UTICA, NY - The No. 2 Utica University men's hockey team will welcome the Neumann University Knights to the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium this Friday and Saturday for a pair of UCHC contests. The Pioneers host Knights on Friday for First Source Night at 7 p.m. before the teams meet again for Parkway Drugs Night at 7 p.m. on Saturday. 
 
Follow Along: Those unable to attend either game can keep up with live video and/or stats through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. Ray Biggs '13 will be on the call for both games this weekend. 
 
Game Sponsors: First Source Federal Credit Union will be the official sponsor of Utica's Friday night game against Neumann. As part of their appreciation, First Source now offers a Consumer Loan Program with discounts and rebates for those who qualify in these industries. There will be signs hung on Friday night along the banisters that have QR codes on them. Simply give them a scan with your phone to learn more about the program or head over to fsource.org. On Saturday, Parkway Drugs will serve as the official sponsor. For 17 consecutive years, locally owned and operated Parkway Drugs has been chosen as the best local pharmacy in the Mohawk Valley. Parkway Drugs expresses their thanks to all their customers and friends for entrusting your medication needs with their family of professional pharmacists.
 
Last Time Out: Despite trailing 3-1 later in the second period, the No. 2 Utica University men's hockey team battled back to defeat the Manhattanville College Valiants last Saturday, 5-3, to complete the weekend sweep. Jakob Breault (Acton Vale, QC/Alaska-Fairbanks (NCAA DI)) scored twice for the Pioneers, giving him three goals over the team's two games at Manhattanville this weekend. Matt Wood (Garnet Valley, PA/Richmond Generals (USPHL)), Remy Parker (Montclair, NJ/University of Maine (NCAA DI)) and Buster Larsson (Malmo, Sweden/Utica Jr. Comets (NCDC)) each had one goal on the afternoon as well. Brian Scoville (Agawam, MA/Alabama-Huntsville (NCAA DI)), Lucas Herrmann (Elma, NY/University of New Hampshire (NCAA DI)), Regen Cavanagh (Chesapeake, VA/Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)), Dante Zapata (Huntington Beach, CA/Austin Bruins (NAHL)) and Breault each picked up an assist each. In goal, Bryan Landsberger (Montreal, Quebec/Nepean Raiders (CCHL)) made 19 saves for an .826 save percentage en route to securing his 10th win of the season. The Valiants struck first midway through the opening period to take a 1-0 lead which the hosts would hold entering the first intermission. Manhattanville's goal came on one of six shot on goal attempts while Utica came away empty despite putting 17 shots on net. However, the Pioneers would eventually even the score on a Matt Wood (Garnet Valley, PA/Richmond Generals (USPHL)) goal off of a Jakob Breault (Acton Vale, QC/Alaska-Fairbanks (NCAA DI)) assist at 3:54 in the second. About one and a half minutes later, Manhattanville not only took the lead, but went up by two goals with a pair of scores less than one minute apart (5:21, 6:14) for a 3-1 edge early in the second. Nearing the 13 minute mark in the second period, Utica found itself on a power play. Breault capitalized on the man advantage with his second goal of the weekend to bring the game within s goal at 3-2. In the shades of Friday night, the Pioneers went off for a three-goal third period which turned out to be the deciding factor. Buster Larsson (Malmo, Sweden/Utica Jr. Comets (NCDC)) tied the game at 8:29 with assists by Brian Scoville (Agawam, MA/Alabama-Huntsville (NCAA DI)) and Dante Zapata (Huntington Beach, CA/Austin Bruins (NAHL)) while 36 seconds later, Remy Parker (Montclair, NJ/University of Maine (NCAA DI)) scored on a pass from Lucas Herrmann (Elma, NY/University of New Hampshire (NCAA DI)) to give the team its first lead of the night. Just after the 16 minute mark in the third, Breault found the back of the net once again to extend the Pioneer lead to 5-3. While Manhattanville scored once more with eight seconds left, no further comeback could be mounted as Utica extended its unbeaten streak to 10 games. 
 
In the Poll: The team remained No. 2 in this week's US College Hockey Online Men's Top 15. The poll was released on Monday by the national college hockey website. The Pioneers earned 276 points in the poll, 14 less than No. 1 Hobart, while also having received three first place votes. Utica has held the No. 2 spot since the December 5, 2022 release of the poll. Utica improved to 10-2-1 this season and 8-0 in UCHC play with a pair of road wins over Manhattanville this past weekend. The team shutout the Valiants 3-0 on Friday before earning a hard fought 5-4 comeback win over the hosts on Saturday. 
 
Where we Stand: Utica enters the weekend atop of the UCHC with 22 points behind an 8-0 (2-0 OT) mark in league play. The team's top-ranked scoring margin (1.6) stems from a league best 4.31 goals per game as well as its third-ranked goals allowed average of 2.69. The Pioneers have also continued to fire off more chances than anyone else as the team tops the UCHC with 39.46 shots on goal per game. Possibly the most crucial and quiet aspect of Utica's success this season is its lack of time in the penalty box. The Pioneers are currently the second-least penalized team in the conference with 49 total penalties and its average time of 9:36 in the box ranks second in the conference to behind only Chatham. 
 
Mano a Mano: The Pioneers have seen continued success controlling the puck off face-offs throughout the season. In fact, the team tops the UCHC with a .598 face-off win percentage: .047 percent greater than second ranked Nazareth. Three players rank within the top 10 in the UCHC led by Dante Zapata (Huntington Beach, CA/Austin Bruins (NAHL)), who is first with a .645 winning percentage, and Regen Cavanagh (Chesapeake, VA/Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)), who ranks second in the league with a .610 winning percentage. Lucas Herrmann (Elma, NY/University of New Hampshire (NCAA DI)) finds himself eighth in the conference sporting a .558 face-off win percentage. 
 
Trust me, Breault: Jakob Breault (Acton Vale, QC/Alaska-Fairbanks (NCAA DI)) will be coming into the weekend fresh off a UCHC Co-Player of the Week honor. Breault accounted for nearly half of No. 2 Utica's goals in the team's weekend sweep of Manhattanville. Breault netted the game-winner in the third period of Utica's 3-0 shutout win on Friday before recording three points in the team's comeback 5-4 win on Saturday. In that game, Breault assisted on a second period goal that evened the game at 1-1 while going on to score himself in the second and third periods. His second period goal cut Utica's deficit to 3-2 while his unassisted third period goal all but put the game away by giving the Pioneers a 5-3 lead. Over his two outings, Breault posted a .273 shot on goal percentage. For the season, Breault ranks third in the UCHC with both eight total goals and .62 goals per game while sporting a .229 shot percentage. 
 
About Neumann: The Knights will travel to Utica with a 6-8 overall mark while sitting eighth in the UCHC with 12 points and a 4-6 league mark. Neumann has scored the eighth most goals per game in the league with 2.43 while having allowed the fifth fewest goals per outing with 3.14. In man down situations, the team has posted a .807 penalty kill percentage which is the fifth best mark in the conference while with a man advantage, the Knights rank fourth in the UCHC with a .190 percentage. The bulk of the team's scoring comes from the stick of Brady Mistler, who is tied for third in the league with eight goals this season. The team also has three players within the top 10 in points in the conference (Mistler, Luke Croucher and Tyler Kulas) as each have 13 over 14 games. In goal, Cole DeFazio has started a team high 10 games and owns a 5-5 mark while having allowed 2.78 goals per outing. His mark of 32.18 saves per game ranks second in the league as does his .924 save percentage. 
 
The Series: Utica leads the all-time series between the team with a 25-16-4 record. The Pioneers enter the weekend pair against Neumann having won five straight against the Knights as well as 11 of the last 13 meetings. The team also owns a 16-4-3 all-time home record against Neumann. Over the last three matchups, the Pioneers have outscored the Knights 29-4 including two straight games with 11 or more goals. In the most recent meeting between the teams on February 20, 2022, Utica closed out its regular season with a decisive 12-1 win over Neumann. A total of 11 different Pioneers scored in the game while Buster Larsson (Malmo, Sweden/Utica Jr. Comets (NCDC)) totaled two goals. 

Up Next: No. 2 Utica will travel to Annville, PA next weekend for a pair at Lebanon Valley College, starting with a 7 p.m. game on Friday, January 20.