Men's Ice Hockey Utica Athletic Communications

No. 2 Utica Scores Nine Unanswered to Top Arcadia

UTICA, NY - The No. 2 Utica University men's hockey team poured on nine unanswered goals to top the visiting Arcadia University Knights, 9-1, on Friday evening. 
 
Shane Murphy finished as the lone multi-goal scorer of the night with a pair on three shots on net. Aydin Parekh notched his first career goal in the win while teammates Michael Herrera, Matt Wood, Drake Morse, Eric Vitale, Jakob Breault and John Gutt each had one. Wood, Vitale, Breault and Gutt tied for the team lead with three points apiece, each adding two assists to their lines. 
 
In goal, Bryan Landsberger picked up his eighth win of his junior campaign as he made 14 saves with one goal allowed over 40 minutes. Avery Sturtz appeared between the pipes in the third, stopping all six shots he saw. 
 
As a team, the Pioneers outshot the Knights 55-21 and controlled the faceoff dot 36-21. The team also controlled the penalty battle with just one compared to Arcadia's three. 
 
The Knights gained an early upper hand with a goal by Jude Cole just 25 seconds into the game. However, the lead wouldn't last long as Murphy found the back of the net for his first of the night at 4:42 in the first before Wood put the team ahead 2-1 on a power play goal at 9:13. Utica rode its 2-1 lead into the first intermission. 
 
Murphy created separation for Utica at 5:22 in the second period with his second goal of the night off assists from Kimball Johnson and Morse. Later in the frame, and in the span of less than two minutes, Vitale (17:32) and Morse (18:55) launched the Pioneers into the second intermission with a 5-1 edge. 
 
Landsberger kept Arcadia at bay all period as well, making all 11 saves to ensure a four goal lead. 
 
Utica showed no signs of slowing down in the third. Chris Carroll and Aiden Hughes connected with Parekh for his first goal as a Pioneer at 4:25 in the third while Herrera recorded his 10th of the season at 6:49. 
 
Breault and Gutt added goals at 14:49 and 16:52 for good measure to help deliver the eight goal victory. 

Utica (19-2-3, 18-0-1 UCHC) will close out its regular season at 2 p.m. on Saturday against Arcadia. Tickets for Saturday's regular season finale can be purchased here.