UTICA, NY - The No. 5 Utica College men's hockey team awaits its first home games in over a month as they host a pair of United Collegiate Hockey Conference games at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. The Pioneers are slated to host Neumann University on Saturday at 7 p.m., and will host defending UCHC tournament champion Manhattanville on Sunday at 3 p.m.

Follow Along: This weekend's games can be followed via live video and stats at portal.stretchinternet.com/utica. The game 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. 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.

Alion Night: Saturday's game will be presented in conjunction with Alion Science and Technology. Alion is a private defense technology firm located in Rome that regularly works in conjunction with the United States Armed Forces. They have formed a multi-year partnership with the locally-operated Hockey Fights Type 1 Diabetes foundation to present the foundation's biggest event of the year with a charity fundraiser game prior to the evening's game against Neumann. Participants will be on the ice at 5 p.m., and will then take in the Pioneers' game from the stage end of the Aud. More information on the foundation can be found at http://hockeyfightst1d.org/.

First Source "Save-A-Roo" Day: Sunday will be "Save-a-Roo" day presented by First Source Federal Credit Union! First Source is a proud sponsor of Utica College Athletics including the men's hockey team. On Sunday afternoon the first 500 kids through the door will receive a piggy bank courtesy of First Source. Additionally, you can join First Source in helping to aid US firefighters hitting the front lines battling the raging fires in Australia. First Source's youth mascot is a kangaroo named Kirby, and he wants to help his pals down under. First Source will have a table in the concourse with stuffed kangaroos for sale with proceeds going to this cause.

Where We Sit: The Pioneers are 12-2-2, and continue second half UCHC play with a 6-2-1 conference record. They have nineteen points in the standings to sit in third place. The team has ascended into the top five in the latest national polls released on Monday by US College Hockey Online. This is their first time in the top five since the beginning of the 2013-14 season. That was in the immediate wake of the team's run to the national semifinals in 2013. They are on a seven game winning streak presently, which stands as the fifth longest unbeaten streak nationally. 

Bringing Firepower To The Table: Utica is now second nationally in scoring offense at an average of 4.88 goals per game. They have scored four or more goals in nine straight games. 

Last Time Against These Two: Utica swept the weekend against Neumann and Manhattanville on the road when the Pioneers battled the pair of longtime conference foes in their opening conference weekend on November 8th and 9th. UC nailed down a 5-2 win over Manhattanville, and a 6-2 win over Neumann over the course of that weekend. Brandon Osmundson (Chesapeake, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) was the star of the Manhattanville game with a natural hat trick that closed out the game, and Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) had three assists. In the following day's game against Neumann, the Pioneers scored three late goals to smash open a one goal game in the third period. Joey Rutkowski (Rome, NY/Smiths Falls Bears (CCHL)) led the way with three assists, while Joseph Giacobbo (Deptford, NJ/Rockland Nationals (CCHL)) notched his first career victory. The Utica power play was 2-for-4.

Branch Wars: Utica took care of business against their opponents in the Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre area over the past weekend with a pair of offensively dominant United Collegiate Hockey Conference wins. On Friday, the Pioneers snagged a huge win over No. 12 Wilkes University and did so with a convincing effort. UC flattened the first place Colonels in the first period with five goals, and never once looked back as the Pioneers prevailed in an 8-3 drubbing. Regen Cavanagh (Chesapeake, VA/Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)) recorded his first collegiate hat trick to drive the Pioneers to the win, and Daniel Fritz (Harwood, MD/Canisius College (Atlantic Hockey)) had two goals and an assist. UC outshot Wilkes by a 39-28 count and won the battle on special teams with a 2-for-4 performance on the power play. Utica had a similarly explosive effort on Saturday, but this time the big frame came in the last period. The team broke open a 2-0 lead with eight third period goals in a 10-0 win over King's College. The eight third period goals tie the school record set in December 2011 in a 12-0 win over Salve Regina. Kasper Kjellkvist (Vaxjo, Sweden/Curry College (Commonwealth Coast Conf.)) scored the team's second hat trick in as many days with the first three goals of the contest to register a natural hat trick. Cavanagh, Donovan Ott (Lebanon, PA/Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (ECAC Hockey)), Jarrod Fitzpatrick (Wakefield, MA/Northern Cyclones (EHL)), and Fritz all totaled three points. Brendan Schultz (Schaumburg, IL/Topeka (NAHL)) also scored the first goal of his career to chip in to a balanced effort. Joseph Giacobbo (Deptford, NJ/Rockland Nationals (CCHL)) recorded his first career shutout in net. UC is undefeated at 8-0 all-time when playing King's or Wilkes.

Here, There, and Everywhere: Seventeen of Utica's nineteen available skaters recorded a point in the King's game. That total marks the second highest number of players with a point in one game in school history. It ranks just behind a historic 13-1 rout of Chatham in 2017 where the team set a new program record for goals in one game. That game featured the first career hat trick for then-rookie Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)). All eighteen skaters available for Utica that night had at least one point. Thirteen skaters also logged a point in this weekend's game against Wilkes.

One Historical Parallel: With Kasper Kjellkvist (Vaxjo, Sweden/Curry College (Commonwealth Coast Conf.)) and Regen Cavanagh (Chesapeake, VA/Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)) each recording a hat trick this weekend, the Pioneers had hat tricks in consecutive games for the first time this season. The last time Utica finished off that feat, King's was also the opponent in the second game where a hat trick occurred. That happened last season in February 2019. Gregg Burmaster (Clinton, NY/Colorado College (NCHC)) notched a hat trick in games against Stevenson and King's, and Shawn Lynch (Syracuse, NY/Ottawa Jr. Senators (CCHL)) had a hat trick of his own as well in the King's game as UC recorded hat tricks in stereo during a 10 goal performance. 

And Something That Is Unparalleled: Kasper Kjellkvist's (Vaxjo, Sweden/Curry College (Commonwealth Coast Conf.)) natural hat trick against King's was Utica's second natural hat trick of the season. The other natural hat trick for the Pioneers this year happened in a November victory over Manhattanville. This marks the first time in program history that the team has recorded two natural hat tricks in the same season.

Hot Streaks: Cavanagh has come roaring back to life since the holiday break with seven goals in his last five games played. Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) has points in four of his last five games since returning from injury and has begun the calendar year with four goals and four assists in that five game period for an overall season total of five goals, twelve assists, and seventeen points. Kjellkvist has points in five straight games, and in seven of his last eight contests. Fritz also has points in seven of eight, and had six points over the past weekend. Brandon Osmundson (Chesapeake, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) has eight assists and one goal in five games to begin 2020.

On The Move: Senior defenseman Daniel Fritz (Harwood, MD/Canisius College (Atlantic Hockey)) made a huge move in his scoring standing among Utica's blue line players over the weekend. His six point effort in two games this past weekend has elevated him to 63 career points, tying him for the second most in school history with former teammate Zach Borsoi (Brossard, Quebec/Gloucester (CCHL)). Fritz has 20 points on seven goals and thirteen assists this season to rank second on the team in assists and total points. He is 38th in the nation among all skaters in assists per game, and is now second among defensemen nationally in points per game at 1.25. He is on pace to log the best points per game clip by a defenseman in school history, as he currently sits at 0.88 points per game over three seasons at Utica. 

The Pacesetter: Brandon Osmundson (Chesapeake, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) leads the team with 27 points on team bests of ten goals and seventeen assists. He continues to lead all freshmen nationally in points per game at an average of 1.69, an average that also ranks sixth among all skaters and second among all UCHC players. The freshman is currently on a five game point streak.

On The Road Trip: Utica went a perfect 5-0 on their season-long five game road trip. The trip featured four wins over ranked opponents, as the Pioneers unseated Adrian on two occasions, and defeated Wilkes and Oswego once each. They outscored the opposition 33-15 over the five game stretch. They scored four goals or more in every game, and had three games where they scored two power play goals. Utica also polished off the trip with a 2-0 overtime record, with both wins coming against Adrian. Utica's perfect record in non-conference games on the road trip secured the first unbeaten regular season non-conference record in school history.

On The Power Play: The Pioneers rank seventeenth nationally on the power play at 22.5 percent. They were 4-for-9 over the two games this weekend. Fritz leads the squad with five power play goals.

On The Penalty Kill: Utica took just four penalties this weekend, and were able to kill off the entirety of the four opposing power plays. UC has been working feverishly to improve its penalty killing unit, which now stands 61st nationally at 78.5 percent. Fritz and Nick Yzaguirre (Chicago, IL/Charlotte Rush (USPHL-Premier)) are responsible for the team's two shorthanded goals this year. 

Alumni Update: Two former Pioneers were selected to participate in the ECHL All-Star classic held on Wednesday night in Wichita, Kansas. The event was conducted as a four team 3-on-3 tournament. 2018 graduate Roman Ammirato (Williamstown, NJ/Union College (ECAC)) was selected to represent the Norfolk Admirals as part of the Eastern Conference All-Stars, while 2019 graduate Zach Borsoi (Brossard, Quebec/Gloucester (CCHL)) was selected to play defense on one of two teams comprised of players from the host Wichita Thunder. Additionally, they played alongside three players from the gold medal-winning US Women's National Team. Dani Cameranesi, Kali Flanagan, and Gigi Marvin all participated along with three-time world champion Annie Pankowski. Ammirato and the Eastern Conference All-Stars were the winners of the tournament. The former UCHC Player of the Year has 21 points in 22 games split between Norfolk and Greenville this season. Borsoi has played fourteen games with Wichita and is still looking for his first ECHL point.

About Neumann: The Knights are 5-11-0, and 4-5-0 in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference this year. The team is led by its junior class, as Neumann's top four scorers are all juniors topped by Barry Kneedler's 17 points. Kyle Panteleone has four of the team's five wins between the pipes, and is the team's primary starter now that Mike Cosentino has departed for the SPHL's Macon Mayhem, where he plays alongside Pioneer hockey alumnus Shawn Lynch (Syracuse, NY/Ottawa Jr. Senators (CCHL)). An identifiable strength for the Knights is their power play, which is humming along at 23 percent. 

About Manhattanville: The Valiants are 6-9-1 this year, and 3-4-0 in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference. The defending champions are in a far different position this season with a younger roster. Three of their top four scorers are underclassmen, led by Niko Happo's two goals and seventeen assists for nineteen total points. Ken McLean is the current UCHC Player of the Week, and is a power play marksman with eight power play tallies as part of his team-leading twelve goals. The Valiant power play is operating at 26 percent. Their last game was a 6-5 loss to Neumann.

Up Next: The Pioneers will be on the road on Friday, January 31st as they take on Nazareth College.