UTICA, NY - The No. 14-ranked Utica University hockey team sped past SUNY Canton on Sunday afternoon, defeating the visiting Roos by a 5-1 final thanks to a trio of outstanding performances by John Gutt, Nick Ahern, and Aiden Hughes.
The Pioneers moved to 8-5 with the victory, taking down an upset-geared Canton squad who fell to 5-7 on the season.
The hosts scored twice in the first and three times in the second to achieve the five-goal outing, outshooting the SUNYAC side 34-17 and winning the faceoff battle by a 29-25 margin.
Contrary to last night's matchup, this contest saw just three penalties, with the Pioneers scoring on one of their two power play opportunities.
Three Stars:
First Star - John Gutt: Gutt led the Pioneers with two goals on the night, landing two pucks in the back of the net to showcase his senior skill. The veteran center bookended scoring for the hosts, breaking the ice and capping off the win as he notched the first and last goals in the matchup.
Second Star - Nick Ahern: Ahern continued to pile up points, grabbing three assists in the action to lead all skaters. Ahern also tallied an assist last night against Neumann, running his total to four apples on the weekend.
Third Star - Aiden Hughes: Hughes had a massive breakout performance, racking up one goal and two assists to help push the team to victory. The junior forward had just two assists on the season before his three-point night, proving to be a massive factor in the Pioneers' final non-conference win of the regular season.
Stepan Kuznetsov secured his second goal in as many games for the squad, continuing to make an immediate impact since his transfer over winter break. Preston Brighton also ripped the cord to round out the scoring for the orange and blue.
Sal Cerrato followed up his powerful play making performance from last night with another multi-assist outing, getting two apples on Sunday evening. Eric Vitale and Gabriel Lundberg rounded out the point getters with an assist each.
Frank Murphy got the start in net, showing out in his second-career performance as he stopped 16 shots and allowed just one goal in his first ever collegiate win.
The Pioneers will now turn their attention to UCHC play, as league games make up the rest of their 25th regular season schedule. Next Saturday, the team will host Nazareth in a standalone matchup, facing the Golden Flyers at 7:00 PM on First Source Night.