UTICA, NY - The No. 3 ranked Pioneers clashed with Chatham on Friday night at the Adirondack Bank Center for the first game of a Friday-Saturday doubleheader. Utica bookended the action with another goal-scoring clinic, notching two scores in the first period and netting four goals in the third period to come away with a 6-3 victory over the visiting Cougars.
 
The hosts came out with haste, recording yet another lightning quick start to jump out 2-0. Both teams began to settle in during the second period of action though, as they began to adapt to each other's tactics. With both teams finding their footing throughout the middle period of play, the game adopted a slower pace and playstyle. The Pioneers had a few chances to strike in the game's middle 20 minutes, but hit the post a couple times and saw some unlucky bumps cause them to go scoreless in the period.
 
The Pioneers began to pile it on in the final period though, putting away a challenging Cougar side with a four-goal flurry to firmly place the cherry on top of Friday's fantastic victory.
 
Utica took advantage of their power play opportunities late in the matchup, adding to their lead with two advantage goals in the final period. The Pioneers went 2-for-4 in their man-up opportunities on Friday, with three of their four opportunities occurring in the final 20 minutes of play.
 
At the forefront of the hosts' late push was Drake Morse, who earned the game's first star of the night after a three point performance, tallying two scores and snatching an assist in just the third period alone. Morse was joined on the multi-goal front by Eric Vitale, who also netted two pucks in Friday's contest, giving him four goals in his past three appearances.
 
The Pioneers' other goal scorers were Alexander Gullichsen, who picked up his first goal of the season, and last week's UCHC Player of the Week Jakob Breault, who also added an assist during the action to finish with a two point performance.
 
Johnny Mulera excelled as a playmaker during the proceedings, with the Pioneers' leading scorer masterfully distributing the puck to the tune of two assists.
 
Preston Brighton had another solid defensive outing, picking up an assist while also frustrating the Cougar Forwards with four blocks in the game.
 
Utica outshot Chatham by a 64-13 margin, launching a vast volume of shots (48) during the first and third periods, and only allowing the Cougars to manage two attempts on-net in a slower second period.
 
The Pioneers also captured an absurd 76% of all faceoffs on the night, taking 44 of the 58 total opportunities off the draw and. Breault, in addition to his inclusion among the ranks of the Pioneers' point-getters, also won 19 of his 24 faceoff tries for a winning percentage of 79%.
 
John Gutt, Andrew Della Rovere, and Justin Rapp all had excellent outings on the draw as well, with Gutt going 7/9, Della Rovere going 6/7, and Rapp going 8/10.
 
Utica improved to 6-1 on the season and 5-0 in UCHC play. They'll once again stake their spotless UCHC start in tomorrow's rematch against the Cougars. That game will once again take place at the Adirondack Bank Center with puck drop being scheduled for 5:00 PM.