UTICA, NY - After two close battles in the regular season against their opposition, the top-seeded Utica University Men's Ice Hockey team left no doubt who the UCHC champion was on Saturday night. The #2 team in the nation scored the first five goals of the game, including four in the second period, and held off a fiery comeback effort by second-seeded Wilkes as they claimed their third United Collegiate Hockey Conference tournament title by a 7-4 score in the championship game at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. 

The Pioneers improved to 25-2-1 with the win and have claimed their third NCAA bid in program history as the conference's automatic qualifier. Wilkes falls to 20-4-1 and awaits their opportunity at an at-large bid. The field of twelve teams, including seedings and pairings, will be announced on the selection show Monday at 10 a.m. on NCAA.com. Per the Pairwise rankings, the Pioneers are anticipating the second overall seed in the tournament behind NCHA champion Adrian, and are also expected to be the East region's top seed when the field is unveiled. 

Utica tied the program record for wins with their 25th win of the season. That came on a night that featured numerous records tied and broken by the team. While leading the Pioneers to victory with two goals and an assist, Regen Cavanagh (Chesapeake, VA/Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)) pulled level with alumni Gregg Burmaster and Jimmy Sokol at 46 points in a single season to tie the program's record. With a goal, Buster Larsson (Malmo, Sweden/Utica Jr. Comets (NCDC)) tied the same record. Cavanagh also tied former captain Evan Chlanda for the most game-winning goals in a career with his ninth. Justin Allen (Hilton, NY/Rochester Monarchs (USPHL-NCDC)) had two assists for his 31st and 32nd assists of the season to break Sokol's single season record set in the 2003-04 season. Larsson remains in the hunt to challenge Allen for that record with 30 assists this season. 

Brian Scoville (Agawam, MA/Alabama-Huntsville (NCAA DI)), Cameron Patton (Truro, Nova Scotia/Yarmouth Mariners (MJAHL)), Brandon Osmundson (Virginia Beach, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)), and Khristian Acosta (Port Monmouth, NJ/Mercyhurst University (NCAA DI)) also had goals in the Pioneer effort. Tournament Most Valuable player Jayson Dobay (Weymouth, MA/Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)) had two assists on his way to top individual honors. He concluded the tournament with a goal and eight assists. Graduate Student Jamie Bucell (Garfield Heights, OH/Philadelphia (EHL)) and Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)) also had two-assist evenings in what will be the final UCHC tournament game of their careers. 

Senior netminder Sean Dickson (San Francisco, CA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL-Premier)) stopped 26 of 30 shots to secure the win, his sixteenth of the season. He was named to the all-tournament team for his efforts. 

Wilkes got a two-goal performance from Tyler Barrow. Nick Fea and Tyler Dill each added a goal, while national assists per game leader Donald Flynn piled up three assists. Between the pipes, Michael Patterson-Jones made 24 saves in 44:11 of action in the loss, with Jack Perna stopping six shots in relief. 

The first period was a high-event frame, with Utica holding 16 of the 26 shots in the first period. Yet, the frame only yielded a single goal. At 5:24 of the first period, Jayson Dobay (Weymouth, MA/Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)) unleashed a well-placed shot from the left point. Patterson-Jones walled off the chance, but the rebound off the opposite pad landed on the tape of Cameron Patton (Truro, Nova Scotia/Yarmouth Mariners (MJAHL)). Patton canned the rebound chance to put Utica up 1-0. UCHC Player of the Year Dante Zapata (Huntington Beach, CA/Austin Bruins (NAHL)) had the other assist on the goal that put the Pioneers ahead after 20 minutes. 

The second period was where the Pioneers made their move. At 8:46, Cavanagh capped off a great end-to-end opportunity on the power play. Justin Allen (Hilton, NY/Rochester Monarchs (USPHL-NCDC)) entered the zone and zipped a pass down the left wing to Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)). Everson turned back to hit Cavanagh trailing in the second wave of attack, and Cavanagh finished the opportunity for a 2-0 lead.

Utica amassed a larger lead at rapid fire pace over the latter half of the period to pull away. Brandon Osmundson (Virginia Beach, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) netted his eleventh of the season at 13:21, Acosta finished a breakaway off the heels of a penalty kill at 15:59, and Cavanagh scored his second of the night for a 5-0 lead at 16:47. Cavanagh's second goal was the game-winner. Tyler Dill got the Colonels in with a shout before the period was over with a goal at 18:44, with Flynn picking up the assist, and the score was 5-1 after two periods. 

In the third, the Pioneers scored twice to control the damage and ensure victory as the Colonels netted three final stanza goals in a comeback bid. With Blake Holmes (Apple Valley, MN/Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)) serving a double minor at the start of the period, the Pioneers were undeterred in responding to the late second period goal. They created a shorthanded 2-on-1 rush, with Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)) and Brian Scoville (Agawam, MA/Alabama-Huntsville (NCAA DI)) in on the chance. Everson dished across to Scoville, and the defenseman was rewarded with the first shorthanded goal of his career to snag a 6-1 lead just 30 seconds into the period. 

With Everson joining Holmes in the box, Wilkes' Tyler Barrow countered with a goal on the ensuing 5-on-3 to trim the lead back to four at 2:01. Buster Larsson (Malmo, Sweden/Utica Jr. Comets (NCDC)) re-opened a five goal lead with a power play goal of his own at 4:16. Wilkes got late goals from Nick Fea and Barrow in the final five minutes to cut the score to 7-4, but that's as close as the visiting side would get as the Pioneers prevailed by a 7-4 score. 

The Pioneers advance to NCAA tournament play for the third time in their 21-year history. This was Utica's sixth finals appearance in the last seven years. 

The All-Tournament team is listed below. 

2022 All-Tournament Team

Most Valuable Player: Jayson Dobay (Weymouth, MA/Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)), Defense, Utica

Forward: Nick Fea, Wilkes
Forward: Dante Zapata (Huntington Beach, CA/Austin Bruins (NAHL)), Utica
Forward: Regen Cavanagh (Chesapeake, VA/Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)), Utica
Defense: Taylor Brierley, Wilkes
Defense: Justin Allen (Hilton, NY/Rochester Monarchs (USPHL-NCDC)), Utica
Goaltender: Sean Dickson (San Francisco, CA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL-Premier)), Utica