BROCKPORT, NY - The No. 3 ranked Pioneer Men's Hockey Team traveled to Brockport for the first time in a decade to meet the Golden Eagles in their territory on Saturday night. Utica used a forceful four-goal first period to drain the hosts energy early, then finished off the Golden Eagles with stifling defensive tactics over the final two periods to claim a 5-1 win and remain spotless in UCHC play.
Utica outshot Brockport by a 35-20 margin and also won the faceoff battle, achieving 35 wins in 55 attempts for a 64% win rate.
The Pioneers launched an all-out offensive in the first period, letting off 15 shots and racking up four goals to lead 4-0 after the first 20 minutes of play.
The Orange and Blue saw nine different skaters earn points in the first period alone, with Eric Vitale, Johnny Mulera, Drake Morse, and Shane Murphy getting the four scores and Mulera, Morse, Brian Scoville, Aydin Parekh, John Gutt, and Matt Wood all picking up assists. Jakob Breault also had two assists in the first period of play.
Mulera and Breault led the Pioneers in points, with each player accruing three such tallies.
Breault also had another stellar day on the draw, with the Pioneer center notching 10 faceoff wins in 12 tries (83% win rate)
The Pioneers strong start gave them a huge edge in the early-going, but it was the Pioneer defense that carried them through the later stages of the matchup.
Ethan Roberts got the win in-net for the Pioneers, allowing just a single goal on the night which came on a Golden Eagle power play. The Junior also grabbed 19 saves during Saturday's action.
The Pioneers also did great on the penalty kill, surviving nearly 8 minutes of disadvantage time and only allowing the single Brockport tally. The Golden Eagles had double the amount of power plays that the Pioneers have, but a veteran Pioneer defense made it very difficult for the hosts to get shots off during their power play chances.
Utica improved to 5-1 with the win, and remained undefeated in UCHC play at 4-0. They will be home next weekend and will welcome Chatham to the Adirondack Bank Center on Friday and Saturday to continue the UCHC campaign.
Game Summary:
The Pioneers came out of the gate on fire, launching 6 shots within the first five minutes of play before landing the 7th attempt in the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.
With fifteen minutes left in the first period, Andrew Della Rovere won a faceoff in the Brockport defensive zone, sending the puck to Scoville who proceeded to swing to his fellow first-line defender in Parekh. Parekh sent the puck on net, igniting a scramble in front of goal which was won by Vitale who put the game's opening goal into the back of the net from point-blank range.
Five minutes later, the Pioneers found themselves on the rush after Morse disrupted a Golden Eagles possession with a well-placed poke check. The puck found its way back to Parekh once again at the blue line, where it was sent in and finished by Mulera off a quick one-time pass from Morse.
Moments later, the Pioneers struck once again, with a misplaced Brockport pass finding it's way directly to the stick of Murphy who fired a wrister top shelf and rattled the Brockport Goalkeeper's water bottle for a 3-0 advantage.
The final score of an emphatic first period came with 17 minutes gone in the matchup. The puck started just to the right of the Brockport goal, before it went around the horn, completing a full revolution around the Golden Eagles defensive zone before ending up right where it began. Breault was sitting back post and scored the 4-0 after excellent offensive movement from the Pioneers.
Utica cooled off in the second period, even allowing an early Brockport score off a Golden Eagles power play. However, the Utica defense stood tall, keeping Brockport off the scoreboard for the final 15 minutes of the second period. It was at the end of that second period that the Pioneers found the final score from either team.
UCHC Rookie of the Week Anthony Bax sent the puck off the boards, placing it near post where it found a waiting Breault. Breault, despite being seated on the ice after a poorly timed slip, sent a no-look pass in between his legs and found Mulera who was unguarded in the face of goal, resulting in a 5-1 Pioneer lead.
The Pioneers salted away the clock in the third period, shutting out the Golden Eagles over the final period to secure the win.