UTICA, NY - The 2021 UCHC Regular Season Champion Utica College men's ice hockey team begins its quest for a third UCHC Tournament Title this week. The top-seeded Pioneers welcome eighth-seeded Manhattanville to the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium on Wednesday, March 31st. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

Follow Along: Per existing COVID-19 protocols, no spectators will be permitted on the premises at any Utica College Athletic event until further notice. Live video and stats for all UC Home Games are available at portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. In addition, radio coverage will be available on WPNR 90.7 FM and PioneerRadio.org throughout the playoffs. Sports Information Assistant Ray Biggs '13 brings fans the home play-by-play for a tenth season, and will be joined by students from WPNR-FM throughout the season. Fans can also view home games on the free Empire 8 apps available for Roku, Amazon Fire, and AppleTV devices.

The Series: This will be the 58th all-time meeting. Utica leads the series 28-24-5. The Valiants have won just once in the last thirteen meetings.

Keeping Count: Utica just won its fifth consecutive regular season title, and its fourth straight as a member of the United Collegiate Hockey Conference. The championship is also their eighth overall in two decades as the program celebrates its 20th season.

How We Got Here: Utica finished the regular season with a 7-1 record, and have won seven straight games and 27 of their last 28. Utica collected 87.5 percent of its available points in the games it played to earn the top seed in the UCHC tournament. The race for the regular season title went down to the final day of the season. Utica needed to collect even or better points in their final game relative to what Stevenson got in its final game to claim the title. The Mustangs put the heat on with a regulation win over Nazareth, meaning Utica needed a regulation win over Neumann to keep the crown. However, any pressure quickly disappeared as Utica rolled by the Knights in shutout fashion.

The Tournament Format: The 2021 UCHC Men's Championship Tournament will return to a single elimination format, and for the first time, eight teams will compete. Other opening round matchups include No. 6 Neumann at No. 2 Stevenson, No. 7 Nazareth at No. 3 Wilkes, and No. 5 Chatham at No. 4 Elmira. The Pioneers would play the lowest remaining seed left in the tournament if they advance to the semifinal round.

The Last Time We Played A Quarterfinal: Utica is in a different position than they're used to recently in that they're playing a quarterfinal. Utica has traditionally gotten a bye as the top seed in the last four tournaments, but will have to play in one as the tournament's top seed because of the temporary expansion to an eight team field for this season. The last time Utica played a conference quarterfinal was in 2016. Utica drew the third seed that year, and topped Elmira by a 5-3 score in the ECAC West quarterfinals. Kevin Valenti (Queensbury, NY/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) scored the game-winning goal. That moved Utica onto the semifinals, where they posted a 4-3 overtime win at Manhattanville. Utica eventually fell to Hobart in the conference title game, but started an active streak of appearing in five straight conference finals that continues to this day. That conference title game loss also marks the last time the Pioneers played a playoff game on the road.

An Interesting First: This will mark the first time the Pioneers have ever played a conference playoff game against an opponent it didn't meet in the regular season. The last time Utica played a postseason game of any kind against a team that wasn't a regular season opponent, was when they met UW-Eau Claire in the 2013 NCAA Division III semifinals.

Last Time Out: Utica posted a wire-to-wire 6-0 win over Neumann on Saturday to lock up the top spot in the regular season standings. Jamie Bucell (Garfield Heights, OH/Philadelphia (EHL)) had two goals and an assist, Justin Allen (Rochester, NY/Rochester Monarchs (USPHL-NCDC)) had three assists, and Sean Dickson (Millbrae, CA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL-Premier)) had a 23 save shutout.

On The Offensive: The Pioneers wrap up the regular season with the nation's highest scoring offense, at 6.12 goals per game. That average is a new school record for a single regular season, and the Pioneers have had their two highest-scoring seasons ever in the last two years, with last year's squad becoming the first in program history to average over five goals a game. Utica has nine players in the top 100 nationally in points per game, and all of them are averaging over a point a game. Over their seven game winning streak, the Pioneers have scored six or more goals six times.

The Landy Man Does: Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) leads the nation with 2.50 points per game, as he has logged a remarkable 20 points on seven goals and thirteen assists in just eight games played. He has a point in every game of the season, and in 24 straight contests. He is thirteenth in the nation in goals per game, and sixth in assists per game. He also has four power play goals.

You Don't Mess With The Buce: Senior forward Jamie Bucell (Garfield Heights, OH/Philadelphia (EHL)) is having nothing short of a career season in his fourth year with the squad. He is second on the team with thirteen points on eight goals and five assists. He is one of just twelve players nationally averaging a goal a game or better, and he has a goal in three out of his last four games.

Brett The Jet: Senior forward Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)) is also continuing on his remarkable season. He is fifth on the team with ten points on six goals and four assists, and also has three power play scores. He is fourteenth in the nation in goals per game.

On Special Teams: The Pioneers have put up the best power play percentage in a single season in the history of the program at an eye-popping 38.9 percent. That is tops in the East region and second nationally behind Augsburg. The Pioneers are killing penalties at a rate of 81.8 percent.

In Goal: Junior Sean Dickson (Millbrae, CA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL-Premier)) has continued to be on a roll of late in goal for Utica. He is 5-1 this season and has a career 12-5 record entering these playoffs. He has an impressive three shutouts this year, all of which have come in his last four starts. That ties the single season record shared by his predecessor in the starting role, Gianluca Baggetta (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL)), and his position coach, Adam Dekker. He is second in the nation with a remarkable 0.76 goals allowed average, and third in save percentage at an astounding 96.2 percent. His three shutouts are second in the country.

About Manhattanville: The Valiants are 0-3 with losses against Chatham, Stevenson, and Elmira this year. They most recently lost 5-3 to Elmira. Dylan Pollak, Connor Boyce, and Mason Emoff had the goals. Braeden Cross has a team-high three points on three assists, and Mac Vail is the likely playoff starter in goal under first year head coach Dave Turco. Turco was the 2020 UCHC Women's Coach of the Year at Manhattanville before moving to the men's program.

Up Next: The Pioneers play the lowest remaining seed on Friday in the semifinals.