UTICA, NY - For the sixth time in a seven year span, the No. 2 nationally-ranked Utica University men's ice hockey team will compete for a conference tournament championship. The top-seeded Pioneers overcame a structured defensive effort by sixth-seeded Manhattanville with two goals in the second, and two more in the third to win 4-0 in a United Collegiate Hockey Conference semifinal game at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.
The Pioneers will host second-seeded Wilkes in the championship game, to be played on Saturday, March 5 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available now.
Utica is now 24-2-1 this season, and the team is unbeaten in its last seventeen games entering the final. Manhattanville finishes with a final record of 10-13-3.
Pioneer goals were scored by Buster Larsson, John Moncovich, Regen Cavanagh, and Eric Holland. With assists this evening, Larsson and senior defenseman Justin Allen have tied Jimmy Sokol's long-standing record for assists in a season with 30 each.
Sean Dickson made 16 saves for his 11th career shutout. Counterpart Tyler Roy was impressive with 33 saves in the loss for the visitors.
The Pioneers outshot the visiting team 37-16, and were 0-for-2 on the power play while not getting charged with a single penalty during the game.
The first period was carried by the Pioneers en route to a 13-3 shots on goal advantage, but Manhattanville kept their defensive structure very contained to limit the available opportunities and keep the game scoreless after one period of play.
A breakthrough came in the second period as the Pioneers netted a pair of goals. The first came off the rush, as Eric Holland had an attempt to dish the puck blocked by the defense. Undeterred, he wrapped around the back of the net and Dante Zapata slid him a pass for a back door tap in and a 1-0 lead at 7:46 of the second period. The goal was Holland's thirteenth of the season, and marked his fourth game-winning goal of the campaign.
Utica doubled its lead before the second period was out as John Moncovich lifted a backhand shot over Roy for his team-leading nineteenth goal of the season for a 2-0 advantage.
In the third, Buster Larsson stretched the lead to three with an accurate shot from the left wing. Justin Allen collected his 30th assist of the season on the play as the Pioneers led 3-0. Regen Cavanagh converted nifty stickhandling into a 4-0 lead at 16:38. He dangled into the slot and wristed the puck behind Roy to finish off the scoring. Larsson and Holland had the assists, with Larsson getting his 30th assist of the season on the play.
The Blue and Orange has won sixteen of its last seventeen games against the Valiants.