UTICA, NY - The No. 4 Utica University men's hockey team made a statement against NCAA Division I Stonehill College in Friday's 19th annual New York Sash Teddy Bear Toss. After going down 1-0 early, Utica dominated the rest of the night.
Drake Morse (Grand Rapids, MI/Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)) and
Eric Vitale (Toronto, ON/Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)) starred in the matchup, as Morse paced the offense with a hat-trick and an assist while Vitale scored the teddy bear toss goal and added two assists in the team's 7-2 win over the Skyhawks.
Jakob Breault (Acton Vale, QC/Alaska-Fairbanks (NCAA DI)) and
Brian Scoville (Agawam, MA/Alabama-Huntsville (NCAA DI)) each provided three points with a goal and pair of assists.
Aiden Hughes (Mississauga, ON/Milton Menace (OJHL)) rounded out the scoring with one goal.
Kimball Johnson (Dallas, TX/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)) and
Khristian Acosta (Port Monmouth, NJ/Mercyhurst University (NCAA DI)) dished out two assists, and
Griffen Barr (Nanaimo, BC/Vernon Vipers (BCHL)) added one.
Ethan Roberts (Cary, NC/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)) and
Bryan Landsberger (Montreal, Quebec/Nepean Raiders (CCHL)) split the duties between the pipes. Roberts made 12 saves and Landsberger totaled 16.
On a night with lots of energy in the crowd, the Pioneers came out attacking, winning the opening faceoff and challenging the Stonehill goalie, Dylan Meilun, early. However, just a minute in, Stonehill intercepted the puck and found the back of the net on their first shot attempt of the night.
Despite going down 1-0 early, Utica continued its history of scoring early in the teddy bear toss game, tying the score at one apiece at the 7:58 mark. Freshman
Eric Vitale (Toronto, ON/Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)) scored the first goal, carving his name into this great holiday tradition with the opening score of the contest. Vitale's score erupted the crowd and thousands of teddy bears onto the ice. The goal came by deflecting a rifling shot from
Kimball Johnson (Dallas, TX/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)) past Dylan Meilun.
Stonehill would proceed to put itself behind the eight ball in the upcoming minutes. A series of penalties gave the Pioneers a 5-on-3 power play in which they would take a 2-1 lead.
Khristian Acosta (Port Monmouth, NJ/Mercyhurst University (NCAA DI)) set
Brian Scoville (Agawam, MA/Alabama-Huntsville (NCAA DI)) up for a beautiful one-timer goal at the 12:14 mark.
In the closing minute of the first frame,
Drake Morse (Grand Rapids, MI/Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)) would tack on another one to up the Pioneers lead to 3-1.
Kimball Johnson (Dallas, TX/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)) provided his second assist of the night along with
Eric Vitale (Toronto, ON/Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)).
Morse struck again in the second period, scoring the lone goal of the frame for Utica.
Jakob Breault (Acton Vale, QC/Alaska-Fairbanks (NCAA DI)) tallied his second assist of the contest on the score.
Aiden Hughes (Mississauga, ON/Milton Menace (OJHL)) would later steal the puck in the neutral zone and draw a penalty on a breakaway chance. He would seize the moment and ignite the crowd, scoring the fifth goal of the night via penalty shot.
In the closing minute of the second, Devin Carlstrom sniped a shot past
Bryan Landsberger (Montreal, Quebec/Nepean Raiders (CCHL)) bringing the score to 5-2 to stop the Pioneers' string of five unanswered goals.
After assisting on two goals earlier on,
Jakob Breault (Acton Vale, QC/Alaska-Fairbanks (NCAA DI)) wanted one of his own. The senior faked out the goalie with a hesitation before providing the sixth Utica score of the night on a brilliant shot.
Drake Morse (Grand Rapids, MI/Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)) later notched another goal to give himself the hat-trick, scoring off a rebound with three minutes remaining in the third, bringing the lead to 7-2.
The No. 4 ranked Pioneers (6-1-3, 5-0-1 UCHC) will travel to Oswego to take on the Oswego State Lakers on Saturday, December 9 for its final game before the semester break. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
