UTICA, NY - The No. 7 Utica University men's hockey team is set to hit the road for a two-game set at Neumann University this weekend. The Pioneers and Knights will clash at 7 p.m. on Friday before completing the series at 4 p.m. on Saturday. 
 
Follow Along: Neumann will provide live video through https://atlanticeastnetwork.com/neumann/ and live stats via https://www.neumannathletics.com/sidearmstats/mhockey/summary for both games this weekend. 
 
Last Time Out: The No. 7 Utica University men's hockey team lit up the scoreboard at the Adirondack Bank Center last Saturday evening in a thrilling 7-4 win over the visiting Manhattanville College Valiants. The Pioneers were fueled by seven different goal scorers in Michael Herrera (Syracuse, NY/Utica Comets (NCDC)), Matt Wood (Garnet Valley, PA/Richmond Generals (USPHL)), Drake Morse (Grand Rapids, MI/Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)), Eric Vitale (Toronto, ON/Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)), Jakob Breault (Acton Vale, QC/Alaska-Fairbanks (NCAA DI)), John Gutt (Middletown, NJ/Utica JR Comets (NCDC)) and Khristian Acosta (Port Monmouth, NJ/Mercyhurst University (NCAA DI)). Nine different players also registered at least one assist with none more than Brian Scoville (Agawam, MA/Alabama-Huntsville (NCAA DI)) who had three. Morse, Shane Murphy (Oriskany, NY/Danbury Hat Tricks (NAHL)) and Domenick Evtimov (Northbrook, IL/Oklahoma Warriors (NAHL)) had two apiece as well. In goal, Ethan Roberts (Cary, NC/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)) picked up the win after a 30 save performance. The Valiants were called for 11 penalties in the game which resulted in five Utica power play opportunities while the Pioneers were only on the penalty kill once over three penalties. Utica also claimed 48 of 76 faceoffs with Breault accounting for 25 wins. Early in the contest the Pioneers found themselves on the advantage on a slashing call at 1:25. A mere 12 seconds later, Herrera sent the puck in the back of the net on feeds from Scoville and Griffen Barr (Nanaimo, BC/Vernon Vipers (BCHL)). The Valiants would end up evening the score just under eight minutes into the first while the teams went on the battle the remaining 12 minutes with nothing going, bringing the game into the second 1-1. Opposite from the first period, the second provided plenty of spark for both sides with a combined six goals. The first four goals of the frame all belonged to Utica thanks to Morse (1:48), Acosta (8:57), Vitale (10:23) and Wood (13:14) to jump ahead 5-1 in the blink of an eye. However, M'Ville would not be silenced. AJ Bella scored back-to-back goals for the visitors at 13:38 and then again on a power play at 16:16 to move the game into the final period with Utica up 5-3. In what served to be a chippy third period that saw six Manhattanville penalties, the Pioneers put the finishing touches on the game. Gutt extended the lead to 6-3 with a goal just over five minutes into the period while Brault put the finishing touches on at 11:16. Despite a Valiant goal with under three minutes to play, the game was already out of reach as the Pioneers closed out the home win. 
 
In the Polls: The team remained No. 7 in this week's US College Hockey Online men's Top 15. The poll was released Monday by the national college hockey website. The Pioneers received 187 points this week to hold steady at seven. The team swept UCHC opponent Manhattanville College this weekend with a 6-2 win on Friday and a 7-4 victory on Saturday. The entire Division III men's poll can be found at https://www.uscho.com/rankings/d-iii-mens-poll/. 
 
Where we Stand: The Pioneers enter the weekend 8-2-3 overall and at 7-0-1 in UCHC play, Utica has launched into first place in the league with 22 points; two more than second place teams Wilkes and Stevenson, who have both played two more conference games than Utica. The team leads the league with a +1.9 scoring margin on the back of 51 goals scored, the second most in the conference, and 26 goals allowed, the fewest in the UCHC. Not only does the team remain one of the least penalized teams in the country (8:41 per game), but the Pioneers are also top-25 nationally with an .860 kill percentage. 
 
More Morse: Drake Morse (Grand Rapids, MI/Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)) earned UCHC Rookie of the week accolades for his weekend performance against Manhattanville. Over his two outings, Morse totaled five points on two goals and three assists. In Friday's 6-2 win, Morse's goal came on a Utica power play late in the second period that extended Utica's lead to 3-1. His lone goal of the game came on five shots. He also assisted on the team's last goal of the game to help put the finishing touches on the win. On Saturday, the freshman totaled three points on one goal and a pair of assists. His goal served as the game-winner as he broke the 1-1 tie at 1:48 in the second period. His assists came on Utica's fourth and seventh goals of the game as well.  
 
The Landy Man Can: Bryan Landsberger (Montreal, Quebec/Nepean Raiders (CCHL)) was named the UCHC Goaltender of the Week for his performance against Manhattanville last Friday. In his lone start last weekend, Landsberger earned his second win of the season in Utica's 6-2 win over Manhattanville on Friday. The junior made 32 saves, including 25 over the final 40 minutes of play, while also adding an assist on the team's third goal of the game that helped extend the Pioneers' lead to two goals. In 128 minutes between the pipes this year, Landberger owns a .950 save percentage with 57 total saves and just three goals allowed. 
 
About Neumann: The Knights will enter the weekend 5-6-0 overall and 5-4-0 in UCHC play, good enough for fifth place in the conference. The team has displayed a balanced attack this season with 20 different players having at least one point and 13 with at least one goal. However, the top tandem of Yancy Whitaker (14 points, seven goals & assists) and Brady Mistler (13 points and four goals and nine assists) are 10th and 12th in the league in points. As a whole, Neumann owns a -0.5 goal differential as the team has allowed 40 goals to scoring 35 of its own. The Knights' 3.18 goals per game ranks fifth in the UCHC however, the team ranks near the bottom half of the league giving up 3.73 per contest. It's a tale of two sides on penalties as Neumann owns a .245 power play percentage but on the kill the team is ninth in the conference and 74th nationally with a .723 success rate. With that, they are one of the most penalized teams in the country with an average time of 15:55 in the box. In goal for Neumann, Cole DeFazio has made nine starts and sports a 5-4-0 record. Over 533 minutes played, the sophomore owns a .893 save percentage with 28 goals allowed, 12 of which via power play. 
 
Series History: Since the first meeting between the programs on January 8, 2002, the Pioneers hold the upper hand all-time with a 27-16-4 record. Utica also finds itself on a seven-game winning streak over Neumann dating back to November 9, 2019. To take the recent set of games one step further, the Pioneers hold a 14-2-1 mark against the Knights since 2016. Over its current seven-game winning streak against its UCHC foe, the Pioneers have outscored the Knights 51-10 including 11-2 over the two games played last year. 

Up Next: The Pioneers will return home to host Lebanon Valley College on January 19 & 20. The game on Jan. 19 will be played at 7:30 p.m. at the Utica University Nexus Center before shifting back over to the Adirondack Bank Canter on Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. Tickets for both games can be purchased through https://empirestatetix.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventList?groupCode=UCP&linkID=utica&shopperContext=&caller=&appCode=.