HORSEHEADS, NY - It took their tightest victory yet on their recent hot streak, but the No. 4 Utica College men's ice hockey team has now won eleven straight games. Junior forward Kasper Kjellkvist (Vaxjo, Sweden/Curry College (Commonwealth Coast Conf.)) scored with 1:34 remaining in the third period to break a 2-2 tie, and the Pioneers were able to hold off host No. 15 Elmira by a 3-2 score in a United Collegiate Hockey Conference game at the Murray Athletic Center in Horseheads, New York.

Utica improves to 16-2-2 overall. The win propels the team to 31 standings points in the UCHC, and strengthens their position in third ahead of the fourth place Soaring Eagles. UC remains perfect against ranked opponents at a record of 7-0 against competition ranked in the USCHO poll at the time of the game, and the Pioneers are also a pristine 9-0 in the calendar year 2020.

Utica and Elmira have split the regular season series at one game apiece. Each side won in their road leg of the series, with Elmira winning at the Aud in November.

Kjellkvist's goal was his team-leading thirteenth of the season, and the junior transfer has now recorded a point in nine consecutive games to kick off the new year. Jarrod Fitzpatrick (Wakefield, MA/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) and John Moncovich (Wilmington, NC/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) scored the remaining Utica goals, with Donovan Ott (Lebanon, PA/Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (ECAC Hockey)), Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)), Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)), and Dante Zapata (Huntington Beach, CA/Austin Bruins (NAHL)) recording assists. Connor Powell had a goal and an assist for Elmira, and Nick Ford added two assists. 

Senior netminder Gianluca Baggetta (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL)) put together another thrilling outing for UC. He thwarted 29 of 31 Elmira shots to improve to 10-1-2 in the 2019-20 campaign. He is 2-0 in a pair of starts in his career at Elmira, and the Pioneers are 3-0 all-time in games where Baggetta has played at least one minute inside the Murray Athletic Center. The win was his 32nd career.

The Pioneers were outshot 31-28 in the win, which marked the first time in five games that Utica was held under 40 shots in a contest. It also snapped a five game streak where the Blue and Orange had outshot its opponent on the night. Utica's power play finished 1-for-2, with the Soaring Eagles going 1-for-3. 

The first period yielded a slow start for both sides, with just eleven total shots and no scoring to show on the board in a frame that was entirely played five-on-five. Shots were 8-3 Elmira heading into the first intermission.

A much more eventful second period took hold after a quiet first. Utica began to build momentum early in the frame, including a period opening stretch in which they held the puck in the Elmira zone for nearly two minutes. The Utica cause was aided further when Elmira's Kale Kane took a major penalty for interference on a hit to Brandon Osmundson (Chesapeake, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) just inside the Soaring Eagle blue line at 4:07.

A lengthy five minute power play was temporarily broken up at 6:43 when UC was flagged for too many men on the ice, but the Pioneers would stay the course and capitalize on their remaining portion of their advantage following the release of the minor penalty. With just seven seconds remaining in the penalty, Moncovich sailed a shot past Elmira netminder Chris Janzen to push Utica out to a 1-0 lead. 

Elmira would use a power play of its own to pull back on level terms before the end of the stanza. At 17:50, Utica freshman defenseman Jacob Cuffley (Kanata, ON/Smiths Falls Bears (CCHL)) was given a two minute minor for interference. Reigning UCHC player of the year Connor Powell of Elmira cashed in 50 seconds later on a power play strike to tie the game at 1 with 1:20 remaining in the period, and the teams journeyed into the third tied at 1 apiece.

Utica caught the wrong end of an ominous start to the third period, but successfully turned the game around to win. Just 33 seconds into the third, the Pioneers were caught behind by a goal as Elmira's Anthony Parrucci scored off a Utica turnover to take a 2-1 lead. Pioneer captain Jarrod Fitzpatrick (Wakefield, MA/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) saw to it that the home lead was short lived, as he answered right back at 3:58 for a 2-2 score. Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)) and Dante Zapata (Huntington Beach, CA/Austin Bruins (NAHL)) picked up the assists.

The third period continued to ebb and flow between the two sides from that point forward, with a crucially important penalty kill effort just past the midway point of the frame providing a big boost to the Utica effort. The Pioneers found all the breathing room they needed in the stressful waning moments on Kjellkvist's goal, then withstood a late extra attacker push by the hosts to preserve the win.

Utica is 5-1 in games decided in regulation by a single goal this season. 

The Pioneers seek a weekend sweep tomorrow as they head to Hershey, Pennsylvania for a matchup with Lebanon Valley College. Game time at the historic Hersheypark Arena is slated for 4 p.m.