UTICA, NY - The #3 Utica College men's ice hockey team muscled their way to a ninth straight win. Fueled by an overwhelming 30-4 shots on goal advantage in the first 40 minutes, the Pioneers scored the first five goals of the game en route to a 5-2 win over visiting Stevenson in a conference game at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.
The Pioneers improve to 16-2 overall, and 12-0 in the UCHC. They have won nine straight games, and sixteen straight regular season conference games as they improve their hold on first place in the standings. The Mustangs, playing their first game since January 8th, fell to 9-5-1 overall. They were the 2021 UCHC tournament runner-up.
UC out-shot the visitors 36-16, and went 2-of-4 on the power play compared to a 1-of-5 clip for the Mustangs. The Pioneers have nineteen power play goals in the last eight games. Stevenson is just the second team to score a power play goal against Utica at the Aud this season.
Justin Allen (Hilton, NY/Rochester Monarchs (USPHL-NCDC)) led the way for UC with a goal and two assists. Regen Cavanagh (Chesapeake, VA/Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)), Blake Holmes (Apple Valley, MN/Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)), Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)), and Cameron Patton (Truro, Nova Scotia/Yarmouth Mariners (MJAHL)) scored the remaining Pioneer goals. With a goal and an assist, Everson reached the 75 point mark for his career. Patton scored his first-ever goal at the Aud in a regular season game. Buster Larsson (Malmo, Sweden/Utica Jr. Comets (NCDC)) stretched his point streak to nine games with two assists.
In goal, Sean Dickson (San Francisco, CA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL-Premier)) made twelve saves to grab the win. Bryan Landsberger (Montreal, Quebec/Nepean Raiders (CCHL)) took over in the third period with a pair of saves in relief.
Stevenson netminder Ryan Kenny turned in a strong performance with 31 saves, while Brendan Rylott scored both Stevenson goals.
The Pioneers got off to a fast start en route to a 1-0 lead after the first period. Just 1:09 in, Blake Holmes (Apple Valley, MN/Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)) took a pass from Eric Holland (Whitby, ON/Brockville Braves (CCHL)) and mashed it behind Kenny for a 1-0 lead. The goal was Holmes' second of the season, and his career. The Pioneers out-shot the Mustangs by a 14-2 score and didn't allow a shot for the majority of the period.
A three-goal second period gave Utica a sizable cushion heading into the third. Regen Cavanagh (Chesapeake, VA/Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)) scored his twelfth goal of the season, with Justin Allen (Hilton, NY/Rochester Monarchs (USPHL-NCDC)) and Buster Larsson (Malmo, Sweden/Utica Jr. Comets (NCDC)) notching the assists at 2:42. Cavanagh has a goal in four of his last five games. At 6:18 of the period, it was Allen's turn to light the lamp, as he let a seeing-eye shot fly from the point that beat Kenny for a 3-0 lead. Finally, a rookie stepped to the forefront to round out the second period scoring. At 10:28, the Pioneers got out on the rush, with Everson receiving the puck on the left wing. Everson hinged the puck back to Vaden McManus (Fayetteville, NC/Hampton Roads (USPHL)), who dumped it off to Patton waiting on the back door. Patton tapped the puck in for his first home goal as a college player, and Utica led 4-0 after two periods. They enjoyed a 30-4 advantage in shots at that point in the game.
Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)) extended the Utica lead to 5-0 with a goal from the high slot at 5:18. With a large deficit looming, Stevenson showed it was ready to push back. Less than a minute later, Rylott broke up the shutout with a goal at 5:41. He added a second goal at 16:01 when he re-directed a shot by Nick Dineen, but that's as close as the Mustangs would get. Despite the visitors holding a 12-6 shot advantage in the third, the Pioneers had done more than enough to close the door on a comeback as they prevailed 5-2.
The Pioneers return to the ice on Sunday as they entertain Chatham at the Aud. Puck drop on the conference game is set for 3 p.m.
