#13 Utica 5, Brockport 3 - Box Score

Utica, N.Y. (10/22/11 ) - After falling into an early 2-0 hole the nationally-ranked No. 13 Utica College men's hockey team outscored visiting Brockport 5-1 in the final 40 minutes to earn a 5-3 season opening victory in front of 3,696 fans at the Utica Memorial Auditorium Saturday night.  Sophomore Adam Graff (Bear, DE/Syracuse Stars (EJHL)) proved his hat-trick in the Friday night's exhibition was no fluke, as he netted a game-high two goals and added one assist.  Senior captain Tim Coffman (Elverson, PA/Laconia (AJHL)) posted four assists, while sophomore Trever Hertz (Jaffray, British Columbia/Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL)) added one goal and one assist. 

“We seemed a little sluggish in the first period and its guys like Graff who can really get things going for us,” said 11th year Head Coach Gary Heenan. “I'm glad to see our guys were able to respond to some adversity tonight but we are going to have to bring it all together against Oswego next weekend if we plan to come up with another win.”

The Pioneers (1-0) won their second straight season-opener against Brockport after defeating the Golden Eagles 3-1 one year ago. Graff provided a much needed spark for the Pioneers by netting the first and last goals of the game. 

Brockport opened the contest with upset on its mind by netting two goals in the first 15:34 of the contest.  Ian Finnerty played a part in both of the Golden Eagle goals, scoring the first, before assisting on James Cody's first period goal, to put the visitors on top 2-0.  

A fire was lit under the Pioneers in between the first and second periods, as they came out and scored two goals in the first 2:41 of the second stanza to knot the score at 2-2.  Graff's first goal of the regular season was assisted by Josh Schmitt (Buffalo, NY/Buffalo (OPJHL)) and Tim Coffman (Elverson, PA/Laconia (AJHL)), while junior forward Evan Chlanda (Islip, NY/Springfield (EJHL)) added a power-play goal in the second minute to tie the game up. 

Hertz tipped home his first goal of the year at the 15:25 ledger to give UC the lead for good.  Coffman and Graff assisted on the Pioneers' go-ahead goal. 

UC padded its lead in the third period when sophomore defender Steve Zappia (Buffalo, NY/Buffalo Jr. Sabres (OJAHL)) netted the eventual game-winner in the eighth minute.  Brockport would not go down easy, scoring a short-handed goal with less than ten minutes to go to cut UC's lead to 4-3. 

When Brockport pulled goalie Oliver Wren with one minute to go the Pioneers' were finally able to add an insurance goal to seal the victory.  Graff's determination led to a wide open goal at 19:20 as UC increased its lead to 5-3 with less than a minute to go. 

UC goalie Evan Smith (Penticton, British Columbia/Calgary Royals (AJHL)) stopped seven shots in each period, tallying 21 total, to help UC kick off the season with a win.  Wren totaled 32 saves in net for Brockport. 

Utica returns to the ice next Saturday when it hosts nationally-ranked No. 2 Oswego State for a non conference contest at 7 p.m.

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