UTICA, NY - The #3 Utica College men's ice hockey team looks to maintain its winning ways as it hosts the latter half of a four-game homestand this weekend. The Pioneers will host conference travel partner Nazareth on Saturday, February 5th, before playing a rare February non-conference game against SUNY Canton on Sunday, February 6th. Saturday's game, designated "HMI Pratt and Whitney Day" is set for 2 p.m., while Sunday's contest is slated for 3 p.m. at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.
Follow Along: Live Video and Stats are available for all UC home games are available at portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/, and video is also available on the FREE Empire 8 app available for a multitude of streaming devices. Additionally, the games will be on local radio at WPNR 90.7 FM and PioneerRadio.org. Sports Information Assistant Ray Biggs '13 is back for an eleventh season of play-by-play with the team and will take you through both games.
In The Polls: Utica has been ranked in the top 3 nationally for the entire season to date. The Pioneers are currently in their season-opening position of third, but was as high up as second for a two-week period, which coincided with a matchup with then-No. 1 Geneseo. Utica's only two losses this year on a 17-2 record have come to the two teams ranked in front of them in the poll: Geneseo and Adrian, and both of those games were one-goal games in the third period.
In The Standings: The Pioneers remain in the drivers' seat in the UCHC with a 13-0 start and 39 standings points. UC is maintaining a strong upper hand currently, with the team nine points clear of second place Wilkes. The Pioneers have clinched one of the eight playoff spots and are guaranteed home ice for at least the first round of the UCHC Tournament as one of the top four seeds. They can mathematically clinch a share of the UCHC regular season title this weekend, but would need to win in regulation against Nazareth, have Wilkes get swept in regulation, and also have Stevenson come up with less than the full complement of six standings points from this weekend's games. All other teams are now out of title contention. A Utica regulation win against Naz and anything less than two regulation wins by Stevenson would also assure Utica a chance to host a semifinal. The Pioneers have won 20 straight regular season conference games, and have won all four regular season titles handed out by the UCHC in its existence.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers swept the past weekend to increase their winning streak to ten consecutive games. On Saturday, UC rode an electrifying start to a 5-2 win over visiting Stevenson University. The nation's third-ranked team got on the board just over a minute in on a goal by Blake Holmes (Apple Valley, MN/Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)), and piled up a 5-0 lead through the start of the third period before fending off a feisty late effort by the visitors. Regen Cavanagh (Chesapeake, VA/Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)), Justin Allen (Hilton, NY/Rochester Monarchs (USPHL-NCDC)), Cameron Patton (Truro, Nova Scotia/Yarmouth Mariners (MJAHL)), and Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)) also had goals for the Pioneers, who went 2-for-4 on the power play. On Sunday, the Pioneers needed to maintain a 1-0 lead well into the third period before getting some late insurance to prevail over a hungry Chatham squad by a 3-0 score. Brian Scoville (Agawam, MA/Alabama-Huntsville (NCAA DI)) scored his first two goals in a UC uniform, while Dante Zapata (Huntington Beach, CA/Austin Bruins (NAHL)) finished the job with an insurance power play strike with under five minutes to go. Netminder Bryan Landsberger (Montreal, Quebec/Nepean Raiders (CCHL)) notched a fourteen save shutout to be named the conference's rookie of the week. Landsberger has shutouts in consecutive starts, and is 3-0 to start his career.
The Series Marks: This will be the 28th meeting between Utica and Nazareth. The Pioneers lead the conference series by a 19-5-3 margin, and have won the last ten outings against the Golden Flyers. Nazareth's last win in the series happened in Rochester on November 9th, 2018. The Pioneers are 12-2-1 in meetings played at the Aud.
Last Time Against Naz: The Pioneers last faced Nazareth on Friday, November 19th. Led by junior captain Dante Zapata's (Huntington Beach, CA/Austin Bruins (NAHL)) two goals, the Pioneers were able to grind out a tough road win by a 4-1 score at the Bill Gray's IcePlex in Rochester. John Moncovich (Wilmington, NC/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) and Brandon Osmundson (Virginia Beach, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) added the remaining Pioneer goals, while Sean Dickson (San Francisco, CA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL-Premier)) made thirteen saves on fourteen shots.
Last Time Against Canton: The Pioneers have not seen the Kangaroos since their lone meeting on November 2nd, 2019. The two teams tied that day with a score of 3-3. The first four goals of the game, split between both teams, were scored on the power play. Daniel Fritz, Tyler Pietrowski, and Donovan Ott had the Pioneer goals that day, while Brandon Osmundson (Virginia Beach, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) topped current Pioneers with two assists. Gianluca Baggetta made 24 saves in net.
Dominant At Both Ends: The Pioneers continue to rank second in the nation in scoring offense this season at a sizzling 5.47 goals per game. Eight Pioneers are averaging a point per game or better this season. Utica is leading the country in scoring defense at 1.37 goals allowed per contest. Over the course of their recent win streak, UC is out-scoring opponents 55-11 in a ten game period. For the season, they are out-scoring opponents 104-26.
Special Teams To The Moon: Utica's special teams have been running at an extraordinarily high level of efficiency this season. The Pioneers sport the nation's fourth-ranked power play unit at 31.6 percent, and have twenty power play goals in their last nine games while getting held off the board just once in that span. Dante Zapata (Huntington Beach, CA/Austin Bruins (NAHL)) has surged into the team lead with five power play goals after a hat trick's worth of them against Lebanon Valley, and an additional power play goal in the win over Chatham. UC is also third in the nation on the penalty kill at 91.9 percent. Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)) and Regen Cavanagh (Chesapeake, VA/Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)) have the team's short-handed goals.
Rapid Regen: Senior forward Regen Cavanagh (Chesapeake, VA/Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)) (12-17-29) recently inherited the team lead in points with 29. He is twelfth in the nation at an average of 1.53 points per game, and is in the top 30 nationally in goals per game and assists per game. He has nine points on four goals and five assists in the last six games.
Big Bad John: Junior forward John Moncovich (Wilmington, NC/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) (15-13-28) remains the team's leading goal scorer at the moment. He is fourteenth nationally at an average of 1.47 points per game, and is third nationally with 0.79 goals per game.
Who Ya Gonna Call? Junior forward Buster Larsson (Malmo, Sweden/Utica Jr. Comets (NCDC)) (8-18-26) had his nine-game point streak broken against Chatham, but that streak has propelled him to 1.37 points per game to rank 23rd nationally, and he is tied for eleventh nationally at 0.95 assists per game. He leads all UC forwards in assists, and has four multi-assist games this season.
The Jallen File: Senior defenseman Justin Allen (Hilton, NY/Rochester Monarchs (USPHL-NCDC)) (7-19-26) is third among all defensemen in the nation with an average of 1.32 points per game. He has a team-best nineteen assists. He has an assist in thirteen of the nineteen games he's played this season while leading the nation's best scoring defense. Allen is set to play in his 88th consecutive game Saturday. He has amassed 73 career points, and is just nine points away from tying the school record for career points by a defenseman held by All-Americans Dan Fritz and Dalton Carter.
I Am Oz: With assists in his last two games, junior forward Brandon Osmundson (Virginia Beach, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) now has 81 career points to pass Louie Educate and enter the top ten in career points at Utica. One more point slides him into a tie for seventh with Kevin Valenti, Daniel Fritz, and Dalton Carter. This season, he has 25 points on nine goals and sixteen assists, and is 28th nationally at 1.32 points per game.
Between The Pipes: With his shutout against Chatham, freshman goaltender Bryan Landsberger (Montreal, Quebec/Nepean Raiders (CCHL)) became one of just fifteen goaltenders nationally with multiple shutouts this season as he made fourteen stops to earn his second of the year. He is stopping 96.9 percent of opposing shots and has a sterling goals against average of 0.47 while winning the first three starts of his career. Junior goaltender Louis-Felix St. Jean (Montreal, Quebec/Salve Regina (CCC)) is 2-1 in three starts. Senior goaltender Sean Dickson (San Francisco, CA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL-Premier)) leads the country with four shutouts this season.
Know Thy Opponent: Nazareth holds a record of 7-11-2 overall this season under head coach George Roll. They are 6-6-1 in UCHC play. Nick Charron has a team-best sixteen points on six goals and ten assists. Section III product Ray Falso has a team-best eight goals. Netminder Matt Sayles has seven wins between the pipes. SUNY Canton is 6-10-1 overall and has lost its last four games. Jake Mayette has a team-high twelve points on five goals and seven assists. Jesse Farabee has six goals to lead the Roos in that category. Goaltender Pierce Diamond has four wins in eleven starts.
What's Next: The Pioneers have a huge road weekend on the horizon as they play King's and Wilkes in two important UCHC games. They'll battle King's on Friday, February 11th, before a Saturday showdown with Wilkes that may decide the outcome of the conference regular season.
