UTICA, NY - The No. 4 Utica University men's hockey team prepares for its first road trip of the season as the team travels to Chatham University on Friday and Saturday. Friday's puck drop is set for 7 p.m. before the teams meet again at 3 p.m. on Saturday. 
 
Follow Along: Those unable to make the trip can watch live through https://www.pacdigitalnetwork.com/chatham/ and/or keep up with live stats via https://gochathamcougars.com/sidearmstats/mhockey/summary. 
 
Last Time Out: The team defeated the Stevenson University Mustangs 5-2 last Saturday afternoon in the latter of their two-game bout. After settling for a 2-2 tie on Friday, the Pioneers were determined to leave victorious this afternoon. A strong third period headlined by the efforts of Shane Murphy (Oriskany, NY/Danbury Hat Tricks (NAHL)) and Khristian Acosta (Port Monmouth, NJ/Mercyhurst University (NCAA DI)) gave Utica their third win of the season. Saturday's victory marked a huge milestone for coach Gary Heenan, as he totaled his 350th career win.  Jakob Breault (Acton Vale, QC/Alaska-Fairbanks (NCAA DI)) paced the Pioneers with two goals scored in the matchup. Khristian Acosta (Port Monmouth, NJ/Mercyhurst University (NCAA DI)) scored one goal and had two assists. Shane Murphy (Oriskany, NY/Danbury Hat Tricks (NAHL)) and Andrew Della Rovere (Caledon East, ON/Georgetown Raiders (OJHL)) each tallied a goal and an assist while Kimball Johnson (Dallas, TX/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)) had a pair of helpers. Griffen Barr (Nanaimo, BC/Vernon Vipers (BCHL)), Austin D'Orazio (Vaughan, ON/Trenton Golden Hawks (OJHL)), Dante Spagnuolo (Newmarket, ON/Adrian College (NCAA DIII)), Aiden Hughes (Mississauga, ON/Milton Menace (OJHL)) and Aydin Parekh (Nobleton, ON/Georgetown Raiders (OJHL)) all had a point as well. In net, Ethan Roberts (Cary, NC/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)) was excellent, making 26 saves, while fending off multiple penalty kill chances including a 5-on-3 in the 3rd period. Contrary to Friday night's thrilling start with a pair of goals scored in the opening two minutes of play, neither team was able to find the back of the net in Saturday's first frame. Stevenson had several looks from point blank range in the opening minutes of the period yet couldn't convert thanks to Ethan Roberts (Cary, NC/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)) strong play between the pipes. Alexander Gullichsen (Turku, Finland/Aberdeen Wings (NAHL)) would also deflect a puck right in front of the net amidst a 2-on-1 opportunity for Stevenson. As the period went on, Utica commanded a greater time of possession but couldn't quite get anything past Stevenson goalie, Ty Outen. Matt Wood (Garnet Valley, PA/Richmond Generals (USPHL)) missed wide by inches on a great opportunity from the right wing, and Jacob Breault would later nail the post on another close scoring chance.  There was a plethora of action in the second period with each team scoring two goals apiece, three of which came in a 90 second window. Della Rovere drew a tripping penalty to give their Pioneers their second power play chance of the afternoon. However, a Utica turnover in the neutral zone led to a 2-on-1 chance for Stevenson where Evan Beers found the back of the net amidst their penalty kill. Utica would avenge this mistake less than a minute later. Not long after as the power play was winding down, Della Rovere would score his first intercollegiate goal from a rebound off a shot by Khristian Acosta (Port Monmouth, NJ/Mercyhurst University (NCAA DI)). Just as Utica made things even at 1-1, Stevenson regained the lead 30 seconds after. Penalties would keep the Stevenson lead short lived in the following minutes. Shane Murphy (Oriskany, NY/Danbury Hat Tricks (NAHL)) narrowly missed tying the game on a breakaway chance but proceeded to draw a high sticking penalty as tensions flared. Stevenson doubled down a minute later with a high sticking call. The Pioneers took advantage of this 5-on-3 power play with a goal scored by Jacob Breault, his first of the season. Utica found themselves with penalty issues in the closing minutes of the period. Seconds into the Stevenson advantage, Austin D'Orazio (Vaughan, ON/Trenton Golden Hawks (OJHL)) served as a last resort line of defense, batting away a puck that got by Ethan Roberts (Cary, NC/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)). Utica ultimately held off Stevenson in the penalty kill to round out the second. Khristian Acosta (Port Monmouth, NJ/Mercyhurst University (NCAA DI)) and Shane Murphy (Oriskany, NY/Danbury Hat Tricks (NAHL)) took over the third period for the Pioneers. Seven minutes into the final frame, Acosta dropped a dime of a pass to Shane Murphy (Oriskany, NY/Danbury Hat Tricks (NAHL)), setting him up for a one-timer in which he would convert to give the Pioneers the lead. Utica was then tasked with fending off a  5-3 penalty kill. Roberts was heroic in this stretch, making six saves. Murphy would later come sprinting out of the penalty box and found Acosta to give Utica a two goal advantage, erupting the crowd. On a last-ditch effort, Stevenson would pull their goalie with 90 seconds remaining. Jacob Breault scored an empty netter to seal the deal in the Utica victory. 
 
In the Polls:  The team moved back one spot to No. 4 in this week's US College Hockey Online Men's Top 15. The poll was released Monday by the national college hockey website. Utica received 243 points, moving them to the No. 4 spot. The Pioneers went 1-0-1 last weekend against Stevenson University. Friday's game ended in a 2-2 tie while Saturday's game resulted in a 5-2 Utica win. The entire poll can be found at https://www.uscho.com/rankings/d-iii-mens-poll/. 
 
Della Day: Andrew Della Rovere (Caledon East, ON/Georgetown Raiders (OJHL)) put on showcase performances against Stevenson University last weekend, earning himself UCHC Rookie of the Week honors. Della Rovere was a force to be reckoned with in the faceoff circle going 23-for-14 on the weekend, winning eight out of nine faceoffs on Friday night and 10 out of 15 on Saturday. He played an essential part in Saturday's victory, recording one goal and one assist. His goal tied the game up for the Pioneers and his assist came late in the game to extend their lead.
 
Big Stops: After four games played, the Pioneers find themselves second in the UCHC in penalty kill percentage. Out of 16 power play opportunities from opponents this year, just two of them resulted in goals against the team for a total stoppage rate of 87 percent. Both of the goals allowed while being a man down came in the team's 3-2 win against Adrian on October 28. Most notably, the team came through with a pivotal stop on Saturday against Stevenson on what was a late 5-on-3 advantage for the Mustangs. On that kill, the Utica defense and goalie Ethan Roberts (Cary, NC/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)) stopped each of Stevenson's six shots. 
 
Faceoff Success: Through the early goings of the season, the Pioneers currently sit top of the UCHC in faceoff win percentage having won 57 percent of their attempts. Out of their 260 total faceoffs, the team has won 150, 91 of which have come from Jakob Breault (Acton Vale, QC/Alaska-Fairbanks (NCAA DI)) and Andrew Della Rovere (Caledon East, ON/Georgetown Raiders (OJHL)). Through 84 faceoffs taken, Breault has taken 53 of them for a winning percentage of 63, the fifth best mark in the UCHC. As for Della Rovere, he has won 62 percent of his faceoffs (38-for-61). 
 
About Chatham: The Chatham University Cougars have a record of 2-2-0 and a conference record of 1-1-0 through the early stages of its season. The Cougars have split each of their matchups against SUNY Brockport and King's College. Through its four outings, Chatham ranks second in the conference in points per game, goals per game, and assists per game. The team is led by a talented group of underclassmen in sophomore Bekk McClaine, sophomore Caden Smith, and freshman Nicholas Babbie. McClaine leads the team with six points from two goals and four assists, a mark that's tied for fourth in the league. Smith has recorded four points from two goals and two assists. Babbie has also recorded four goals, his total from one goal and three assists. Chatham has used three different goalies this season, however, Thomson Phinney leads the group with two starts and 118:31 played between the pipes. Through his two outings, Phinney has given up six goals, four of which by way of power plays, and has made 66 saves for a .917 save percentage. He carries with him an 0-2-0 record while teammates Louis Finnegan and Cameron Kuntar are each 1-0-0 in their lone starts/games played. 
 
The Series: Utica enters the weekend 11-0 all-time against Chatham including a 4-0 mark in Pittsburgh, PA. In those four games against Chatham away from the ADK Bank Center, the Pioneers have outscored the Cougars 37-6. 

Up Next: No. 4 Utica will travel to Wilkes University on November 18 and 19 to take on the Colonels, who received votes in this week's USCHO Top 15 Poll.