UTICA, NY - The #3 Utica College Men's Ice Hockey team took its win streak to eleven on Saturday. The Pioneers scored the first three goals of the game, then ran off another four goal run after Nazareth's lone goal to top the visiting Golden Flyers by a 7-1 score in a conference game at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.
Buster Larsson (Malmo, Sweden/Utica Jr. Comets (NCDC)) led the Pioneers with a goal and two assists, while defenseman Jayson Dobay (Weymouth, MA/Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)) had three assists. Jaxon Rutkowski (Rome, NY/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL Premier)), Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)), Justin Allen (Hilton, NY/Rochester Monarchs (USPHL-NCDC)), Eric Holland (Whitby, ON/Brockville Braves (CCHL)), Dante Zapata (Huntington Beach, CA/Austin Bruins (NAHL)), and John Moncovich (Wilmington, NC/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) tacked on goals. Bryan Landsberger (Montreal, Quebec/Nepean Raiders (CCHL)) made 18 saves to start his career at a record of 4-0.
Johnny Jackson scored the lone Nazareth goal. He is the son of former Utica Devils broadcaster Jim Jackson, who is currently with the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Pioneers out-shot Nazareth 39-19. They went 2-for-5 on the power play while holding Naz to an 0-for-2 clip on the advantage.
It took just 1:01 for the Pioneers to break open the scoring, as Eric Holland (Whitby, ON/Brockville Braves (CCHL)) redirected a shot by Jayson Dobay (Weymouth, MA/Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)) for a 1-0 lead. The goal was Holland's tenth of the season, and the Pioneers held their 1-0 lead into the intermission.
The second period saw five goals scored, and the Pioneers collected four of them to pull away to a 5-1 lead. Dante Zapata (Huntington Beach, CA/Austin Bruins (NAHL)) scored at 4:23, andJohn Moncovich (Wilmington, NC/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) netted his team-leading sixteenth goal of the year at 10:39. Jackson made it 3-1 with his goal for Naz at 12:28. Utica got a late second period surge as Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)) and Buster Larsson (Malmo, Sweden/Utica Jr. Comets (NCDC)) scored 39 seconds apart for a 5-1 lead after two periods.
Defenseman Justin Allen (Hilton, NY/Rochester Monarchs (USPHL-NCDC)) widened the lead further in the third period, as he dangled into the slot and shot the puck over the shoulder of the Nazareth goaltender at 11:29, and Jaxon Rutkowski (Rome, NY/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL Premier)) closed out the scoring with his first regular season goal as a Pioneer at 18:13.
The Pioneers take on SUNY Canton on Sunday. The non-conference game begins at 3 p.m.
