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Utica 5, Western New England 1 - Men's Hockey Final


Springfield, Mass. (1/13/2013) - The nationally-ranked No. 5/8 Utica College men's hockey team bounced back from a disappointing loss on Friday night by defeating host Western New England 5-1 in non-conference action Sunday night.  Rob Morton (New Hartford, NY/Merrimack (Hockey East)) netted one goal and added two assists for the Pioneers, while freshman Donny Olivieri (Philadelphia, PA/Bismarck (NAHL)) and junior Trever Hertz (Jaffray, British Columbia/Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL)) each added one goal and one assist. 

Utica jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead before allowing a goal in the second period.  The Pioneers added an insurance tally in the final period to secure their seventh win in their last eight games.  Utica is now 4-0 all-time against the Golden Bears. 

The Pioneers earned a 2-0 lead in the first 6:00 of the contest behind goals, just 1:40 apart, from junior defender Mike Slowikowski (Ewing, NJ/N.J. Hitmen (EJHL)) and senior Josh Schmitt (Buffalo, NY/Buffalo (OPJHL)).  Before the end of the first, the Pioneers were able to tack on two more goals.  Morton tallied his eighth of the year in the 13th minute and Olivieri closed out the period with his third of the year 28 seconds prior to intermission. 

Dan Monahan netted his fourth of the year midway through the second period to pull the hosts to within three goals.  UC goalie Nick Therrien (Rochester, NH/NY Apple Core (EJHL)) stopped 22 shots in his 10th win of the season. 

Hertz added the final goal of the contest in the third period to seal the victory for Utica.  The Pioneers outshot the Golden Bears 52-23 on the afternoon. 

Junior Adam Graff (Bear, DE/Syracuse Stars (EJHL)) and freshman Joel Wetmore (Horseheads, NY/Lindsay (OJHL)) each registered two assists for UC. 

The Pioneers improved to 12-3 overall on the year. Utica has ten games left on its regular season schedule, all of which are conference contests.  The game against the Golden Bears marked the second of a four game road trip for the Pioneers. UC returns to the ice on Friday night when it travels to Elmira College for an ECAC West Conference match up at 7 p.m.