UTICA, NY - On Saturday night at The Adirondack Bank Center,No. 3 Utica looked for a repeat performance. They made great leaps towards that endeavor by building up a solid 3-0 lead midway through the second period and, after a Nazareth score, the hosts would ignite the lamp with two lightning fast back-to-back goals to end the second period. They would secure the weekend sweep over their first UCHC opponent in the Golden Flyers, improving their record to 3-1 and remaining unbeaten in UCHC play with a 6-1 win.
 
The Pioneers employed the talents of five different goal-scorers in their rematch with the Golden Flyers, showcasing their extreme depth. The hosts also saw a four-way tie for the team-high in points, as four different Pioneers finished with two points each in Saturday's win.
 
Here is the goal-scoring summary for the Pioneers:

1st Period: Drake Morse (Jakob Breault, Anthony Bax) 6:49 | Utica 1-0
2nd Period: Vladislav Pshenichnikov (John Gutt, Michael Herrera) 1:13 | Utica 2-0
2nd Period: Matt Wood (Preston Brighton, Chris Carroll) 3:23 | Utica 3-0
2nd Period: Andrew Della Rovere (Justin Rapp, Preston Brighton) 16:11 | Utica 4-1
2nd Period: Chris Carroll (Matt Wood, Shane Murphy) 16:24 | Utica 5-1
3rd Period: Johnny Mulera (Aydin Parekh, John Gutt) 19:08.6 (PP) | Utica 6-1
 
Brighton, Gutt, Carroll, and Wood were the four Pioneers who logged multi-point nights, with the former two tallying two assists each and the latter two registering both a goal and an assist.
 
Utica once again had a vast majority of the shots, firing 49 pucks on target compared to the Golden Flyers who had 25 puts. The Pioneers also won the faceoff battle once more, capturing 42 of their 69 opportunities (61%). Breault and Carroll contributed heavily to that last statistic, with the pair of centers going 17 for 26 (65%) and 13 for 21 (62%) respectively on the night during their faceoff chances.
 
Ethan Roberts had a spectacular showing in the Pioneers' home-opener, stopping 24 of the 25 Nazareth shots, with the Junior's lone blemish coming during a penalty kill in the second period.
 
Speaking of penalties, both Utica and Nazareth managed to convert one power play each in the matchup, with the Golden Flyers getting their lone goal at a man-advantage and the Pioneers finding their final score while up a player.
 
The Pioneers improved to 3-1 on the season and jumped to 2-0 in the UCHC.
 
Game Summary:
 
Utica claimed an early lead off of Morse's goal, energizing the sellout crowd who had been chomping at the bit to see their Pioneers return for their regular season home-opener. The energy in the crowd was unparalleled during Saturday's showdown, with the Pioneer faithful packing every corner of the Adriondack Bank Center. The crowd's firm backing allowed Utica to maintain their 1-0 advantage through the first intermission, shutting out the visitors in time for the reigning UCHC Champions to get their marching orders organized and mount another second period offensive after they tallied five middle-20 goals the day before.
 
The Pioneers would nearly reach that absurd second period output, ending the second period with four scores to put the game nearly out of reach.
 
Leading 1-0 moments into the second, Herrera took advantage of a defensive whiff by the Golden Flyers, dragging the puck onto the doorstep of the goal. A scrum ensured as Herrera and Gutt attempted to knock down the Nazareth wall with the puck bouncing around just outside the crease. It was yesterday's hat trick hero who had the last laugh, with Pshenichnikov reaching the slot and sending it home for a 2-0 lead.
 
About two minutes later the Pioneers tacked on another one. A faceoff win by Carroll floated out to Brighton at the blue line. Brighton then proceeded to weave past a few Golden Flyer defenders, eventually making his way towards goal and settling a puck just outside the crease which was put home by Wood.
 
Nazareth managed to cut the deficit to two after a power play goal allowed the visitors to slow the Pioneers' roll a bit. However, order would be restored in the hosts' court as the #3 ranked Division III team flexed their offensive muscle with two back-to-back scores as an immediate response.
 
A handoff play behind the net by Brighton and Rapp allowed the latter player to slip the puck to a lurking Della Rovere who fired a hard wrister in between the Nazareth Goalie's pads for a 4-1 lead.
 
A few seconds later, Carroll took the faceoff off the restart and drove the length of the ice before shoveling the puck over the goalkeeper's glove for the second of the Pioneers back-to-back scores.
 
Utica converted a power play opportunity in the closing seconds of the game, with Mulera receiving a pinpoint pass from Parekh and slotting home yet another slapshot, something that the transfer has done in almost every game so far for the Pioneers.
 
That final score brought the game to its final tally at 6-1, sending the fans home happy after an action-packed season-opening matchup.
 
The Pioneers will face Brockport next weekend, with the Central New York squad playing host in the first game this time around. Utica will welcome the Golden Eagles at 7:00 PM next Friday, November 15th. That game will also be Davidson Chevrolet Night.