GENESEO, NY - The No. 4 SUNY Geneseo Men's Hockey Team bounced back against UCHC rival No. 2 Utica with a 7-3 win on Saturday night. The Ice Knights improved to 19-3-1 overall and 15-2-1 in conference play. Both teams now have 45 points in league play with two league games remaining. Geneseo holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over Utica.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
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Payne Gatewood put away a rebound from Diarmad DiMurro's shot at 11:22 to extend the lead, and Alex Dameski with the secondary assist. Just over a minute later, Nicholas Kovacs ripped a slap shot from the blue line that whistled past the Utica goaltender; Sterling Wolters and Nathan Stachowiak with the assists. The Knights headed into intermission leading Utica 3-0.
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The second period saw the same energy from Geneseo. Peter Morgan passed the puck across the net to find a wide-open Jack McDonald at 3:12. Sean Melso found twine at 6:18 from a wrist shot at 6:18, Kovacs with the helper. Utica scored two before the intermission, taking a 5-2 Ice Knights lead into the break.
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The Pioneers struck first in the third to tighten the game, but Filip Wiberg knocked the water bottle off the back of the net on a one-timer at 16:23 to put the game to bed. Zach Purcell and Peter Morgan set up the goal. Luke Panchisin scored an empty netter at 17:53 to polish off the win, with Melso and DiMurro on the assists.
QUICK FACTS:
- Jacob Torgner started in net for Geneseo and made 34 saves on 37 shots on target with a .919 save percentage. He is also ranked fourth in D3 hockey with a .900 win percentage.
- The Ice Knights lead the UCHC in goals per game with 107 total goals, averaging 4.65 per game.
- Captain Peter Morgan leads the team with 17 assists, putting him in first place on the team with 26 points.
WHAT'S NEXT:
The Ice Knights will play the Nazareth Golden Flyers (8-13-2) on Friday, February 21st, at 7 p.m. to start the final regular-season UCHC series.