UTICA, NY - When the Utica College men's hockey team was tested tonight, a quick response helped the Pioneers take care of business against UCHC foe Wilkes. After Wilkes tied the score at one goal apiece approaching the middle of the second period, Utica rattled off three goals in just over a minute, and the visiting Colonels never quite recovered as the Pioneers prevailed 4-2 over Wilkes in a United Collegiate Hockey Conference matchup at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium and claimed the outright UCHC regular season title.

The win, coupled with Elmira's loss to Chatham, ensures the top spot in the conference outright for Utica for a third consecutive season. The Pioneers won the UCHC regular season in 2017-18, and the ECAC West in 2016-17. It is the fifth regular season title in the last seven years for Utica, who also enters the postseason as the defending UCHC tournament champions.  The Pioneers, as the top seed, receive a bye into the UCHC semifinals, and will await the lowest remaining seed from Tuesday's opening round in a UCHC semifinal series to be played on Saturday, February 23rd, and Sunday, February 24th at the Aud. Tickets are available now.

Utica is now unbeaten in its last nine games, and wraps up another regular season at the top of the standings at 17-6-2, and 14-3-1 in the UCHC. The Pioneers are 10-2-1 at home, and are now 13-1-2 in their last sixteen games.

Josh Haskin (Troy, NY/P.A.L. Jr. Islanders (USPHL)) and Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) led Utica with a goal and assist each, and goaltender Gianluca Baggetta (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL)) ran his unbeaten streak to thirteen consecutive starts with 28 saves. He is 13-3-2 and wraps up potentially the best statistical regular season by a Utica College netminder in the 18 year history of the program with a goals against average of 1.65, and a save percentage of 94.4 percent. Utica's power play was a guiding force with a 2-of-5 performance, and the Pioneers out-shot the Colonels 38-30.

The Pioneers posted a dominant opening period, outshooting the Colonels 14-6, and that pressure led Utica to its first goal. Jarrod Fitzpatrick (Wakefield, MA/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) was the man to strike paydirt for the Pioneers as he landed one to the back of the net at 16:40 off a terrific feed from Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)). A neutral zone skirmish between Utica's Shawn Lynch (Syracuse, NY/Ottawa Jr. Senators (CCHL)) and Wilkes' Tyler Barrow would ensure that the period did not end 5-on-5, as Lynch received a five minute major, and Barrow a two minute minor. Neither team scored on the ensuing two minutes of 4-on-4 play, and Utica's penalty kill unit held for the remaining time in the period as Utica led 1-0 after twenty minutes of action.

Utica's penalty kill finished defusing the extended Wilkes power play at the outset of the second period, but the Colonel special teams would still find a way to capitalize and even the score. After a minor penalty was issued to Dan Fritz, Tyson Araujo canned a back door tap-in off an assist by Nick Fea at 8:14 of the second period to even the score on a power play goal.

The visiting Colonels made a costly mistake after their goal as Donald Flynn was immediately given a two minute minor for Unsportsmanlike Conduct. Utica's power play cashed in just over a minute later when Josh Haskin (Troy, NY/P.A.L. Jr. Islanders (USPHL)) chased in a rebound behind Wilkes' Brandon Gordon for his fourth goal of the season and a 2-1 lead at 9:07.

The Haskin goal was just the beginning. 35 seconds after the goal, Wilkes' Danny Riedel was ticketed with a penalty for cross checking, and Utica made the opportunity count ten seconds later when Landrigan streaked down the left wing and beamed a wrist shot into the top corner of the net following an offensive zone faceoff for a second power play goal and a 3-1 advantage. The lead grew even bigger 32 seconds later when Jamie Bucell (Garfield Heights, OH/Philadelphia (EHL)) received the extra pass from the front of the net from Tyler Pietrowski (Curtice, OH/Odessa Jackalopes (NAHL)), and netted his second goal of the weekend.

Wilkes trimmed the deficit back down to two on a goal scored immediately following a faceoff by Taylor Bommarito at 13:55 of the second, but the Colonels progressed no further despite a solid third period. Baggetta excelled in the third period with 15 saves to blank the Colonels from that point forward, and the Pioneers sealed the deal with a 4-2 win over Wilkes to ride a nine-game unbeaten streak into the UCHC tournament as the top seed.

The Pioneers also honored seniors Zach Borsoi (Brossard, Quebec/Gloucester (CCHL)), Gregg Burmaster (Clinton, NY/Colorado College (NCHC)), Justin Derlago (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Selkirk (MJHL)), and Shawn Lynch (Syracuse, NY/Ottawa Jr. Senators (CCHL)) prior to the matchup as part of the team's senior night festivities.