UTICA, NY - The Utica University Pioneers continued their unbeaten run on Saturday evening, following up a 10-4 win over Albertus Magnus with a 5-1 victory to sweep the first ever series between the two teams. The Pioneers moved to 12-5, and boosted their conference record to 8-0. They also picked up their seventh win in a row dating back to last season. The Falcons fell to 10-7 on the year, dropping to 4-6 in the UCHC.
For the second night in a row, the Pioneers erased an early deficit, notching goals in the first and second period, before another big third period saw the Pioneers score three goals en route to the 5-1 win. They also saw a stellar start in net by freshman Frank Murphy, who was gifted the game's third star.
The Pioneers once again outshot their opposition by a wide margin, launching 46 shots compared to 21 by the Falcons. This time around, the hosts also dominated in the circle, as they captured 43 of 66 faceoff opportunities, due in large part to Andrew Della Rovere, who won 19 of his 22 chances on the draw for an incredible 86% night.
Three Stars:
First Star - Aiden Hughes: Hughes swept in at the eleventh hour to nab the final two goals on his way to a two-point performance. The junior picked up his fourth and fifth goal, also gathering his 11th and 12th points of the season. His pair of scores capped off a big weekend, helping keep the Pioneers unbeaten in the league.
Second Star - Mathieu MacMillan: The freshman MacMillan notched the game's winning goal, sending home a stellar wrister from an insane angle to make it 2-1. MacMillan continued to remain hot, as the rookie scored in his third straight game dating back to last weekend's road victory at Nazareth. The freshman forward has found his form recently, cementing himself as part of the Pioneers' young core.
Third Star - Frank Murphy: Murphy had a monumental outing on Saturday night, allowing an early goal before locking in and stumping the Falcons for the final 50+ minutes of the matchup as he ended with 20 saves. Murphy has now won his last three starts in net, settling in well during the second half of the season.
The Pioneers' other two goals were scored by Andrew Della Rovere and Stepan Kuznetsov, with the latter notching yet another point to build upon his recent streak. The rookie forward continues to rack up points in each of his outings since joining the Pioneers over winter break, also grabbing an assist to finish with two points.
The team also piled on nine assists in the matchup. John Gutt led all players with two apples, while Davis Goukler, Will Hilfiker, Jagur McClelland, Alexander Gullichsen, Drake Morse, Nick Ahern, and Kuznetsov each gathered an assist.
The Pioneers will return to the Adirondack Bank Center next Friday, January 30th to battle St. John Fisher for the first time in program history. Next weekend's game will begin at 7:00, and will be Excellus BlueCross BlueShield Night at the Aud.