GENEVA, NY - The Utica College women's hockey team was in the heat of battle with another tie game in the third period this afternoon against William Smith, but a power play goal by Heron forward Maura Mulligan broke a 1-1 third period tie as the Pioneers were dealt a 2-1 United Collegiate Hockey Conference defeat on Sunday in Geneva, NY.

The loss leaves Utica (14-6-1, 11-4-1 UCHC) with one point out of a possible four on the weekend after yesterday's tie, and moves them out of a tie for the second position with the Herons and into third in the UCHC standings with just two conference games left to go. The Pioneers have already qualified for the six-team UCHC tournament field with last weekend's results and will be in the postseason for a seventeenth time in eighteen years.

Utica was outshot 35-27 for the afternoon, and was held to an 0-for-6 effort on the power play while the Herons cashed in twice with the extra skater. Local product Ryann Stripp (Holland Patent, NY/Clinton Warriors) made 33 saves on 35 shots as she got her fourth start of the season in the Pioneer net.

As with Saturday's game, the Herons again delivered the first strike in the opening period, with their power play unit delivering on its earliest opportunity. Becky Brown was sent off for a roughing minor at 1:58, and some creative work deep in the Utica zone by Gina Scibetta and Mulligan did the rest as Mulligan slid the puck into the slot for a waiting Stephanie Hampton, who planted it into the back of the net to give the Herons a 1-0 lead. The game went scoreless for the remainder of the first period with the hosts holding a 12-8 shots on goal advantage after one period.

Utica established a firmer degree of possession in the second period, and used their best possession stretch of the entire game to snag the lead. As the midpoint of the period approached, Utica delivered a minutes-long stretch of offensive zone possession deep in the Heron zone and eventually cashed in on a tired Heron team that also had a delayed penalty call on by the time the goal was scored. Kayla Dion (Colchester, VT/Boston Shamrocks) teed a heavy shot off from the point with Ricki Haab (Stowe, VT/Stowe) getting a tip on the puck from the right wing circle, and the puck had eyes past debuting William Smith netminder Gaby Henry to put Utica on the board. The Pioneers did not cash in on the following power play, and the second period closed with the score tied at one.

The Herons created separation in the third period as their power play delivered again. Off a minor penalty to Katrina Cornick (Mason City, IA/Rocky Mountain Roughriders), the Herons put together a crafty play as Hampton slipped the puck into the high slot to Jordan Roetzer from the right wing, and Roetzer quickly touched it ahead to Mulligan for the finish as William Smith assumed the lead for good with 14:16 left. Utica made a late push for the equalizer that included multiple power plays, and the Pioneers almost got their due on a promising slap shot by Kayla Dion (Colchester, VT/Boston Shamrocks) that caught the post late in the contest, but the comeback trail would be stopped short for the Pioneers as they fell 2-1.

Utica's power play was 0-for-6 in the matchup, The Pioneers host No. 1 Elmira on Friday afternoon at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. Game time is at 2 p.m.