The Union Garnet Chargers ice hockey team is a

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) Division I men's

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the go ...

program that represents

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

. The Garnet Chargers are a member of

ECAC Hockey ECAC Hockey is one of the six conferences that compete in NCAA Division I college ice hockey, ice hockey. The conference used to be affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a consortium of over 300 colleges in the eastern United ...

. They play at the Frank L. Messa Rink at Achilles Center in

Schenectady, New York Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

. The Garnet Chargers (known as the Dutchmen at the time) won the 2014 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament by defeating the

Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college athletics, college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 21 (9 men's, 12 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and com ...

7–4.

Program history

The hockey team was founded in 1904 making it the 7th oldest college program playing in NCAA Division I and provides the school with a long and colorful history in the sport. Men at Union have played hockey in four distinct periods: club hockey from 1904–1911, varsity hockey from 1919–1949 (from 1943–1948 there was a hiatus from play due to WW II), NCAA Division III hockey from 1975–1990 and NCAA Division I hockey from 1991–present.

Early history 1904–1911

Union's first game, played on February 3, 1904, was a victory over the Union Classical Institute. Three other games were played that inaugural season including a 1–4 loss to rival Rensselaer. Lacking a rink of its own during that inaugural season, all games were played on the opponent's home ice. The first attempt at creating an on-campus outdoor rink was made by students in 1905 when a plow and scaper was hired to form a level area with earthen banks near what is now Memorial Chapel. The club team's record in known games during those early years was 6–7–1. No collegiate games were played in the 1910 or 1911 seasons because Union's players couldn't afford the costs of travel and opponent game guarantee fees. The club team subsequently disbanded bringing a close to the earliest era of hockey at Union.

Varsity era 1919–1949

Division III era 1975–1990

Division I era 1991–present

In 2012, the team made the school's first NCAA men's ice hockey championship Frozen Four appearance, losing to

Ferris State University Ferris State University (FSU or Ferris) is a public university with its main campus in Big Rapids, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1884 as Big Rapids Industrial School by Woodbridge N. Ferris and became a public institution in 1950. ...

. In the 2013-2014 season, the team won the 2014 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament, the first in school history. The team had an overall 32-6-4 record with 12 consecutive wins leading up to the national title win. Junior

Shayne Gostisbehere Shayne Gostisbehere ( ; born April 20, 1993), nicknamed "Ghost", is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). Gostisbehere was born in Pembroke Pines, Florida, and began play ...

won the Most Outstanding Player of the 2014 Frozen Four, and signed his NHL entry level contract with the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

3 days after the championship. In 2017, senior Mike Vecchione was named as a finalist for the

Hobey Baker Award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 44 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton Universit ...

. Vecchione finished his collegiate career with a school record of 175 points, along with the leading number of all time assists at 104. He led the D1 league with 21 multiple point games, 17 goals, 4 short handed goals, 4 game winning goals, and a 60.4% faceoff win percentage. In 2023, the college changed the school's athletic nickname from "Dutchmen" and "Dutchwomen" to "Garnet Chargers" as part of a branding update. Garnet has been the school's official color for 150 years, and the name "chargers" is a reference to "Schenectady’s legacy as a leader in electrical technologies."

Season-by-season results

Source:

Championships

NCAA National Championships

ECAC Hockey Tournament championships (Whitelaw Cup)

Runners-up in 2010

ECAC Hockey Regular season Championships (Cleary Cup)

† Shared with Harvard

Players

Current roster

As of September 21, 2024.

Awards & honors

As of April 2017

Hobey Baker Memorial Award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 44 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton Universit ...

* Mike Vecchione - Hat Trick Finalist, F: 2017 *

Troy Grosenick Troy Grosenick ( ; born August 27, 1989) is an American ice hockey professional goaltender most recently under contract to the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). After June 30, 2025 he will be an unrestricted free agent. Playin ...

- Top 10 Finalist, G: 2012 *

- Top 10 Finalist, D: 2014 * Daniel Ciampini - Top 10 Finalist, F: 2015 *

Spencer Foo Spencer Foo (born May 19, 1994), also known as Fu Jiang (), is a Chinese Canadian professional ice hockey forward for the Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Foo turned professional in 2017 by signing an entry-level contract w ...

- Top 10 Finalist, F: 2017

Spencer Penrose Award The Spencer Penrose Award is awarded yearly to the top coach in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey by the American Hockey Coaches Association. The finalists for each year's award comprise the conference Coach of the Year winners from each Division ...

- AHCA Coach of the Year * Nate Leaman: 2011 * Rick Bennett: 2014 USCHO Coach of the Year * Rick Bennett: 2014 College Hockey News Coach of the Year * Rick Bennett: 2014 NCAA Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player *

, D: 2014 NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team * Matt Bodie, D: 2014 * Daniel Ciampini, F: 2014 *

, D: 2014 * Colin Stevens, G: 2014 NCAA East Regional Most Outstanding Player *Max Novak, F: 2014 *

Jeremy Welsh Jeremy Welsh (born April 30, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre currently playing under contract with Romanian Erste Liga side HSC Csíkszereda. Welsh was most recently with UK EIHL side Nottingham Panthers, Cracovia of the Pols ...

, F: 2014 Tim Taylor Award - ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year *Bruce Delventhal: 1994 *Stan Moore: 1997 * Nate Leaman: 2010, 2011 * Rick Bennett: 2012, 2017 ECAC Hockey Player of the Year *

, D: 2013 (co-recipient) * Mike Vecchione, F: 2017

Ken Dryden Award The Ken Dryden Award is an annual award given out at the conclusion of the ECAC Hockey regular season to the best goaltender in the conference as voted by the coaches of each ECAC team. The Ken Dryden Award was first awarded in 1996 and every year ...

- ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Year * Trevor Koenig, G: 1997 *

Keith Kinkaid Keith Patrick Kinkaid (born July 4, 1989) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Savannah Ghost Pirates of the ECHL while under contract to the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL). Originally undrafted by te ...

, G: 2011 *

, G: 2012 * Colin Stevens, G: 2014 ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Defenseman *Andrew Will, D: 1997 (co-recipient) *Brock Matheson, D: 2011 *

, D: 2014 ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Forward *Adam Presizniuk, F: 2011 * Kelly Zajac, F: 2012 ECAC Hockey Student Athlete of the Year *Oliver Bouchard: 2007 *Matt Cook: 2009 *Stephane Boileau: 2011 *Josh Kosack: 2022 ECAC Hockey Tournament Most Outstanding Player *

, F: 2012 *

, G: 2013 * Daniel Carr, F: 2014 ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Team *Mike Schreiber, D: 2010 * Daniel Carr, F: 2012, 2013, 2014 *

, D: 2012 *

, G: 2012, 2013 *

, F: 2012 * Greg Coburn, D: 2013 *Max Novak, F: 2013 * Matt Bodie, D: 2014 *

, D: 2014 * Colin Stevens, G: 2014 * Mike Vecchione, F: 2014 AHCA First Team All-Americans (DI) - East *1995-96: Trevor Koenig, G *2010-11:

, G *2011-12:

, G *2013-14: Matt Bodie, D;

, D *2014-15: Daniel Ciampini, F *2016-17: Mike Vecchione, F;

, F AHCA Second Team All-Americans (DI) - East *2011-12: Matt Bodie, D;

, F *2012-13:

, D *2013-14: Daniel Carr, F; Colin Stevens, G AHCA Second Team All-Americans (DIII) - East *1985-86: Wayne McDougall, G *1999-89: Ron Kinghorn, G *1989-90: Terry Campbell, F Academic All-American Second Team *2009-10: Stephane Boileau *2013-14: Cole Ikkala Academic All-American Third Team *2011-12:

*2012-13:

*2013-14: Matt Bodie *2016-17: Mike Vecchione Union College Athletics Hall of Fame *Wayne McDougall, G: 2005 * Steve Baker, G: 2007 *Gil Egan, F: 2008 *Craig Ferrero, F: 2009 *Tod Fobare, F: 2010 * Terry Campbell, F: 2015 *Charlie Morrison, Head Coach: 2015 *1983-84 Men's Hockey Team: 2015 *Dalton Menhall: 2017 *Jack Rankin: 2019

Historic records

Records vs. Current ECAC Hockey Teams

As of the completion of the 2023–24 season

In-season tournaments

As of April 2017

Program records

Individual – career

*Most goals in a career: Gil Egan, 83, (1981–85) *Most points in a career: Mike Vecchione, 176, (2013–17) *Most assists in a career: Terry Campbell, 119, (1987–91) *Most power play goals in a career: Daniel Carr, 34, (2010–14) *Most game winning goals in a career: Wayne Simpson, 16, (2009–13) *Most shots in a career: Wayne Simpson, 447, (2009–13) *Most wins in a career: Kris Mayotte, 46, (2002–06) *Best goals-against-average in a career:

, 1.89, (2010–13) *Most saves in a career: Brandon Snee, 3,085, (1998–02) *Best save percentage in a career:

, .930, (2010–13)

Individual – season

*Most goals in a season: Mike Vecchione, 29, (2016–17) *Most points in a season: Mike Vecchione, 63, (2016–17) *Most assists in a season:

, 36, (2016–17) *Most power play goals in a season: Daniel Carr, 12, (2010–11) *Most game winning goals in a season: Max Novak, 8, (2013–14) *Most shots in a season:

, 159, (2013–14) *Most wins in a season: Colin Stevens, 28, (2013–14) *Best goals-against-average in a season:

, 1.65, (2011–12) *Most saves in a career: Kris Mayotte, 987, (2005–06) *Best save percentage in a career:

, .936, (2011–12)

Team – game

*Most goals in a game: 11 vs. Clarkson (2/5/10) *Most goals allowed in a game: 10 vs. Penn State (3/25/17) *Most goals combined in a game: 15 vs. Clarkson (11/13/93) & Merrimack (11/1/91) *Most shots taken in a game: 75 vs. Quinnipiac (3/12/10) *Most shots allowed in a game: 63 vs. Bemidji State (10/26/02) *Fewest shots taken in a game: 13 (5x) last time vs. Cornell (11/18/05) *Fewest shots allowed in a game: 9 vs. Cornell (2/11/11) *Most penalties in a game: 27 vs. Cornell (12/4/98) *Most penalty minutes in a game: 116 vs. Cornell (12/4/98) *Longest game: 150:22 in 5 OTs lasting 5 hrs., 56 minutes vs. Quinnipiac (3/12/10)

Team – season

*Most wins in a season: 32 (2013–14) *Most conference wins in a season: 18 (2013–14) ECAC Hockey *Most consecutive wins in a season: 12 (2013–14) *Longest unbeaten streak in a season: 17 (2013–14)

Head coaches

All-time coaching records

As of completion of the 2023–24 season † Bob Driscoll coached the final 13 games of the 1977–78 season after Ned Harkness resigned.
‡ Rick Bennett was suspended on January 19, 2022 and John Ronan coached the final 17 games of the season.

Garnet Chargers in the NHL

As of July 1, 2024. File:Josh Jooris 141021.PNG, Josh Jooris File:Keith Kinkaid New Jersey Devils.jpg,

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