UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's hockey team defeated the Stevenson University Mustangs 5-2 on Saturday afternoon in the latter of their two-game bout. After settling for a 2-2 tie on Friday, the Pioneers were determined to leave victorious this afternoon. A strong third period headlined by the efforts of Shane Murphy and Khristian Acosta gave Utica their third win of the season.
Saturday's victory marked a huge milestone for coach Gary Heenan, as he totaled his 350th career win.
Jacob Breault paced the Pioneers with two goals scored in the matchup. Khristian Acosta scored one goal and had two assists. Shane Murphy and Andrew Della Rovere each tallied a goal and an assist while Kimball Johnson had a pair of helpers. Griffen Barr, Austin D'Orazio, Dante Spagnuolo, Aiden Hughes and Aydin Parekh all had a point as well.
In net, Ethan Roberts was excellent, making 26 saves, while fending off multiple penalty kill chances including a 5-on-3 in the 3rd period.
Contrary to Friday night's thrilling start with a pair of goals scored in the opening two minutes of play, neither team was able to find the back of the net in Saturday's first frame. Stevenson had several looks from point blank range in the opening minutes of the period yet weren't able to convert thanks to Ethan Roberts strong play between the pipes. Alexander Gullichsen would also deflect a puck right in front of the net amidst a 2-on-1 opportunity for Stevenson.
As the period went on, Utica commanded a greater time of possession but couldn't quite get anything past Stevenson goalie, Ty Outen. Matt Wood missed wide by inches on a great opportunity from the right wing, and Jacob Breault would later nail the post on another close scoring chance.
There was a plethora of action in the second period with each team scoring two goals a piece, three of which came in a 90 second window.
Andrew Della Rovere drew a tripping penalty to give their Pioneers their second power play chance of the afternoon. However, a Utica turnover in the neutral zone led to a 2-on-1 chance for Stevenson where Evan Beers found the back of the net amidst their penalty kill. Utica would avenge this mistake less than a minute later. Not long after as the power play was winding down, Andrew Della Rovere would score his first intercollegiate goal from a rebound off a shot by Khristian Acosta. Just as Utica made things even at 1-1, Stevenson regained the lead 30 seconds after.
Penalties would keep the Stevenson lead short lived in the following minutes. Shane Murphy narrowly missed tying up the game on a breakaway chance but proceeded to draw a high sticking penalty as tensions flared. Stevenson doubled down a minute later with a high sticking call. The Pioneers took advantage of this 5-on-3 power play with a goal scored by Jacob Breault, his first of the season.
Utica found themselves with penalty issues in the closing minutes of the period. Seconds into the Stevenson advantage, Austin D'Orazio served as a last resort line of defense, batting away a puck that got by Ethan Roberts. Utica ultimately held off Stevenson in the penalty kill to round out the second.
Khristian Acosta and Shane Murphy took over the third period for the Pioneers. Seven minutes into the final frame, Acosta dropped a dime of a pass to Shane Murphy, setting him up for a one-timer in which he would convert to give the Pioneers the lead. Utica was then tasked with fending off a 5-3 penalty kill. Ethan Roberts was heroic in this stretch, making six saves. Murphy would later come sprinting out of the penalty box and found Acosta to give Utica a two goal advantage, erupting the crowd.
On a last ditch effort, Stevenson would pull their goalie with 90 seconds remaining. Jacob Breault scored an empty netter to seal the deal in the Utica victory.
Utica (2-0-2) will be back in action on Friday and Saturday as they travel to Pittsburgh for a pair of conference games against Chatham. Friday's puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. while Saturday's matchup will start at 3 p.m.