Union College hockey 2025-26 thread

[Thomas Kaine]

I had intended on being more active in this thread, so I’ll get it all out of my system now.

I think it’s a bit harsh to assume there is no higher level talent on this team. There are plenty of guys who have talent, they just can’t get their full potential. I think every problem stems from one thing at this point: coaching. The team makes no adjustments, the lines are different every night, the team hasn’t been able to execute back to back clean zone entries since December. I’ve never seen a team have so many lazy offsides and icings as Union the last month. That is, in my opinion, the result of a coach not holding his players accountable. I have no doubt that Hague can recruit, but it’s just not there behind the bench. If mediocrity is what you’re looking for, then keep going with him because it’s not going to get any better.

The best line all season has been Pelton-Buss-Benz/Sutton on the 4th line. Not in terms of points, but they do their job every shift. So what does he do? Move Pelton around the lineup and bring the others in and out. Why not reward that line with more ice time instead of breaking them up?

This season has come down to one man since December and that’s Brayden Gillespie. He is far and away the best option and has kept them in every game when they struggle to score. You can only ride a goalie for so long though before you just have to start scoring goals.

Speaking of goals, let’s take a look at the senior class and see another reason why the team is struggling. Just focusing on the 6 senior forwards, they have only put up 0.66 points per game so far this season. That’s simply unacceptable. Not to mention a lot of those points came against inferior opponents early in the season.

My final point here is about the rink being this great recruiting tool. I urge Union fans to compare the Union 26/27 class again the RPI class. It’s not even close. RPI has difference makers coming in next season that, with a good transfer class, could go from a bottom 4 team to a top 4 team.

Look at that, I didn’t even talk about how bad the rink has been for me as a fan

An interesting discussion. I think mediocre captures it well; I think Hauge is a good but not great coach and a good but not great recruiter, and that shows on the ice. If anything, I think this year's team has slightly over-achieved relative to the talent on the team. We have four players at or just on the cusp of a point-per-game average; we have not had a single player finish the season averaging over a point per game since Bennet's last good year, 2016-17. Gillespie seems to be the real deal. So, some bright spots, but it seems unlikely we're making it back to Placid any time soon.

That said, I think it's important to remember that this has more or less been Union's trajectory for a decade. With the exception of 2016-17 (where we had a couple of truly great players but got exposed in Lake Placid and the NCAA first round as a deeply incomplete team), all of Bennett's final 7 seasons were similarly mediocre. That suggests to me that most of Union's challenges are situational/institutional - small school, poor location, no scholarships until last year, horrible facilities until this year. Like others, I'm a little skeptical that even with scholarships and a better facility, Hauge is going to have us regularly completing for ECAC championships. We also have to remember that Union has actually never regularly competed for championships - we had a single, brilliant four-year run, with a last gasp in 2016-17. Institutionally, even with great coaching and the new selling points, our ceiling is probably Clarkson-level success, not QPac.

In other news, Nixon was a nice player, but in was not our best player the last three years; that was Prokop, who is the kind of standout player we need four or five of in order to get back to competing for ECAC titles. Nixon wasn't even a top 5 scorer as a senior. This year, we have four or five Nixon level guys, and no Prokop level guys, which might get you into the ECAC quarters but won't get you to Placid.

 

[ecachawkeyfan]

An interesting discussion. I think mediocre captures it well; I think Hauge is a good but not great coach and a good but not great recruiter, and that shows on the ice. If anything, I think this year's team has slightly over-achieved relative to the talent on the team. We have four players at or just on the cusp of a point-per-game average; we have not had a single player finish the season averaging over a point per game since Bennet's last good year, 2016-17. Gillespie seems to be the real deal. So, some bright spots, but it seems unlikely we're making it back to Placid any time soon.

That said, I think it's important to remember that this has more or less been Union's trajectory for a decade. With the exception of 2016-17 (where we had a couple of truly great players but got exposed in Lake Placid and the NCAA first round as a deeply incomplete team), all of Bennett's final 7 seasons were similarly mediocre. That suggests to me that most of Union's challenges are situational/institutional - small school, poor location, no scholarships until last year, horrible facilities until this year. Like others, I'm a little skeptical that even with scholarships and a better facility, Hauge is going to have us regularly completing for ECAC championships. We also have to remember that Union has actually never regularly competed for championships - we had a single, brilliant four-year run, with a last gasp in 2016-17. Institutionally, even with great coaching and the new selling points, our ceiling is probably Clarkson-level success, not QPac.

In other news, Nixon was a nice player, but in was not our best player the last three years; that was Prokop, who is the kind of standout player we need four or five of in order to get back to competing for ECAC titles. Nixon wasn't even a top 5 scorer as a senior. This year, we have four or five Nixon level guys, and no Prokop level guys, which might get you into the ECAC quarters but won't get you to Placid.

Do you think last year's team overachieved too? I agree Prokop was a huge piece on the roster, but Dunbar has been a pretty good replacement for him. It's been a disappointment that despite returning most of last year's team and upgrading the goaltending, Union is currently tied for 8th.

I never have been able to pin down why that big four-year run didn't lead to more sustained success than it did. Was it just kind of stroke of luck that all that came together in pretty much the same time period? I think if you told most observers after that 2013-14 season that 12 years later, Union has only 1 more NCAA berth and only one year past the second round of the league playoffs (both the same season), they probably would wonder, what happened?

I don't think it was realistic to expect multiple Whitelaws and multiple Frozen Four appearances in short periods, but I think the past 12 years overall have been a disappointment.

After last year, I thought Hauge had the program on the upswing, and with a lot of pieces back, thought this might the year this group had a chance to make a run to at least getting back to Lake Placid, at least. That seems very unlikely with how Union has performed in the league and being tied for 8th going into Friday.

It seems like Hauge and his staff have done better with transfers than guys right out of juniors - the top 3 scorers on the team all began their collegiate careers somewhere else, and as did goaltender Cameron Korpi. I'm pretty concerned about next year unless the incoming class has some gems in it or they find some through transfers. I think there's a chance Union could have a truly rough year next year. Assuming Dunbar turns pro, Union will lose about 50% of its goal scoring from this year, as things stand now. Other than Muthersbaugh, the returning offensive cupboard looks kind of bare and the program might be facing a large rebuild.

 

[DDobert24]

Some great points all around. I don’t expect the team to make it to Placid every year, but I do expect them to be contending for a top 4 spot every year considering the current talent level within the league. I also expect the team to have a high compete level every night. In my opinion, that is not the case. I was more than willing to give Hauge a chance with the past couple years, but it’s too stale at this point. Tomorrow will be a very interesting game. I refuse to make the trip up to Hanover until they break the streak, and I hope it can happen tomorrow. The entire team should be motivated to carry on the last 5 minutes of Saturday and beat a team who’s back to reality as of late. With 9 conference games left, the realistic goal should be a 5 seed at this point. I’ll be at SLU next Friday cheering on the Dutchmen.

 

[Dutchman]

Culturally, Union as an institution feels very uncomfortable with success and has always snatched mediocrity from the jaws of excellence. I don't see that culture changing with the new president. Even with the 2013/2014 championship team, there were grumblings about the hockey program winning so much. "That's not who we are.." If I were a hockey coach at Union today, I would want to have as weak a schedule as possible so I could point to some wins. At Union today, mediocracy is good whether it be academically or athletically. What was once an all-boys school with 600 students and an all-male faculty is now a school with 2000 students, with about 52/47 female-to-male faculty. I don't mean to take away from Union's successes in D-III sports like football and lacrosse. However, winning coaches at Union sometimes seem to leave, so the school can slip back into mediocracy.

 

[Skate79]

Culturally, Union as an institution feels very uncomfortable with success and has always snatched mediocrity from the jaws of excellence. I don't see that culture changing with the new president. Even with the 2013/2014 championship team, there were grumblings about the hockey program winning so much. "That's not who we are.." If I were a hockey coach at Union today, I would want to have as weak a schedule as possible so I could point to some wins. At Union today, mediocracy is good whether it be academically or athletically. What was once an all-boys school with 600 students and an all-male faculty is now a school with 2000 students, with about 52/47 female-to-male faculty. I don't mean to take away from Union's successes in D-III sports like football and lacrosse. However, winning coaches at Union sometimes seem to leave, so the school can slip back into mediocracy.

I didn't know the history of Union so thanks for that recap.

I can only go on the game I saw at Bright last month. It seems like your team is good but not great in terms of A level talent. We have the same problem at Harvard. We used to be able to recruit blue chip talent blindfolded. Now it's more of a challenge thanks to NIL (we still don't have a cohesive policy) and the transfer portal (we don't use it because admissions doesn't want a revolving door of players coming and going). So we are at a disadvantage in comparison to QPac and the HE schools.

I haven't been to your rink but the videos and pics I have seen look impressive. It will be a good recruiting tool.

The elephant in the room is the Major Juniors from Canada. Princeton and Brown are loading up their pipelines and Harvard is doing the same. This could be an area to explore for Union.

 

[DDobert24]

I didn't know the history of Union so thanks for that recap.

I can only go on the game I saw at Bright last month. It seems like your team is good but not great in terms of A level talent. We have the same problem at Harvard. We used to be able to recruit blue chip talent blindfolded. Now it's more of a challenge thanks to NIL (we still don't have a cohesive policy) and the transfer portal (we don't use it because admissions doesn't want a revolving door of players coming and going). So we are at a disadvantage in comparison to QPac and the HE schools.

I haven't been to your rink but the videos and pics I have seen look impressive. It will be a good recruiting tool.

The elephant in the room is the Major Juniors from Canada. Princeton and Brown are loading up their pipelines and Harvard is doing the same. This could be an area to explore for Union.

I’m not sure if it’s lack of ability to convince the CHL players to come to Union or what. Clearly the new rink isn’t attracting them. Union currently has 3 commits out of their 11 total for next year that are from the CHL. Two of those players are 18 currently and could go back for their final year before overage of junior. RPI, however, doesn’t have a new barn…just a new coach. They landed their 10th CHL recruit of the class for next season on Friday.

After this weekend, I’m left happy but confused. Where was the team that played the last 5 periods for a majority of the season? Where was this version of Korpi for the early 1/2 of the year? Where was this fire on the bench from Hauge? I assume he feels in some way he was coaching for his job this weekend, and the players responded to that. Let’s hope they can continue into this weekend where I would consider a 3 point weekend a win another good weekend.

As a side note, beating Cornell feels better than beating RPI. Hauge seems to get them fired up to play Cornell, 4-1 last 5 games.

 

[Ralph Baer]

I’m not sure if it’s lack of ability to convince the CHL players to come to Union or what. Clearly the new rink isn’t attracting them. Union currently has 3 commits out of their 11 total for next year that are from the CHL. Two of those players are 18 currently and could go back for their final year before overage of junior. RPI, however, doesn’t have a new barn…just a new coach. They landed their 10th CHL recruit of the class for next season on Friday.

After this weekend, I’m left happy but confused. Where was the team that played the last 5 periods for a majority of the season? Where was this version of Korpi for the early 1/2 of the year? Where was this fire on the bench from Hauge? I assume he feels in some way he was coaching for his job this weekend, and the players responded to that. Let’s hope they can continue into this weekend where I would consider a 3 point weekend a win another good weekend.

As a side note, beating Cornell feels better than beating RPI. Hauge seems to get them fired up to play Cornell, 4-1 last 5 games.

Who commited to RPI last Friday (2/13/26)? The last RPI commitments I know about are Jordan Gavin and Caleb Hadland on 2/4/26. Both are from the Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL).

 

[rpi82]

I’m not sure if it’s lack of ability to convince the CHL players to come to Union or what. Clearly the new rink isn’t attracting them. Union currently has 3 commits out of their 11 total for next year that are from the CHL. Two of those players are 18 currently and could go back for their final year before overage of junior. RPI, however, doesn’t have a new barn…just a new coach. They landed their 10th CHL recruit of the class for next season on Friday.

After this weekend, I’m left happy but confused. Where was the team that played the last 5 periods for a majority of the season? Where was this version of Korpi for the early 1/2 of the year? Where was this fire on the bench from Hauge? I assume he feels in some way he was coaching for his job this weekend, and the players responded to that. Let’s hope they can continue into this weekend where I would consider a 3 point weekend a win another good weekend.

As a side note, beating Cornell feels better than beating RPI. Hauge seems to get them fired up to play Cornell, 4-1 last 5 games.

Seriously? Shouldn't you wait until the guy has had at least a bad season before deciding he's unworthy of coaching in Schenectady? Hasn't Union's record improved every year since he pulled the program up from where it had fallen post-championship? Yes, I know their conference record isn't quite what I might have expected this year, but they are in the middle of the league and are competitive with the teams above them (wins over Q, Cornell and Princeton). One would think it would take more of a decline before anyone would be talking about coaching for his job.

As for recruiting, there's stil a lot of talent that isn't in the CHL. Regardless of where it comes from, however, it's stil up to the coaches to get the most from that talent. Heck, your leading forward was a mediocre scorer at best in the NCDC, NAHL and USHL. Yet Hauge saw something in him and got a big jump in output from the moment he stepped on the rink at Messa. Your second and third points guys are transfers that did almost nothing at their prior schools. Given that track record perhaps he'll bring in some other guys from the portal looking to improve in Hauge's system. Hasn't he at least earned the right to try?

 

[DDobert24]

Seriously? Shouldn't you wait until the guy has had at least a bad season before deciding he's unworthy of coaching in Schenectady? Hasn't Union's record improved every year since he pulled the program up from where it had fallen post-championship? Yes, I know their conference record isn't quite what I might have expected this year, but they are in the middle of the league and are competitive with the teams above them (wins over Q, Cornell and Princeton). One would think it would take more of a decline before anyone would be talking about coaching for his job.

As for recruiting, there's stil a lot of talent that isn't in the CHL. Regardless of where it comes from, however, it's stil up to the coaches to get the most from that talent. Heck, your leading forward was a mediocre scorer at best in the NCDC, NAHL and USHL. Yet Hauge saw something in him and got a big jump in output from the moment he stepped on the rink at Messa. Your second and third points guys are transfers that did almost nothing at their prior schools. Given that track record perhaps he'll bring in some other guys from the portal looking to improve in Hauge's system. Hasn't he at least earned the right to try?

Aside from the games vs RPI this year, I’d be curious to know how many games you’ve actually sat down and watched. Stats don’t tell the story in terms of this team or previous teams. If you want to talk about getting better year over year…is this what you mean?

2022/23: 8-13-1, first round exit vs #9 Princeton
2023/24: 9-10-3, second round exit sweep vs #4 Dartmouth
2024/25: 12-8-2, second round exit sweep vs #5 Dartmouth

If that’s your idea of “improvement” then I don’t really know what to tell you. Sure the record might be marginally better, but this year it can only be matched in a year where he said anything outside of a top 4 would be a disappointment.

 

[DDobert24]

Who commited to RPI last Friday (2/13/26)? The last RPI commitments I know about are Jordan Gavin and Caleb Hadland on 2/4/26. Both are from the Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL).

Gavin just came across on EP last week, that’s where I follow it. That’s where I saw it. They have it as Thursday (2/12) actually.

 

[sezenack]

Gavin just came across on EP last week, that’s where I follow it. That’s where I saw it. They have it as Thursday (2/12) actually.

Gavin was announced on 2/4

 

[sezenack]

Aside from the games vs RPI this year, I’d be curious to know how many games you’ve actually sat down and watched. Stats don’t tell the story in terms of this team or previous teams. If you want to talk about getting better year over year…is this what you mean?

2022/23: 8-13-1, first round exit vs #9 Princeton
2023/24: 9-10-3, second round exit sweep vs #4 Dartmouth
2024/25: 12-8-2, second round exit sweep vs #5 Dartmouth

If that’s your idea of “improvement” then I don’t really know what to tell you. Sure the record might be marginally better, but this year it can only be matched in a year where he said anything outside of a top 4 would be a disappointment.

14-19-2, 43rd in PWR
16-18-3, 38th in PWR
19-14-3, 37th in PWR
18-10-2, 25th in NPI

Sure the improvement has been slow, but not really sure what you were expecting? That's a perfectly reasonable ascension for a coach rebuilding a program, and this is coming from an RPI fan. You're about to hit 20 wins for the first time since 2019. If that improvement isn't good enough for you, then you have unreasonable expectations for Union as a program in the new era of college athletics. Talking about firing him is ludicrous; also he just got an extension last year through 2029, so he sure as hell isn't even close to the hot seat

 

[DDobert24]

14-19-2, 43rd in PWR
16-18-3, 38th in PWR
19-14-3, 37th in PWR
18-10-2, 25th in NPI

Sure the improvement has been slow, but not really sure what you were expecting? That's a perfectly reasonable ascension for a coach rebuilding a program, and this is coming from an RPI fan. You're about to hit 20 wins for the first time since 2019. If that improvement isn't good enough for you, then you have unreasonable expectations for Union as a program in the new era of college athletics. Talking about firing him is ludicrous; also he just got an extension last year through 2029, so he sure as hell isn't even close to the hot seat

Say one thing about him potentially feeling on the hot seat and everyone gets very defensive, kind of ridiculous. My expectations are that of what the head coach sets out for in their own words. It is highly unlikely that will be delivered upon. After almost 4 years, I am unimpressed and would love if the “success” you believe he’s having would land him a better job!

 

[Ralph Baer]

Gavin just came across on EP last week, that’s where I follow it. That’s where I saw it. They have it as Thursday (2/12) actually.

thanks

 

[Dutchman]

This weekend will be a good test for the Dutchmen. Brown and Yale have terrible overall records, but both play better at home. Yale is 6-6-1 at home, and Brown is 5-5-2. It will be the end of the regular season at home ice. Both teams should be motivated.

 

[Thomas Kaine]

Last night was pretty emblematic of the whole season - the skill level and physicality is there for these guys to be a top 4 ECAC squad is there, but the mental game is not. We dominated play through most of the game, but our defensemen got eaten alive by the Yale forecheck and made terrible decision after terrible decision. After the past few weeks I had thought Hauge had figured out how to keep these guys locked in, but it seems there is still work to do. Fortunately, they managed to get their heads straight late in the second and sneak out an OT win. But this should have been a 5-1 win.

All in all, this is strange team. I wouldn't be surprised if they lose a playoff opener to a bottom 4 team, nor would I be surprised if they made the ECAC final in Placid. You just never know what you're going to get.