UTICA, NY- The nationally ranked No. 3 Utica College men's hockey team scored early and often as it downed visiting Kings College 9-0 in UCHC action Friday evening. 
 
With the win, accompanied with a Wilkes loss, Utica takes the top spot in the UCHC standings, one point ahead of the Colonels.  The two teams will meet Saturday in the regular season finale, with the regular season title on the line.
 
The Pioneers (20-2-2, 14-2-1 UCHC) extend their program-record winning streak to 15 games.   This marks the third straight season that UC has reached the 20-win mark.  Utica needs just one more win to match the most wins in program history (21), which the Pioneers have accomplished twice before (2012-13 and 2017-18).
 
Utica jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second period and a four-goal outburst in the second all but sealed the victory. UC tacked on two more for good measure in the third to improve to 9-1-2 at home this season.
 
A hat trick by sophomore Eric Holland (Whitby, ON/Brockville Braves (CCHL)) highlighted the night.  Holland scored two goals in the second period, including one just 17 seconds into the stanza, and tacked on his third of the evening in the third.  The forward also added one assist to finish with four points on the outing.
 
Junior Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) extended his scoring streak to 11 games as he found the back of the net twice. Freshmen line mates John Moncovich (Wilmington, NC/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) and Brandon Osmundson (Chesapeake, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) had the helpers on both of Landrigan's tallies.  
 
Regen Cavanagh (Chesapeake, VA/Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)), Buster Larsson (Bunkeflostrand, Sweden/Syracuse Stars (NCDC)), Kasper Kjellkvist (Vaxjo, Sweden/Curry College (Commonwealth Coast Conf.)), and Dante Zapata (Huntington Beach, CA/Austin Bruins (NAHL)) each finished with one goal and one assist in the win.
 
Utica netminders Gianluca Baggetta (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL)), Joseph Giacobbo (Deptford, NJ/Rockland Nationals (CCHL)), and Sean Dickson (Millbrae, CA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL-Premier)) combined for 12 saves in the shutout.