HENRIETTA, NY - Utica headed to Henrietta on Saturday night to take on a charged Nazareth team who gave them a good fight earlier in the week. In what was the final shot at a regular season victory over Utica for longtime Nazareth head coach George Roll, the Pioneers and Jakob Breault broke through twice and played some solid defense to come away with a big 2-1 victory over the Golden Flyers.
 
Breault was the biggest factor in the Pioneers' fourth win of the season vs Nazareth, netting both Utica goals and dominating on the draw to control the flow of play and get the job done. In addition to his two goals, Breault captured 19 of 26 faceoffs, including a couple key faceoff wins in the closing moments to curb any chances of a comeback effort from the Pioneers' UCHC counterpart.
 
Assisting on Breault's two scores were Anthony Cafarelli and Reid Oliver. Cafarelli got the first apple, sending a cross-crease pass to find Breault on the backside. Oliver booked his helper in the third period, finding a cutting Breault who proceeded to weave through the Golden Flyers back line for the game's decisive score.
 
The Pioneers' bolstered the two scores with some solid defense, keeping the Golden Flyers out of net at nearly every occasion including logging two successful penalty kills against Nazareth.
 
A big part of that effort was freshman goaltender Ryan Piros, who managed to record an outrageous 37 saves on the night, allowing just a single score in the contest to come away with his fifth victory in net as a Pioneer.
 
Ben Schultheis also put in some good defensive shifts, orchestrating some outstanding offensive movement while also blocking three Nazareth shots.
 
The Pioneers were outshot on the night, a rare occurrence. However, they bargained less attempts for more control, as they took 45 of the 69 faceoffs during the action.
 
This competence in the circle allowed Utica to keep the game in hand, with faceoff excellence eventually leading to a gritty victory.
 
The Pioneers improved to 14-2-1 on the season and moved to 10-1-1 in conference play. They moved ahead of Geneseo in the UCHC standings due to the Knights faltering in overtime against Chatham last night. Utica is now in first with 32 points. Geneseo is directly behind them with 31.
 
Game Summary: The pair of UCHC opponents took a little bit to get settled and ease back into the game after they're day off, although the Pioneers had the larger share of possession early on, controlling inside the Golden Flyer zone for the first bunch of minutes.
 
The prolonged period of Pioneer possession caused a Nazareth mishap at around the nine-minute mark of the first period as a Golden Flyer skater interfered with a streaking Pioneer attacker along the boards, giving the visitors their first power play of the night.
 
A Mulera-less Pioneer side looked to convert the early opportunity without their primary power play threat, with the threatening transfer missing his second-straight game on Saturday afternoon. Utica went 0-for-2 on the advantage during Thursday's tilt but rectified their power play woes in stunning fashion during this first chance as they scored within 10 seconds of play restarting to take a 1-0 lead. Cafarelli controlled on the wing before stitching a pass cross-crease to find a waiting Breault on the backend, with Breault bolting the puck past a shifting Nazareth goaltender to take an early lead.
 
The momentum gained from this emphatic moment fizzled out soon thereafter though, as Nazareth scored just under a minute later to knot the game at one apiece.
 
The Golden Flyers gave Utica another go at goal though, as they saw another big hit generate a second power play within the first period for the Pioneers. This time though, the visitors couldn't draw net, and saw the time slip away without finding any big alleyways.
 
The first period drew to a close with the game tied at one.
 
Nothing of note occurred during the first few minutes of the middle period, however the lack of action was righted midway through the period as a runaway Aiden Hughes was dragged down on the breakaway, earning the Pioneers a rare mid game penalty shot.
 
Hughes took the key shot, getting the opportunity due to being the player who was affected. He drove in on net, dragging the puck back but falling victim to the Golden Flyers' goaltender Sayles who stood pat in the center of goal and blocked away the chance.
 
The energy of the matchup shifted after that, with both teams becoming faster and more physical during an elongated shift that saw a flurry of end-to-end action.
 
The Pioneers picked up their first penalty towards the end of the second period, getting a two-minute minor with just under two minutes left to play in the middle-20.
 
Utica sent waves of skaters at the Nazareth power play unit, causing major disruption and killing off the hosts' advantage until the second period buzzer.
 
The game remained 1-1 heading into a crucial third period. The Pioneers were still down a player for around seven seconds to begin the frame but washed away the mini-chance for Nazareth to open the final 20 minutes.
 
Chances were traded over the first few minutes of the final period, with the first noteworthy occurrence being the second penalty gained by the Pioneers with around 14 minutes left.
 
During Nazareth's second power play opportunity, the Golden Flyers held the puck inside the Pioneer defensive zone for nearly the entire two-minute spell, launching a barrage of attempts at the opposing net and seeing each one get swatted away by Piros and the penalty kill unit.
 
At the end of the advantage, John Gutt got out on the rush, getting a prime one-on-one opportunity but seeing his attempt sail just wide.
 
Gutt's play produced some Pioneer momentum though, as Thursday's hero Drake Morse hit the post directly after and Eric Vitale also saw a searing slapshot get snagged shortly after that.
 
Now, with the game's energy on their side, the UCHC powerhouse Pioneers pushed forward and looked to take a late lead.
 
Breault was happy to oblige, as he weaved in between the duo of Nazareth defenders and launched the puck from a tight angle, seeing the puck slip underneath Sayles for the late breakthrough.
 
Breault's second score put Utica up 2-1, putting the pressure on Nazareth to respond with just about six minutes remaining.
 
Piros was also doled a bit of pressure, as it was now on the freshman to keep the Golden Flyers out of goal. He did so right away, switching cross-crease to block a slapshot in what was coined the "save of the game" by the Nazareth broadcaster. Piros also nabbed a blocker save during the same sequence to stymie the Golden Flyer counterattack.
 
The Pioneer defense held strong during the final stretch, shaking off numerous last second efforts from the Golden Flyers to come away with a 2-1 victory and a season sweep against the Rochester-based team.
 
Utica picked up their fifth win in a row to start 2025, climbing to the top of the UCHC table due to Geneseo's overtime loss against Chatham the night before. The Pioneers will take on Brockport in next weekend's UCHC series.