UTICA, NY - The Utica College men's hockey team continues on a five-game homestand with their first back-to-back home weekend of the 2019-20 season. The Pioneers will host a United Collegiate Hockey Conference twinbill on Friday and Saturday at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. Utica will meet Lebanon Valley on Friday, November 22nd, before clashing with longtime rival Elmira College on Saturday, November 23rd. Both matchups begin at 7 p.m.

Chanatry's Night: Friday's game is presented in association with Chanatry's Hometown Market. Recently, the Pioneers were at Chanatry's on a Sunday afternoon assisting area residents with bagging and loading their groceries, and those residents also took home ticket vouchers for the opportunity to attend a future game. Chanatry's Hometown Market is located at 485 French Road in Utica.

Salute To Veterans Night: The Utica College men's hockey team will join forces with the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA) to honor our military veterans with the Salute to Veterans Night on Saturday. The game will feature a special ceremonial puck drop with United States Navy veteran Edward McClintock. McClintock achieved the rank of Seaman First Class and served during World War II. He is a longtime Pioneer hockey fan. The Pioneers are currently auctioning off their collector's edition game jerseys from now until Saturday, November 23rd when they host Elmira College at 7 p.m. You can bid on a jersey by sending an e-mail to ucjerseyauctions@gmail.com  with your name, address and amount you would like to bid. Fans can also bid on the jerseys on the day of the game at the Utica Memorial Auditorium beginning at 6 p.m. All proceeds will benefit the Feed Our Vets, The Sitrin Military Rehabilitation Program, and the Utica College Student Veterans Association.

Follow Along: Both games can be followed via live video and stats at portal.stretchinternet.com/utica. The games can also be found on local radio at WPNR 90.7 FM on the dial and online at PioneerRadio.org. Sports Information Assistant Ray Biggs '13 returns for a ninth season of UC Hockey play-by-play on commercial or non-commercial radio, and will be joined on the broadcast by Utica College students Joe Crossley and Mark Mitchell this weekend. Live video of games hosted by Utica, Elmira, and Nazareth this season can also be seen via the free Empire 8 Conference Apps available on AppleTV, Amazon Fire, and Roku.

The Series with Lebanon Valley: This will be the 28th all-time meeting between Utica and Lebanon Valley. The Pioneers are 4-2 in six meetings since Lebanon Valley's return to Division III hockey in the 2016-17 season. Utica is 3-0 at home against the Dutchmen in that time, and 1-2 on the road. In the all-time series, which previously ran from 2001 to 2010 before Lebanon Valley moved to the ACHA, the Pioneers currently lead the series 24-3 all-time. All three Lebanon Valley wins in the series have come in Hershey, and the Dutchmen have never beaten Utica at the Aud. In 2001, the Pioneers started the all-time series with their first-ever program win at home. In the most recent meeting, Shawn Lynch (Syracuse, NY/Ottawa Jr. Senators (CCHL)) scored twice, including a penalty shot goal, to help propel the Pioneers to a 6-2 win at the Aud. The Pioneers had 48 shots on goal and were 2-for-4 on the power play. Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)), Brandon Young (Muskegon, MI/Johnstown (NAHL)), Zach Borsoi (Brossard, Quebec/Gloucester (CCHL)), and JT Entelisano (Rome, NY/Markham Royals (OJHL)) also added goals for Utica in the game.
 

The Series With Elmira: This will be the 54th all time meeting between Utica and Elmira, who continue their nineteenth straight year meeting one another as conference rivals, a series that runs back to Utica's debut in 2001. Utica trails the all-time series with nineteen wins to Elmira's twenty seven, and the teams have tied seven times. Utica has won five of the last eight meetings. Last season, the Pioneers doused Elmira with a 6-0 road win in November, before playing the Soaring Eagles to a 1-1 tie at the Aud. In the most recent meeting, Spencer McLean had the regulation goal for Elmira, and Tyler Pietrowski (Curtice, OH/Odessa Jackalopes (NAHL)) had the goal for Utica. It was booked at a tie, and the game advanced into the UCHC conference overtime procedure for an additional standings point. With the teams playing 3-on-3 in that scenario, Daniel Fritz (Harwood, MD/Canisius College (Atlantic Hockey)) scored the goal to lift the Pioneers to that additional standings point.

Last Time Out: The Pioneers rode a monstrous first period to a 3-0 advantage, and cruised over the final 40 minutes to a 4-1 victory over visiting Nazareth at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. The Pioneers scored the first three first period goals scored against the Golden Flyers all season to get the leverage needed to put away the visitors. Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)), Kasper Kjellkvist (Vaxjo, Sweden/Curry College (Commonwealth Coast Conf.)), and Daniel Fritz (Harwood, MD/Canisius College (Atlantic Hockey)) scored the first period goals, and John Moncovich (Wilmington, NC/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) added a third period power play goal for the Pioneers. Landrigan had a goal and an assist, while Brandon Osmundson (Chesapeake, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) had two assists. Sean Dickson (Millbrae, CA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL-Premier)) made 23 saves to collect his first win since December 8th, 2018.

Where We Stand: The Pioneers are 3-0-1, and 3-0 in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference with nine points out of an available nine to start the season. They are in second place, with a game in hand on Wilkes. Wilkes has played an extra UCHC game and has 12 points.

Unstoppable: The Pioneers are unbeaten in their last seventeen regular season conference home games within the confines of the Aud. The last home regular season conference loss for the team came on November 11th, 2017 against Elmira, in the first United Collegiate Hockey Conference home game the Pioneers ever played. Since then, the Pioneers have not dropped a UCHC regular season game in Utica in over two calendar years. They are 17-0-1 in home conference regular season games since that loss, with the lone tie coming against Elmira last year.

The Wizard Of Os: Freshman forward Brandon Osmundson (Chesapeake, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) has been off to a captivating start to his debut collegiate season. The rookie has points in every game the Pioneers have played, and leads the team with nine points on three goals and six assists. He has one power play goal. He was the UCHC's Rookie of the Week for the award week of November 4th through 10th. He is the nation's leading rookie scorer at 2.25 points per game. That mark also is fifth-best among all skaters nationally, and is the third best nationally if players from NESCAC Schools, who have a delayed season start, are taken out of the mix.

Danny Delivers: Defenseman Daniel Fritz (Harwood, MD/Canisius College (Atlantic Hockey)) is third on the team with six points, and tied for the team lead with three goals this season. All three goals he has scored have come on the power play. He is tied for fourth nationally among defensemen with 1.50 points per game, and shares the national lead among defensemen not playing in the NESCAC.

Goalie Gab: Utica has employed the use of three of its four rostered goaltenders so far this season. Starter Gianluca Baggetta (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL)) is close to a return after a two game absence, and is 1-0-1 with a save percentage of 90 percent, and a goals allowed average of 2.40. Sophomore Sean Dickson (Millbrae, CA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL-Premier)) turned away 23 of 24 shots in his season debut against Nazareth, and Freshman Joseph Giacobbo (Deptford, NJ/Rockland Nationals (CCHL)) thwarted 24 of 26 shots in a win over Neumann. 

Ahead Of The Game: The Pioneers are ninth nationally in scoring offense at 4.50 goals per game. They lead the conference in that category, are just one of two United Collegiate Hockey Conference teams ranking in the top 20. They are sixteenth nationally in scoring defense at 2.00 goals allowed per game, and are also tied with Stevenson for the UCHC lead in that category.

The Power Play Is Powerful: Utica has opened with a 7-of-19 mark on the power play this season, good for a 36.8 percent conversion rate. That ranks third nationally. Three of the team's seven power play goals have come from point man Daniel Fritz (Harwood, MD/Canisius College (Atlantic Hockey)), while Brandon Osmundson (Chesapeake, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)), Dante Zapata (Huntington Beach, CA/Austin Bruins (NAHL)), Tyler Pietrowski (Curtice, OH/Odessa Jackalopes (NAHL)), and John Moncovich (Wilmington, NC/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) each have one. Utica's first power play unit has scored six of the team's seven goals in man-up situations.

Not Even Close: Since tying their opener against Canton, the Pioneers have won their last three games by three goals or more. The Pioneers are 33-4 in the last three years when the game has been decided by three goals or more.

About Lebanon Valley: Lebanon Valley is 2-5 to start the season under head coach Don Parsons. They split the weekend last weekend with a 4-0 loss to Neumann, and a 3-2 win over Manhattanville. Senior Cole Hepler and Freshman Ziki Mroz share the team lead with five points apiece. Hepler has two goals and three assists, and Mroz has five assists. Junior transfer Henry Burns is the team's top starter with a 2.92 goals against average. Burns, a native of Camillus, NY, suited up for West Genesee in high school and was high school teammates with UC hockey alumnus Shawn Lynch (Syracuse, NY/Ottawa Jr. Senators (CCHL)). Backup netminder Matt Forslund is the son of NHL on NBC and Carolina Hurricanes broadcaster John Forslund.

About Elmira: Elmira is 2-3-1 under head coach Aaron Saul. Last weekend, the Soaring Eagles defeated Neumann 4-0, and lost to Manhattanville 3-2. Elmira is led by a line of three seniors, two of whom are All-Americans, and all three are over 100 career points. Nick Ford was a 2018 AHCA First Team All-American, and Connor Powell was a 2019 Second Team All-American and the UCHC Co-Player of the Year. Matthew Cuce is the third piece of that line and just eclipsed 100 career points. He was last week's UCHC Player of the Week.

Up Next: The Pioneers will host the field of Plymouth State, Oswego, and Salve Regina in the Utica Thanksgiving Showcase on November 29th and 30th.