UTICA, NY - The No. 6 Utica University men's hockey team is set to welcome the Lebanon Valley College Dutchmen to Utica this weekend for a two-game set. The teams will meet at the Adirondack Bank Center on Saturday for a 6 p.m. puck drop on Saturday before completing the series at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday from the Utica University Nexus Center. 

Schedule Change: Friday's 7:30 p.m. game at the Nexus Center has been moved to 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, January 24. All tickets purchased for the originally scheduled 7:30 p.m. game on January 19 will be valid for Sunday's makeup game. Also please note that Saturday's puck drop has been moved up from 7 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Adirondack Bank Center. 
 
Follow Along: Those unable to attend this weekend can keep up with live video and/or stats via https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. 
 
Getting In: Tickets for both games this weekend can be purchased through https://empirestatetix.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventList?groupCode=UCP&linkID=utica&shopperContext=&caller=&appCode=. 
 
Last Time Out: The then-No. 7 Utica University men's hockey team blanked the host Neumann University Knights 5-0 last Saturday evening. Five different players notched a goal in the contest in Shane Murphy (Oriskany, NY/Danbury Hat Tricks (NAHL)), Drake Morse (Grand Rapids, MI/Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)), Kimball Johnson (Dallas, TX/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)), Andrew Della Rovere (Caledon East, ON/Georgetown Raiders (OJHL)) and Khristian Acosta (Port Monmouth, NJ/Mercyhurst University (NCAA DI)). Della Rovere added two assists to his line to have a team leading three points. Johnson, Domenick Evtimov (Northbrook, IL/Oklahoma Warriors (NAHL)), Eric Vitale (Toronto, ON/Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)), John Gutt (Middletown, NJ/Utica JR Comets (NCDC)), Brian Scoville (Agawam, MA/Alabama-Huntsville (NCAA DI)), Nicolas Haviar (Vail, CO/Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)) and Morse also had assists. In goal, Ethan Roberts (Cary, NC/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)) earned his seventh win and second shutout of the year with a 17 save performance. The Pioneers outshot the knights 78-24 overall and 53-17 on goal. Each side committed six penalties in the game, with Utica coming through on one power play, while the Pioneers won 31 of 58 faceoffs. Michael Herrera (Syracuse, NY/Utica Comets (NCDC)) led the unit with 11 wins on the dot followed by Della Rovere with seven and Chris Carroll (Islip, NY/New Jersey Titans (NAHL)) with six. Utica had at least one goal in each period in the game, including a red-hot, three-goal first period. Roughly 7:30 into the first period, Stevenson's Tyler Kennedy was nailed for a tripping call, setting the Pioneers up on their first power play of the night. While on it, Della Rovere and Evtimov connected with Acosta, who buried it at 7:59 for a 1-0 edge. As the period wound down, Della Rovere went from an assist to scoring one of his own. The freshman scored at 17:17 while two minutes later, Johnson sent in his first goal since November to open the game up to 3-0 entering intermission. Following a slow start to the second, Morse extended Utica's lead with 4:23 left in the period off an assist from Haviar. Then in a third, Murphy put the finishing touches on the contest with his second goal of the season at 9:09. Roberts was able to stop all seven of Neumann's third period shots to capture the shutout and secure the win.
 
In the Polls: Utica moved up to No. 6 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 190 points this week to move up one spot from their previous No. 7 ranking. The team swept UCHC opponent Neumann University this weekend with a 4-0 win on Friday and a 5-0 victory on Saturday. The entire Division III men's poll can be found at https://www.uscho.com/rankings/d-iii-mens-poll/.
 
Show me the Money: Drake Morse (Grand Rapids, MI/Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)) is on a heater right now as he was named UCHC Rookie of the Week for second straight week. Morse currently has a four-game point streak with multiple points in each of those games. With nine points in the last four games, the freshman has upped his season total to 13, tying him for third highest on the team. His dominant play as of late has propelled Utica to four straight wins in which they have tallied 22 goals. 
 
Dominance in Net: Over the weekend, Utica blanked Neumann in both contests for their second and third shutouts of the season. Both Ethan Roberts (Cary, NC/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)) and Bryan Landsberger (Montreal, Quebec/Nepean Raiders (CCHL)) were superb, each starting one game over the weekend. Coming off a fantastic performance last weekend, Bryan Landsberger (Montreal, Quebec/Nepean Raiders (CCHL)) earned UCHC Goaltender of the Week honors, and was given the nod in the first matchup against Neumann. He was incredible once again, making 21 saves while not allowing a goal. Landsberger is building an impressive resume this season as he has allowed only three goals through 187 in net for a .963 save percentage. In the latter matchup, Ethan Roberts (Cary, NC/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)) drew the start in net and was perfect as well. The sophomore made 17 saves in the second shutout of the weekend. 
 
About Lebanon Valley: The Dutchmen enter the weekend 3-12-0 overall on a seven-game losing skid and tied for last in the UCHC with six points from a 2-8-0 mark. The team is last in the league in penalty kill percentage (.724), goals scored per game (2.27) and goals allowed per game (4.47) while ranking in the bottom half in shots on goal per game (31.53) and shots percentage (0.07). Lebanon Valley's top skater has been Blake Tosto, who for the third year straight is leading the team in points with 12. Outside of Tosto, scoring has been hard to come by as the team has scored 34 goals in 15 contests, which is tied for last in the conference. Harris Blackwood has tallied four goals, while three other players have scored three a piece. Jadon Lee has been the most efficient goalie, allowing seven goals over 145 minutes in net. 
 
Series History: The Pioneers have controlled the all-time series since the programs first met in the 2001-02 season. Over the 29 meetings, Utica owns a 25-3-1 record against the Dutchmen including a 13-0-1 clip at home. The Pioneers have won six straight games over LVC and also ride an eight-game point streak against the Dutchmen into the weekend. Last season, Utica traveled to LVC and completed the season sweep with a 6-1 win and a monster 16-1 victory. 

Up Next: The Pioneers will host Nazareth University for AmeriCU Night at 7 p.m. on January 26 before traveling to Rochester at 3 p.m. on January 27 to complete the home-and-home series with the Golden Flyers.