UTICA, NY- The nationally ranked No. 3 Utica College men's hockey team captured its second UCHC Championship in the last three years as it downed Wilkes University 6-2 in game two of the Conference Championship series.  
 
The Pioneers (25-2-2) secured the automatic bid into the 2020 NCAA Division III Men's Hockey Tournament. Utica will await its opponent and location of its NCAA game, which will be announced Monday morning during the NCAA Selection Show, airing on NCAA.com at 10:30 a.m.
 
The Pioneers opened the scoring with 1:34 remaining in the first period when freshman Dante Zapata (Huntington Beach, CA/Austin Bruins (NAHL)), who has been red hot as of late, scored shorthanded for his 11^th of the year and fourth goal in as many games.  Tyler Dill (South Lake Tahoe, CA/Charlotte Rush (USPHL-Premier)) and Vaden McManus (Fayetteville, NC/Hampton Roads (USPHL)) picked up assists on the opener.
 
The Pioneers extended their lead with a pair of goals in the second period.  The first came at 6:37 off the stick of Jarrod Fitzpatrick (Wakefield, MA/Northern Cyclones (EHL)), for his seventh of the season, assisted by Eric Holland (Whitby, ON/Brockville Braves (CCHL)) and Justin Allen (Rochester, NY/Rochester Monarchs (USPHL-NCDC)). 
 
Utica took a 3-0 lead at 14:04 of the second when Jamie Bucell (Garfield Heights, OH/Philadelphia (EHL)) roofed a shot into the top right corner for his third of the year.  McManus and Kasper Kjellkvist (Vaxjo, Sweden/Curry College (Commonwealth Coast Conf.)) had assists on the eventual game-winner.
 
The Colonels got one back with their first goal of the championship series as Tyler Barrow was finally able to solve Utica netminder Gianluca Baggetta (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL)) for his 13^th of the year.  Michael Gurska and Devon Shell assisted on the play.
 
UC sealed the deal with three third period goals coming from Buster Larsson (Bunkeflostrand, Sweden/Syracuse Stars (NCDC)), John Moncovich (Wilmington, NC/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)), and Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) to send the Utica faithful into a frenzy.  Moncovich and Landrigan each finished with a goal and an assist, while Allen chalked up three helpers.  UCHC Rookie of the Year Brandon Osmundson (Chesapeake, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) and junior Donovan Ott (Lebanon, PA/Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (ECAC Hockey)) were each credited with one assist in the win.
 
Baggetta stood tall once again as he finished with 23 saves for his 17^th straight win. Michael Paterson-Jones meanwhile totaled 28 saves for Wilkes.
 
Landrigan extends his scoring streak to 16 games, while Osmundson recorded his 42nd point of the season to break the College's rookie points mark held previously by Ryan Webb, which has stood since the 03-04 season.
 
McManus, Landrigan, Moncovich, and Baggetta were named to the All-Tournament team, while Zapata was selected as the Tournament's Most Valuable Player after he totaled three goals in the series.  
 
The Pioneers have now won 20 games in a row, and 25 on the season, both of which are program records.