UTICA, NY - The Utica College men's hockey team completes a three game road trip and opens the 2019 portion of its conference schedule as it visits Neumann and Manhattanville for a pair of United Collegiate Hockey Conference games. Puck drop against Neumann is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at IceWorks in Aston, Pa, and the game against Manhattanville begins at 3:30 p.m Saturday at the Rye Playland Ice Casino.

Follow Along: Live Video and Stats will be available for both contests. On Friday night, fans can find both at portal.stretchinternet.com/neumann, with live video also available on the Neumann Athletics Roku App with Tom Willms on the call. Saturday's game at Manhattanville will be available at GoValiants.com.

The Streak Is Alive and Well: Utica rolls into this weekend's series on a hot streak as they remain unbeaten in their last six games, including a 1-0-1 record to begin the 2019 calendar year. In that span, the Pioneers have beaten Stevenson, Chatham, Wilkes, King's and Skidmore, and most recently tied No. 5 Oswego on Friday night. The Pioneers have eluded a loss in seven of their last eight games with the lone blemishes coming against squads nationally ranked in the Top 5. The loss came on Thanksgiving weekend against the only unbeaten team left in the nation, No. 1 UW-Stevens Point.

Where We Sit: The Pioneers are 9-5-1, and 7-2-0 in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference. Utica stands atop the conference standings as it begins the second half of the season with 21 standings points. Wilkes, Elmira and Nazareth are tied for second with 18 points apiece. Manhattanville is fifth with 17 points, and Lebanon Valley rounds out the list of teams in playoff position with 15 points. Neumann is in 9th in the 10-team league with just six points, and all of the team's points have come from the 3-on-3 session following a conference tie.

Last Time Out: Utica took three different leads over the course of the game, including one in the third period, but No. 5 Oswego answered all three Pioneer goals as Utica and Oswego settled for a 3-3 tie in their 25th all-time meeting at the Campus Center Ice Arena on Friday. Utica locked down the No. 1 power play in the nation to an 0-for-4 effort on the night. Joey Rutkowski (Rome, NY/Smiths Falls Bears (CCHL)) scored the first goal of the game for the Pioneers in his first appearance at Oswego since transferring from the Lakers to the Pioneers last season. Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) scored late in the first period for a 2-1 lead, and Josh Haskin (Troy, NY/P.A.L. Jr. Islanders (USPHL)) tipped a puck into the net in the third to give Utica a 3-2 lead. The 3-2 lead held for just 1:09 when Derek Brown got the answer for Oswego and the teams ultimately skated to a 3-3 tie. Gianluca Baggetta (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL)) made 26 saves as Utica was out-shot 29-21. The game marked Utica's first tie, and first overtime matchup of the season.


\The Series Against Neumann: Utica and Neumann have met each season as conference opponents since the inception of Utica's program in the 2001-02 season, and have met in the conference semifinals in each of the last two years. This will be the second and final regular season meeting of the 2018-19 season. Utica blasted Neumann in the first meeting at the Aud by an 8-1 score in November. Eric Holland (Whitby, ON/Brockville Braves (CCHL)) and Gregg Burmaster (Clinton, NY/Colorado College (NCHC)) each had two goals apiece in the early season win, and Dan Fritz had three assists. The Utica power play went 2-for-3 on the night. Freshman Sean Dickson (Millbrae, CA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL-Premier)) made 25 saves in the Utica net to improve to 2-1 for his young career. The Pioneers and Knights met three times last season, with Utica posting a lopsided 9-1 win on home ice in the regular season. It was a different story later in the regular season at IceWorks, where Neumann rallied out of an 0-2 hole with three straight to go on to win 3-2. Still, the Pioneers had the last laugh as they turned the tables on the Knights in the playoffs by rallying out of an 0-2 deficit of their own. The Pioneers scored five unanswered after spotting Neumann a 2-0 lead to advance to the conference championship by a 5-2 score.

Against Manhattanville: The Pioneers have won 14 of the last 16 meetings against Manhattanville, including the last eight meetings.  The Pioneers came out firing earlier this season as they beat Manhattanville for an eighth consecutive time 5-1 in their UCHC Opener on October 30th. Gregg Burmaster (Clinton, NY/Colorado College (NCHC)) struck just 4:54 into the matchup to give Utica an early lead, and Regen Cavanagh (Chesapeake, VA/Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)) flushed a centering pass from Eric Holland (Whitby, ON/Brockville Braves (CCHL)) to give the Pioneers the lead for good. Holland and Tyler Dill each scored as well, and Cavanagh's second goal off the back of Manhattanville goaltender Tyler Feaver rounded out the scoring in a 5-1 rout. The Pioneers have outscored the Valiants by a 12-2 score in their last two meetings. Sean Dickson (Millbrae, CA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL-Premier)) stopped 29 of 30 Manhattanville shots to earn his first career collegiate win. The four year members of Utica's senior class are now 8-1 all-time against Manhattanville, and the loss came in their first game against Manhattanville on November 21, 2015. Of the 21 players who dressed that night, just two remain on the current roster and just one is expected to play on Saturday. The Valiants have been held to two goals or less in all but one game of Utica's eight game win streak against them.

Just A Reminder: New for this season is a change in the men's conference points structure and men's overtime policy that will give all UCHC teams a greater opportunity to earn standings points. A win in regulation time or the standard five minute overtime is now worth three points, and a loss in that time frame remains worth zero. If the score is still tied, the game is a tie on each team's overall record and the game will proceed into a five minute three on three period and a shootout if necessary. The winning team in the three-on-three period or shootout will receive two standings points, while the losing team will net one point. The changes are being used on a one-year trial basis for UCHC men's conference games only.

Rolling in Conference Play: The Pioneers have won their last four conference games by a combined margin of 17-2.

Treachery Comes In Threes: When the Pioneers have turned in their best nights defensively, they are rather difficult to beat this season. When the Pioneers allow less than three goals, they are 8-0 and have picked up all but one of their wins in that fashion. When the Pioneers have allowed three or more goals, they find themselves in hot water as the team stands at 1-5-1 in games where that has happened this season. The lone win under that condition came against St. Thomas in a game where Utica pumped in five goals in the third period to win 6-3 and stave off a loss in Wisconsin on Thanksgiving weekend, and the tie came this past weekend against Oswego.


The Ringleader: Senior forward Gregg Burmaster (Clinton, NY/Colorado College (NCHC)) continues to be on a tear, as his assist against Oswego preserved an active eight game point streak. He now has four goals and ten assists in his last eight games dating back to the win over St. Thomas. This season he leads the team with nineteen points, coming off eight goals and eleven assists. His average of 1.27 points per game is 33rd in the nation and sixth among UCHC players. He is 50th in the nation in assists per game. Burmaster also tends to perform well against Neumann up to this point in his career with three goals and three assists in four career games against the Knights, including a playoff effort last season that helped him win UCHC Tournament MVP honors.

Always A Plus: Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)) has landed on the plus side of the plus-minus in each of his last six games, and has been a +9 since Utica's unbeaten streak began with the win over Stevenson in late November. He is second on the team in points in his sophomore season, and has four goals and a team-best 12 assist for 16 points. He is 29th in the nation in assists per game.

A Winning Combination: Since they were put together for the Teddy Bear Toss game, the line of Gregg Burmaster (Clinton, NY/Colorado College (NCHC)), Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)), and Shawn Lynch (Syracuse, NY/Ottawa Jr. Senators (CCHL)) has been impossible to hold off the board as that triumvirate has produced a multi-point night in five consecutive games together. The trio has put up seven goals, fourteen assists, and 21 total points in the last five games.

Landrigan Rides Again: Sophomore forward Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) sat under the radar in the first half of the season with three goals and three assists through the end of 2018. The UCHC rookie of the year from last season may be finding his form once again as he has a goal in both games the team has played in 2019.

Offensive Boost: Utica may get an additional offensive hand from two members of its freshman class that did not play in the last game. Regen Cavanagh (Chesapeake, VA/Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)) is likely to return to the lineup on Friday after sitting out the Oswego game due to a penalty in the Skidmore game. His return brings some colossal rookie firepower back into the lineup as he owns a team-best eight goals. Freshman Joey Savel (Sterling Heights, MI/Philadelphia Little Flyers (EHL)) has yet to appear in his first game after sustaining an injury before the season began, but a debut is possible as early as this weekend for the Eastern Hockey League record holder for points in a season. In his last season with the Philadelphia Little Flyers, Savel dominated the EHL with 31 goals and 65 assists for 96 total points, grabbing the EHL scoring record away from Utica's co-career record holder in games played, Kevin Valenti (Queensbury, NY/Northern Cyclones (EHL)). 

You Shall Not Pass: The Pioneers rank twelfth in the nation in scoring defense at an average of 2.07 goals allowed per game. Utica has allowed three goals or less in all nine of their wins, and have held opponents to a goal or less in eight of their nine victories this season.

Don't Even Think About It: The Utica penalty kill has excelled recently and has not allowed a power play goal in the last three games. Utica has held opponents off the board in their last 17 power play opportunities, including an 0-for-4 effort by an Oswego unit that has been running at an efficient 31 percent for the season on Friday. Utica is killing penalties at an 86.4 percent rate this season, which is now in the top 20 nationally.

Turn The Heat On: While the Pioneers penalty kill has excelled, the power play unit has been limited recently for Utica, who is scoreless with that unit in their last three games after Regen Cavanagh (Chesapeake, VA/Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)) scored a pair of power play goals against Wilkes in December. Utica's power play has not scored in its last 13 chances. Utica is 10-of-73 on the season with the extra man.

About Neumann: The Knights are 1-12-3 under second year head coach Kyle Mountain. Joe Mitchell leads the team in points with thirteen total on four goals and nine assists. They snapped an eight game losing skid on Friday with their first win of the season, a 6-1 win over Anna Maria College where Chris Caldwell and Barry Kneedler each had a goal and an assist. On Saturday, the Knights tied Chatham 1-1.

About Manhattanville: The Valiants are 8-5-2, and have been at their best in conference play at 5-2-2 under head coach Arlen Marshall. Forward Matt Lippa will be in the mix for the UCHC Player of the Year award as his 24 points on ten goals and fourteen assists ranks among the conference leaders. Blue liners Oscar Arfelt and Marco Ferraro are dangerous threats moving the puck into scoring areas with 15 assists for Arfelt, and 10 assists to go with five goals for Ferraro. Goaltender Mac Vail has begun to earn a share of time away from incumbent starter Tyler Feaver and is 5-1 in six starts. The Valiants most recently defeated defending Commonwealth Coast Conference champion Nichols by a 4-1 score. Lippa had a goal and an assist, and Bryan Platt had two assists.

Up Next: The Pioneers return to the Aud on Friday and Saturday, January 25th and 26th. They take on UCHC foe Nazareth on Friday, and Cortland in their last non-conference game of the year on Saturday.