UTICA, NY - It may be the first game of a new year, but the results were familiar on Saturday for the #3 Utica College men's ice hockey team. In a battle of nationally-ranked teams, the Pioneers broke a 1-1 tie with a string of four unanswered goals and hardly looked back as they went on to cruise past visiting #14 Curry by a 6-2 score in a non-conference game at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.
 
The win, Utica's third in a row, improves their overall record to 10-2. The Colonels lost a third straight game and now stand at 8-3-1 in their first twelve games. Utica takes a 5-3 lead in the all-time series in what was the first meeting in five years between the two programs. 
 
Utica out-shot the opposition for a 30th time in 31 games, putting up 28 shots to Curry's 17. The Pioneer power play went 2-for-4, while the UC penalty kill maintained its unflappable form with a 4-for-4 outing. 
 
John Moncovich (Wilmington, NC/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) put in a monster performance for UC with two goals and two assists. Brandon Osmundson (Virginia Beach, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) and Mic Curran (Arlington, MA/Curry College (CCC)) turned in a goal and an assist each, while Jayson Dobay (Weymouth, MA/Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)) put up two helpers. Jamie Bucell (Garfield Heights, OH/Philadelphia (EHL)) and Buster Larsson (Malmo, Sweden/Syracuse Stars (NCDC)) also added goals for the Pioneers.
 
In goal, Sean Dickson (San Francisco, CA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL-Premier)) made 15 saves to corral the win. 
 
UC's leading goal scorer put on a show in the opening period to give Utica a 2-1 lead through twenty minutes. Junior forward John Moncovich (Wilmington, NC/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) bagged his eleventh goal of the season on a crisp one-time feed from Brandon Osmundson (Virginia Beach, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) at 9:35. Curry rallied back to tie on a shorthanded goal by Mark Zhukov on a breakaway opportunity at 18:06. The tie score lasted all of eighteen seconds before Moncovich intervened again with his second goal of the contest at 18:24 for a 2-1 Pioneer lead at the end of the first. 
 
The Pioneers lit the lamp twice more in the second period. Jamie Bucell (Garfield Heights, OH/Philadelphia (EHL)) re-directed a Justin Allen (Hilton, NY/Rochester Monarchs (USPHL-NCDC)) shot under the crossbar for a beautiful power play strike at 6:27, and Brandon Osmundson (Virginia Beach, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) netted his ninth of the year at 14:07 for a 4-1 lead after two periods. 
 
Three goals in a 40 second span comprised the entirety of the third period offense. Buster Larsson (Malmo, Sweden/Syracuse Stars (NCDC)) potted a one-timer goal following a faceoff at 3:20, Curry's Timmy Kent countered back with a goal at 3:40, and Utica's Mic Curran (Arlington, MA/Curry College (CCC)) rounded out the scoring with a goal against his former squad at 4:00. 
 
The Pioneers return to action on Sunday as they host SUNY Cortland in a non-conference game. Puck drop is slated for 3 p.m.