UTICA, NY - The Utica College men's hockey team wraps up the Fall 2018 semester with a pair of road conference games in the greater Scranton-Wilkes Barre area of Pennsylvania this weekend. The Pioneers face a huge test with an early start time on Friday as they match up with Wilkes University for the first time ever at 5 p.m. in Wilkes-Barre. On Saturday, they meet King's College at 4 p.m. in a second UCHC conference tilt in the Keystone State.

Follow Along: Live video and stats will be available for both games this weekend as provided by Wilkes University and King's College Athletic Communications.

Branch Wars: While there was once a well-documented rivalry between Utica and the Scranton-Wilkes Barre area on a popular television show, Friday marks the first all-time meeting between Utica and Wilkes, which is in its first season as a program. Saturday will be the third between the Monarchs and Pioneers. Utica leads the series two games to zero and won by scores of 6-1 and 8-3.

U-tic-a, U-tic-a: The Pioneers are 6-5, and 5-2 in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference. They have won their last two games, and three games in their last four. Utica sits in a four way tie for first at the top of the conference standings with Elmira, Nazareth, and Wilkes all holding 15 standings points each, meaning their game on Friday with Wilkes presents an opportunity to knock one team out of that first place grouping.

World's Best Boss: Head Coach Gary Heenan collected his 250th career win on Friday and now has 251 for his career. He is the fourteenth-winningest active coach in Division III, the 28th winningest coach by win percentage in Division III history, and is now tied with former Wentworth coach Bill Bowes for 39th in career wins. He could feasibly catch up to approximately five other head coaches if the remainder of the season goes smoothly.

Coming In On Saturday: After a strong puck possession first period that yielded limited chances and no goals, the Pioneers took the next step forward offensively in the second period and never looked back as they piled in five goals in the final 40 minutes in a 5-0 blanking of Chatham in a UCHC game that also stood as the 14th annual New York SASH Teddy Bear Toss. In his first lineup appearance since November 9th against Nazareth, Jamie Bucell (Garfield Heights, OH/Philadelphia (EHL)) answered when his number was called to score the climatic first goal at 1:47 of the second period. The sophomore jammed the puck inside the left wing post coming off a short handed rush to trigger a sea of furry mayhem as fans tossed thousands of teddy bears and assorted stuffed toys onto the ice for collection by local children. The short handed goal was the first short handed teddy bear goal for Utica in the event's history. The lead doubled at 5:44 when Greg Burmaster swept a bouncing puck across the crease in tight quarters to Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)), who punched it to the back of the net for his second of the season and a 2-0 Utica lead. Everson served up the assist on a third second period goal when his saucer pass on the rush connected with a driving Shawn Lynch (Syracuse, NY/Ottawa Jr. Senators (CCHL)), who elevated the puck into the back of the net to give the Pioneers a 3-0 advantage after two periods. In the third, Dan Fritz scored from the point through a screen set by Everson, and Gregg Burmaster (Clinton, NY/Colorado College (NCHC)) stapled in a rebound created by freshman JT Entelisano (Rome, NY/Markham Royals (OJHL)) to polish off the scoring at 15:35 as Utica went on to win 5-0. Freshman goaltender Sean Dickson (Millbrae, CA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL-Premier)) was terrific as he turned back 30 shots for the first shutout of his college career. Everson and Burmaster each had a goal and two assists, and the Pioneers were 1-for-4 on the power play. The Pioneers obliterated the Cougars in the faceoff circle, winning 53 of 69 faceoffs on the night.

Casual Friday: Utica didn't take much time turning a 1-1 game into a blowout as they scored six straight goals after an early tie to throttle Stevenson by a 7-1 score at home in a UCHC matchup. Utica got on the board first as a right wing wrist shot off a blind pass by Josh Haskin (Troy, NY/P.A.L. Jr. Islanders (USPHL)) was rifled in by freshman Brad Becker (Howell, NJ/Binghamton Jr. Senators (NA3HL)) for his first career collegiate goal on the power play at 7:10 of the first period. Stevenson answered back with their only goal of the game, but Zach Borsoi (Brossard, Quebec/Gloucester (CCHL)) scored on the power play to break that tie, and Jarrod Fitzpatrick (Wakefield, MA/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) scored his first goal in a regular season game since December 9th, 2017 in the 13th annual Teddy Bear Toss as Utica opened up a 3-1 lead after the first period. The second period opened things up even further as Fitzpatrick added a second goal while short handed, and Josh Haskin (Troy, NY/P.A.L. Jr. Islanders (USPHL)) and Shawn Lynch (Syracuse, NY/Ottawa Jr. Senators (CCHL)) scored as well. Captain Gregg Burmaster (Clinton, NY/Colorado College (NCHC)) added an empty net goal on a late game goalie pull by Stevenson to ice it as Utica went on to win 7-1. Borsoi had a goal and three assists, Fitzpatrick scored twice, and Haskin added a goal and two assists. Gianluca Baggetta (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL)) had 29 saves on 30 shots to pick up the win. The win was Gary Heenan's 250th as a head coach.

Give This Guy A Dundie Award: Utica College senior defenseman Zach Borsoi (Brossard, Quebec/Gloucester (CCHL)) has been named the United Collegiate Hockey Conference Player of the Week. The announcement was made on Tuesday, and comes after this weekend's wins over Stevenson and Chatham to boost Utica back into a tie for first in the UCHC men's standings. Borsoi was a man on a mission this weekend for Utica as he totaled six points on a goal and five assists in two games to propel the Pioneers to a pair of conference wins. In Friday's 7-1 win, Borsoi posted a goal and three assists, and scored the game-winning goal on a first period power play. On Saturday, he added two more assists including one on the coveted Teddy Bear Toss goal scored by Jamie Bucell (Garfield Heights, OH/Philadelphia (EHL)) in a 5-0 shutout win over Chatham. He was part of a blue line that made life much easier for goaltenders Gianluca Baggetta (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL))  and Sean Dickson (Millbrae, CA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL-Premier)) as the team allowed just one goal against for two games. He has a point in six of his last seven games. For the year he has four goals and eight assists for twelve points, and needs just five more total points to have his most productive season to date. He is fourteenth in the nation in points per game by a defenseman.

Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica: Through Saturday's Teddy Bear Toss, over 40,000 bears have now been collected by New York Sash and the Pioneers for distribution to area children through programs like Operation Sunshine and Toys For Tots.

It's Pretzel Day: Utica's power play has been steadily showing improvement over the past two weekends. The Pioneers carried a power play clip of just 8.1 percent and held a three game power play scoring drought prior to their Wisconsin trip. They have a power play goal in each of the last four games they've played since that point and are 5 for their last 17 to lift their percentage up over fourteen percent. They were 3-for-8 over this past weekend. Borsoi is the first player on the squad to reach two power play goals for the season.

The Regional Manager: Senior captain Gregg Burmaster (Clinton, NY/Colorado College (NCHC)) has been surging as of late and now occupies the team lead in total points with 13 for the campaign. He has had four points in each of the last two weekends, with a goal and three assists during the Stevens Point tournament weekend, and two goals and two assists this past weekend. He has six goals and seven assists for the season and is 57th in the country with 1.18 points per game.

Assistants To The Regional Manager: Josh Haskin (Troy, NY/P.A.L. Jr. Islanders (USPHL)) ranks third on the team in points now with two goals and ten assists, and Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)) ranks fourth in points with two goals and nine assists. Haskin and Everson are both in the top 100 nationally in points per game, and Haskin is tied for seventeenth nationally in assists per game.

Lynch Turns Up The Thermostat: Senior forward Shawn Lynch (Syracuse, NY/Ottawa Jr. Senators (CCHL)) had a goal in each game this weekend, and that's just a continuation of what the Syracuse native has been doing lately as a consistent point producer. Lynch has had a point in six of his last seven games played, and the only team to keep him off the scoresheet in that entire span was the No. 1 team in the nation, UW-Stevens Point. He won a season-best 10 faceoffs in just 14 appearances in the Chatham game Saturday.

Like A Carpenter That Makes Stairs: Sophomore forward Josh Haskin (Troy, NY/P.A.L. Jr. Islanders (USPHL)) has always been a step ahead in the faceoff circle this year. He has won 29 of his last 37 faceoff attempts after a top flight performance this weekend.

It's Happening: 24 different players now have a point logged for Utica this season, and just one skater to appear in a game has been held without a point. Five skaters are at 10 points or more, and two others are sitting at nine points.

Rookies Showing Up: Head Coach Gary Heenan has frequently expressed to local media how thrilled he has been with the play of his freshman class, and the numbers back it up. Of Utica's 45 goals scored this season, the Pioneers are getting 37 percent of that offense from freshmen. Utica rookies have canned 17 goals this year. Regen Cavanagh (Chesapeake, VA/Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)) is the team's leading rookie goal scorer with six tallies in eleven games played this season.

Big Numbers At The Utica Branch: Utica is unbeaten in conference home games this season at 4-0, and have dismantled conference opponents by a combined 25-3 in four conference home games. The Pioneers will need to be better on the road, where they're allowing as many goals as they're scoring in conference play en route to a 1-2 league road record.

Dwight Schrute is Manager: Utica is back in the top ten in offensive production nationally after this weekend with 4.09 goals per game to rank ninth as a squad.

Through Concentration, We Lower Your Goal Total At Will: Freshman Sean Dickson (Millbrae, CA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL-Premier)) has made five starts with a 3-2 record in his rookie season, and has a goals against average of 2.11 and a save percentage of .929. He has the fourth best goals against average nationally among rookies to see at least a third of their team's time in net, and also the fourth best save percentage among rookies. Junior Gianluca Baggetta (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL)) is 3-3 in six starts and ranks 36th in the country with a .922 save percentage.

About King's College: King's is 1-11-0 to start the season and has one win in UCHC play as well. They are coached by West Genesee grad and former Oswego player Stephen Mallaro. They are coming off their first win in program history on Friday, a 2-1 win over Neumann, and a 9-1 loss to Manhattanville, a team Mallaro previously assisted with. Tommy Green scored the game-winning goal in the victory over Neumann, while goaltender Brandon Daigle was named the UCHC Goaltender of the Week for his performance in that game as he made 46 saves. Daigle carries a goals against average of 4.44. Up front, Luciano Bucci leads the team with ten points on three goals and seven assists, and Jamie Lukas has six goals. Seven of the twelve games they've played have been decided by three or more goals, and the Monarchs have yet to win at their home rink, the Revolution Ice Centre.

About Wilkes University: The Colonels are in a tie for first with Utica, Nazareth, and Elmira in the UCHC with fifteen standings points, and have a 6-3-0 overall record in their inaugural season. Freshman Donald Flynn leads the squad with five goals and eleven assists for sixteen points, and classmates Nick Fea and Tyler Barrow are close behind with fourteen and thirteen points respectively. Flynn is the eleventh leading point getter in the nation at 1.78 points per game and is the country's most productive freshman. They are coached by former Hobart player Brett Riley in his first season as a collegiate head coach. Riley, a highly successful coach at Albany Academy, has a family bloodline that may be unrivaled anywhere in the college coaching ranks. Father Rob is a scout with the Buffalo Sabres and was the head coach of the AHL's Springfield Falcons for two years, and previously enjoyed a 19 year tenure as the head coach at the US Military Academy at West Point as well as an NCAA title game appearance at Division III Babson in the 1980s. Uncle Brian is the current head coach at West Point. Grandfather Jack was a prominent figure in USA Hockey history. Jack Riley was the head coach of the "Forgotten Miracle" squad that took the gold medal at the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics, a team that he cut 1980 coach Herb Brooks from. The elder Riley coached at West Point for 36 years from 1950 to 1986 and was a two time Lester Patrick Award winner honoring his contributions to the growth of hockey in the United States. He won over 500 games at Army.

Up Next: Utica returns to action following the new year for a non-conference date with Skidmore on Friday, January 4th at 7 p.m. It will be the first meeting between the Pioneers and Thoroughbreds since 2004 even though the programs are under a two hour drive apart. The game will be played fourteen years almost to the day of that last meeting that Utica won 6-1 off three point nights by Jon Ames and Justin Schachtler. Skidmore coach Rob Hutchison is a Waterville, NY native who played high school hockey for Hamilton Central.