The Utica College men's hockey team lost to host Neumann University 3-1 in the play-in game of the ECAC Men's West Conference Tournament Wednesday night. Sophomore Tim Coffman (Elverson, PA/Laconia (AJHL)) netted the lone goal of the evening for Utica with less than five minutes to go in the game. Freshman Josh Schmitt (Buffalo, NY/Buffalo (OPJHL)) was credited with an assist on the final goal of the contest. The Pioneers finished their season with an 8-14-4 overall record.

Neumann (15-8-3) advances to the semi-final round of the conference tournament and will take on top-seeded and host Elmira College Saturday at 7 p.m.

The Pioneers out shot the Knights 26-24 on the evening but they could not seem to find the back of the net. 

The Knights jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead behind goals from Sean Crozier at 8:59, and Brent Tamane at 11:57. 

The contest went scoreless for nearly 40 minutes until Tamane broke the silence with his second goal of the evening to give the Knights a commanding 3-0 lead with 8:40 to go in regulation. 

Coffman's tally with five minutes to go was his team-high 19th of the season.  Utica went 0-for-7 on the power-play, while the Knights converted on 1-of-3 man-up opportunities. 

Freshman goalie Pat Dunn (Quincy, MA/New Hampton Prep) stopped 21 shots in net for Utica, while Jonathan La Rose made 25 saves for Neumann. 

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