PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Through five games this season, senior defenseman Justin Allen (Hilton, NY/Rochester Monarchs (USPHL-NCDC)) has certainly put on a show. Friday's game at Chatham was no exception. Allen was the catalyst for another thunderous offensive outing, as his five points on two goals and three assists set the pace for No. 3 Utica in a 10-1 United Collegiate Hockey Conference win over Chatham University at the Frozen Pond arena.

Utica has now won three straight games, and has taken the United Collegiate Hockey Conference by storm out of the gate. Utica is 3-0 in UCHC play, and has out-scored opponents 31-2. They have won their last ten regular season games against UCHC opposition. The Pioneers are 4-1 overall heading into tomorrow's road showdown with UCHC rival Stevenson.

Utica out-shot their opponent for a 24th consecutive game, out-shooting their hosts by a 45-16 margin for the evening. The Utica power play was on point with a 3-for-5 performance, while UC held the opposition scoreless on a single power play chance for a second straight game.

Allen's two goals and three assists paved the way for UC. Mic Curran (Arlington, MA/Curry College (CCC)) had three assists, Jamie Bucell (Garfield Heights, OH/Philadelphia (EHL)) recorded a goal and two assists, and newcomer Matt Wood (Garnet Valley, PA/Richmond Generals (USPHL)) had the first two goals of his college career while also adding an assist. Josh Kagan (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Powell River Kings (BCHL)), Eric Holland (Whitby, ON/Brockville Braves (CCHL)), Regen Cavanagh (Chesapeake, VA/Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)), Brandon Osmundson (Virginia Beach, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)), and John Moncovich (Wilmington, NC/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) also recorded tallies for the Pioneers.

In goal, Sean Dickson (San Francisco, CA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL-Premier)) improved to 2-0 this season with a fifteen save outing on sixteen shots.

For Chatham, Tristan Simm scored the lone goal, while netminders Peter Siolas and Thomson Phinney split time in the loss, combining for 35 saves. 

The first period got off to a slow start, with Chatham gearing its opening minutes to contain Utica in the neutral zone, while the Pioneers were finding their bearings after a long bus ride. At 6:14, Utica's top defensive pairing came to life on the offensive end to break the doldrums. Justin Allen (Hilton, NY/Rochester Monarchs (USPHL-NCDC)) puffed the net from long range for a 1-0 Pioneer lead, with defensive partner Joey Berkopec (Hamilton, Ontario/Coquitlam Express (BCHL)) picking up the assist. 

Just under two minutes later, the dominant line of Brandon Osmundson (Virginia Beach, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)), John Moncovich (Wilmington, NC/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)), and Mic Curran (Arlington, MA/Curry College (CCC)) struck paydirt to expand the lead. Osmundson connected on his fifth goal of the season to tie himself for tops on the team, while Moncovich picked up an assist and Curran snagged his seventh helper of the year as Utica assumed a 2-0 lead. That advantage endured through the end of the period. UC out-shot Chatham 18-2 through the first 20 minutes. 

At 9:04 of the second period, Utica stretched its advantage further with a power play goal. A two minute minor for roughing against Chatham's Kenneth Gill set up UC's second man advantage opportunity of the night. Allen saw fit to cash it in for his second goal. The senior defenseman unleashed a shot from the left point that sailed over the shoulder of Chatham netminder Thomson Finney for a 3-0 lead. The goal was Allen's fourth of the season, with Buster Larsson (Malmo, Sweden/Syracuse Stars (NCDC)) and Khristian Acosta (Port Monmouth, NJ/Mercyhurst University (NCAA DI)) collecting the assists. 

With reliable sources of offense ruling the day, one of Utica's newcomers decided he couldn't let the returners have all the fun. Matt Wood (Garnet Valley, PA/Richmond Generals (USPHL)) scored the first goal of his intercollegiate hockey career at 16:11 of the middle stanza, and the goal would be scored unassisted. With under two minutes to play, the explosive second period continued. Senior forward Eric Holland (Whitby, ON/Brockville Braves (CCHL)) wrapped around the goal and tucked the puck inside the left post for a 5-0 lead. Larsson bagged his second assist of the period.

Chatham's Tristan Simm got the Cougars on the board before the end of the period, and Utica led 5-1 going into the third. 

UC wasted little time adding insurance in the third. Moncovich netted his second of the evening just 29 seconds into the third period, and Jamie Bucell (Garfield Heights, OH/Philadelphia (EHL)) re-directed a shot for a power play goal at 3:35 of the final period for a 7-1 advantage. Regen Cavanagh (Chesapeake, VA/Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)) continued the power play bonanza as he zipped in a shot from the left wing at 14:28 to grab an 8-1 lead. Dickson denied an opportunity for Chatham to pull within six goals with a sprawling glove save with just over 14 minutes left. Two more insurance goals put an exclamation point on the matchup, as Wood and Kagan finished off a five goal third period romp and an explosive 10-1 win. 

Utica is now 8-0 all-time against the Cougars. The Pioneers battle Stevenson at 3 p.m. Saturday.