UTICA, NY - In a battle for second place in the conference, the No. 4 Utica College men's ice hockey team pulled out all the stops to hold off a feisty visiting effort on Saturday. The Pioneers took a two goal lead in the third period, then withstood a late extra attacker comeback attempt by visiting Stevenson University to prevail by a 4-3 score in a United Collegiate Hockey Conference game at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. 

The Pioneers improve to 19-2-2 with two games remaining in the regular season, and continue on the longest winning streak of the season in Division III with a fourteenth straight win. Utica broke a tie for second alongside Stevenson in the UCHC standings to gain outright possession of that spot heading into the final weekend of play. The Pioneers now have 40 standings points, which stands three clear of the Mustangs, and two back of first place Wilkes. A team receives three points for a win in regulation or the first overtime in the UCHC.

The top two spots in the UCHC standings receive a bye into the semifinals, which also includes semifinal hosting duties for a two game series. The third through sixth seeds will play single elimination opening round games on a weeknight preceding the semifinals. A win on Friday by both Utica and Wilkes would set up a potential winner-take-all scenario for the UCHC regular season title on Saturday, when the teams will meet for a 7 PM faceoff in the regular season finale. The Pioneers will meet King's College, while Wilkes will face playoff-bound Nazareth in Friday's action.

The Pioneers were led on Saturday by a one-goal, one-assist effort by Brandon Osmundson (Chesapeake, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)). Captain Jarrod Fitzpatrick (Wakefield, MA/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) scored the game-winning goal on a short handed breakaway in the third period, and freshman defenseman Jacob Cuffley (Kanata, ON/Smiths Falls Bears (CCHL)) scored the first goal of his college career. Kasper Kjellkvist (Vaxjo, Sweden/Curry College (Commonwealth Coast Conf.)) also potted his team-leading fourteenth goal of the season.

Nick Gray and Ryan Patrick each had a goal and an assist for Stevenson, under the direction of Utica native Dominick Dawes. Colin Woods, the brother of former Utica Comet Brendan Woods, and son of former Utica Devil Bob Woods, was in the lineup for the Mustangs.

The goaltending duel was a classic one, as Gianluca Baggetta (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL)) thwarted 17 of 20 opposing shots to snag the win. He made numerous vital saves down the stretch to preserve the victory. He is now 13-1-2 this season, and has not lost a start since November 23rd. Ryan Kenny made 29 saves on 33 shots for the Mustangs. Utica outshot Stevenson 33-20. Neither team scored a power play goal.

The Pioneers came out firing first in a roller coaster first period. After an extended stretch of careful tenativeness between both sides early on, Utica lifted the lid on the matchup at 6:07 of the first period. A point shot by Vaden McManus (Fayetteville, NC/Hampton Roads (USPHL)) was redirected into the back of the net by fellow Hampton Roads Whalers graduate Brandon Osmundson (Chesapeake, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) for Osmundson's twelfth of the season and a 1-0 Pioneer lead. Utica doubled up the lead less than two minutes later when Kjellkvist looped down the right wing boards and zipped a high shot past Kenny to manufacture a 2-0 lead at 7:55.

The Mustangs would turn the score around back to level terms by the end of the first period. Ryan Patrick stole the puck away from the Pioneer defensive corps to halve the lead with a top drawer finish at 9:06, and Chris Javens flushed a rebound in the final minute for a 2-2 score after 20 minutes. Shots in the first period favored Stevenson by an 11-8 count.

The Pioneers re-took the lead under some bizarre circumstances in the second period. In the early minutes of the second period, the game was set into a long delay due to a broken skate blade for one of the officials. When play resumed, the hosts made sure the outcome was worth the wait. It was especially worth the wait for Jacob Cuffley (Kanata, ON/Smiths Falls Bears (CCHL)), who rifled home his first career goal from the blue line to give UC a lead it would hold into the third period.

High drama reigned supreme in the final period with a multitude of twists and turns. The Pioneers nursed a one goal advantage much of the way through, and the Mustangs appeared primed to tie the game up on the power play when Nick Yzaguirre (Chicago, IL/Charlotte Rush (USPHL-Premier)) was boxed with a tripping minor at 13:33. At 14:25, Utica flipped the script when Fitzpatrick caught the Mustangs napping on a 2-on-1 situation at the point, and took it the other way on a breakaway down the left wing. His wrist shot from the left wing circle beat Kenny, and Utica led 4-2.

Stevenson mounted a furious final push that included an extra attacker goal by Nick Gray, but Baggetta and the Pioneers held off the visitors otherwise en route to a nail-biting 4-3 win.

The win ensures that no conference opponent will sweep Utica in the regular season for a second consecutive year.

Utica is now 8-1-2 on home ice this season, and 6-1 in one goal games in this campaign. Monday's USCHO poll will be worth watching for potential movement, as Utica swept the weekend while No. 2 UW-Eau Claire fell to UW-River Falls.