UTICA, NY - The nationally-ranked No. 3 Utica College men's ice hockey team makes a fifth straight conference tournament finals appearance this weekend at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. The Pioneers will chase their second conference tournament title, and a second NCAA tournament appearance as they host second seeded Wilkes in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference Championship Series on Friday and Saturday. Game time for both matchups is slated for 7 p.m.

Ticket Information: To purchase tickets to this weekend's playoffs, visit the Auditorium Box Office during normal business hours, or you may purchase tickets online at EmpireStateTix.com. Ticket prices are $8 for adults and $4 for students with valid ID.

Follow Along: Live video and stats for all UC Home Games are available at portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. In addition, radio coverage of home games is available on WPNR 90.7 FM and PioneerRadio.org. Sports Information Assistant Ray Biggs '13 brings fans the play-by-play for a ninth year, with UC Student Abin Boris providing the color commentary this weekend. Fans can also view home games on the free Empire 8 apps available for Roku, Amazon Fire, and AppleTV.

At Stake: The winner of the UCHC Championship Series will be the conference tournament champion, and will also earn the right to represent the conference as its automatic qualifier into the NCAA tournament. This marks the second year of automatic qualifier status for the UCHC and its members following a decades-long wait to receive it. Utica won the inaugural UCHC tournament in 2018, and Manhattanville upset Utica in 2019 to claim the title and the first-ever automatic bid in league history. All three UCHC finals have been hosted at the Aud by Utica.

On The National Scene: Should the Pioneers win the series, they would advance to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2013. Utica currently sits atop the latest update of the NCAA pairwise rankings, which are used to select and seed the tournament field. If Utica wins this weekend, they will have a strong case for the top overall seed. Otherwise, the Pioneers will be firmly entrenched in the conversation to receive an at-large bid. The field is selected on Sunday, and announced on Monday morning on NCAA.com.

Record Breaking Season: During their semifinal sweep of Nazareth College, Utica has set a new program record for wins in a season. They broke the record in Saturday's win with their 22nd win, then extended their newly established record to 23 games in the win Sunday. The previous record stood at 21 wins between Utica's 2013 NCAA semifinalists, and the 2018 UCHC Tournament Championship team.

Where We Sit: Utica is now 23-2-2 this season, and have won a program record eighteen consecutive games. The Pioneers remained third in the latest edition of the US College Hockey Online Men's Top 15, which was released on Monday. Utica has stuck at the third spot for three straight weeks. 

Do Not Adjust Your Set: This season marks the second year of the new United Collegiate Hockey Conference men's playoff series format. The semifinal and championship rounds of the tournament are played in a two-game series format authorized for use by the NCAA. The series will feature two regulation games played to NCAA regular season parameters, meaning three twenty minute overtime periods, and a five minute overtime period if the game is tied. Unlike single elimination, games can end in a tie under this format. A team wins the series with two wins, or with a win and a tie. In the event the series is tied after two games, the series progresses into a twenty minute minigame following the second game. The minigame is its own stipulated contest. The score will be reset, the ice will be resurfaced, and teams can make lineup changes as they see fit. A twenty minute period will follow, and whichever team has the most goals at the end of that period earns the right to advance. If the score is tied, twenty minute sudden death overtimes go into effect continuously until someone scores to advance. The minigame does not count for win-loss records, nor do the stats count in accumulated totals. Utica had the minigame come into play for the first time last season in the UCHC Championship series against Manhattanville. Wilkes is coming off a semifinal series against Stevenson that was decided in the minigame.

Last Time Out: The top-seeded Pioneers swept their UCHC semifinal series against fifth seeded Nazareth this past weekend. The teams matched up in the semifinals for a second consecutive year. Utica won the opening leg of the series by a 5-2 final score on Saturday. A three goal third period made the difference in breaking a 2-2 tie, with John Moncovich (Wilmington, NC/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) scoring twice in UC's late push. Brandon Osmundson (Chesapeake, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) had three assists as well. Utica scored two power play goals and outshot Nazareth 42-25. In Sunday's game two, the Pioneers powered through a three goal second period, then had to hold off a two goal Nazareth comeback that stretched all the way to the final buzzer for a 3-2 win. Donovan Ott (Lebanon, PA/Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (ECAC Hockey)) recorded a power play goal for Utica, while defensemen Cameron Bartkoski (Dallas, TX/Amarillo Bulls (NAHL)) and Vaden McManus (Fayetteville, NC/Hampton Roads (USPHL)) chipped in on the offensive end with a goal apiece. Utica outshot Naz 33-17 in game two.

Play It Again, Sam: In back-to-back years, the Pioneers have clinched a semifinal series with a 3-2 win against Nazareth.

Against Wilkes: This weekend will mark the fifth and sixth all-time meetings against the Colonels for UC. Utica leads the series four games to zero. Utica won both games this season by scores of 8-3, and 5-1. Utica was 4-for-10 on the power play across the two games and has outshot Wilkes in both games.

Tale of the Tape: This weekend's series will feature two of the nation's top five offenses. The Pioneers rank second nationally at 5.07 goals per game, and the Colonels are fifth at 4.59 goals per game. Defensively, Utica ranks seventh nationally at 2.04 goals against per game, while Wilkes is 49th in the nation in scoring defense. On the special teams, Utica is fourteenth nationally on the power play. The Pioneers are 28-of-113 for a 24.8 percent conversion rate on the man advantage. Wilkes ranks eighth in the nation with a 26.8 percent success rate. On the penalty kill, Utica is 46th, while Wilkes is 58th nationally. Wilkes is the sixth most penalized team in the nation at an average of 17.4 minutes per game, and Utica is the seventh least penalized team in the country at just 9.5 minutes per game. No Pioneer has more than 24 minutes in penalties this year.

Pour It On: This year's edition of the Pioneers has set a new school record for goals in a season with 137. The previous record, set in the 2017-18 season, was 133.

The Landy Man Can, And Did: Junior forward Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) was named the UCHC Co-Player of the Year, and First Team All-UCHC on Wednesday. Landrigan earns the award after posting 38 points on 12 goals and 26 assists in just 20 games. He led the UCHC in points per game in conference contests. He is on a fourteen game point streak, and totaled a goal and three assists in the team's semifinal series sweep of Nazareth. He is the second Pioneer to win UCHC Player of the Year.

Danny Defense: Senior defenseman Daniel Fritz (Harwood, MD/Canisius College (Atlantic Hockey)) was named the United Collegiate Hockey Conference Defensive Player of the Year, and First Team All-UCHC on Wednesday. In 27 games played, he has eleven goals and 27 assists for a total of 38 points. He leads the nation in points per game among defensemen at 1.41 points per game. Fritz has the second most points by a Utica defenseman in a career (81) and in a single season(38), and will tie 2018 UCHC Defensive Player of the Year Dalton Carter (Toledo, OH/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) for both marks with his next point. He is tied for ninth in the nation with eight power play goals.

The Great And Powerful Oz: Freshman forward Brandon Osmundson (Chesapeake, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) has been selected as the UCHC Rookie of the Year, and was also chosen as a second team All-UCHC pick on Wednesday. He leads the Pioneers with 40 points and 28 assists. He has also scored twelve goals on his way to what is presently the second most productive rookie season by a Utica forward. Osmundson sits just one point away from tying Ryan Webb for the college's rookie total points mark of 41. He leads the country in points per game by a freshman.

Coach of the Year: Head Coach Gary Heenan was named the UCHC's Men's Coach of the Year on Wednesday. Heenan earns the award after leading Utica to a program record 23 wins, the UCHC regular season title, and a spot in the UCHC Championship Series. Heenan has 288 career wins to stand as the twelfth-winningest active men's ice hockey coach in Division III.

In the All-Conference Vote: Two Pioneers were honored on the 2020 All-UCHC teams in addition to the team's major award winners. Goaltender Gianluca Baggetta (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL)) was named second team All-Conference, and was the runner-up in the Goaltender of the Year voting. Baggetta earns the nod after amassing the nation's best winning percentage at 90 percent with a season record of 17-1-2. Baggetta has a save percentage of 91.6 percent and is conceding just 2.16 goals per game, a figure that led the UCHC this season. He is undefeated in fifteen straight decisions. Additionally, Jacob Cuffley (Kanata, ON/Smiths Falls Bears (CCHL)) was selected to the UCHC All-Rookie Team. Cuffley has not missed a game in his rookie campaign on defense. With Cuffley involved, Utica has held opponents to three goals or less in fifteen straight games, and the team has posted four shutouts in that span.

Regs Has Em' On Speed Dial: Sophomore forward Regen Cavanagh (Chesapeake, VA/Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)) has most certainly had the number of the Colonels to this point in his career. In three appearances against Wilkes, Cavanagh has seven goals including two hat tricks. He has four goals at the expense of the Colonels this year.

On An Even Keel: Junior forward Kasper Kjellkvist (Vaxjo, Sweden/Curry College (Commonwealth Coast Conf.)) is the team's leading goal scorer with fifteen tallies in this campaign. All of his goals this season have come at even strength.

A Balanced Attack: Utica has seven players with over 20 points this year, which ties the program's largest number of 20 point scorers.

About Wilkes: The Colonels are the second seed in this year's tournament, and stand at No. 15 in the latest USCHO poll. They are coached by Tyler Hynes in his first season. Hynes formerly played with Roman Ammirato (Williamstown, NJ/Union College (ECAC)) at Union. They feature the nation's leading goal scorer. Donald Flynn has 27 goals this year to lead all players in Division III. He was the UCHC Co-Player of the Year alongside Landrigan. Nick Fea is fifth in the nation in points per game, while Tyler Barrow ranks twelfth. Fea was named second team all-UCHC. Goaltender Michael Paterson-Jones is 16-4-0 in the first twenty decisions of his career.

Up Next: The Pioneers await a potential selection into the NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Championship. The committee will meet on Sunday, and the seedings and pairings will be released on Monday morning.