey games in the basement of their childhood home).

GO BIG BLUE?
Three Garnet Chargers previously played college hockey at the University of Michigan. Cameron Korpi and Will Felicio both played for Michigan last season, and Brendan Miles transferred to Union after the 2023-24 campaign. Tyler Dunbar, Miles, and Cameron and Carter Korpi all hail from Michigan as well. Across Division I men's hockey, there are 91 players from the Wolverine State.