UTICA, NY - The No. 3 Utica University Pioneers clashed with Chatham for a second straight night on Saturday evening, looking to stump the Cougars once again and keep their UCHC sweep streak afloat. The Pioneers jumped out quickly once again, building a 3-0 lead over the opening stages of the contest and fending off a late Chatham push to put the visiting Cougars on ice and come away with their sixth straight victory by a final tally of 4-3.
The Pioneers once again counted on a committee of attackers to put them over the visitors, with four different Utica players scoring in the matchup.
Shane Murphy, Ben Schultheis, Aidan Hughes, and Jakob Breault scored the four Pioneers goals in the weekend win. Andrew Della Rovere, John Gutt, Eric Vitale, and Drake Morse each picked up an assist in the game as well. Matt Wood and Aydin Parekh also each recorded two apples in the action, finishing as the Pioneers' leading point-getters.
Bryan Landsberger got the start in goal for Utica for the first time this season, making 20 saves. He totaled three in the first, 11 in the second period and six in the third. He stood tall on a few penalty kills early in the match and shut down multiple Cougar breakaways in the later stages of the contest.
The Pioneers once again got out to one of their patented lighting quick starts, scoring two goals within the first 10 minutes of play. The Pioneer defense and forecheck was forceful in the period, keeping the Cougars on their heels and managing to dominate the visitors in the shot column, landing 18 attempts on goal compared to just three from Chatham in the initial 20 minutes.
Utica opened the second period with six shots in the first three minutes of action. Utica struck first in the period, as Hughes gave Utica a 3-0 lead with 16 minutes remaining. With 8:25 left, The Pioneers went on the penalty kill, forcing a handful of turnovers in the neutral zone. Utica would give up zero shots on goal in the two-minute minor and would take a 3-0 into the third period. Chatham and Utica combined for 29 shots on goal in the second, 18 for Utica and 11 for Chatham. The Pioneers edged the Cougars in the faceoff department, 38 to 13.
The third period saw four goals, three from the Cougars and one from the Pioneers. Chatham's three goals came within nearly nine minutes of each other, with two being just 23 seconds apart. Breault scored at the 11:44 mark in the period, extending Utica's lead to 4-1 and nearly putting a bow on the bout. Chatham would fight back though, as the extremely scrappy Cougars clawed their way back into the contest, eventually falling victim to an overwhelming Pioneer defense and landing just short of the mark as the final buzzer sounded with Utica still holding a 4-3 advantage.
Utica (7-1-0, 6-0-0 UCHC) now gets set to host the Delta by Marriott Utica Thanksgiving Showcase on Friday, November 29 and Saturday, November 30. A host of highly touted programs will be in attendance for this year's festivities, with Oswego facing Stevenson at 4:00 on Friday, followed by the Pioneers hosting University of New England in the other semifinal later that night at 7:30. Utica will play at 7:30 the next night regardless of the first day's outcome.