The Union Garnet Chargers ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's college ice hockey program that represents Union College. The Garnet Chargers are a member of ECAC Hockey. They play at the Frank L. Messa Rink at Achilles Center in Schenectady, New York.[3] 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 7–4.
The hockey team was founded in 1904 making it the 7th oldest college program playing in NCAA Division I [4] 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.
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.
In 2012, the team made the school's first NCAA men's ice hockey championship Frozen Four appearance, losing to Ferris State University.
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 won the Most Outstanding Player of the 2014 Frozen Four, and signed his NHL entry level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers 3 days after the championship.
In 2017, senior Mike Vecchione was named as a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. Vecchione finished his collegiate career with a school record of 175 points, along with the leading number of all time assists at 104. He lead 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.[5]
In 2023, the college changed the school's athletic nickname from "Dutchmen" and "Dutchwomen" to "Garnet Chargers" as part of a branding update.[6] 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."[6]
Source:[7]
Runners-up in 2010
† Shared with Harvard
As of August 2, 2023.[8]
As of April 2017[9]
As of the completion of the 2023–24 season
As of April 2017[9]
As of completion of the 2023–24 season[9]
† 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.
As of July 1, 2024.
Source:[12]
