UTICA, NY - The No. 5 Utica University men's hockey team and the Nazareth University Golden Flyers are set to meet this weekend for a home-and-home series that will feature a rematch of the 2023 UCHC Championship. The teams will battle it out at the Adirondack Bank center at 7 p.m. on Friday before heading out to Rochester, NY on Saturday for a 3 p.m. puck drop. 
 
Follow Along: Live video and stats will be available for those unable to attend on Friday through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. Nazareth will also have live video and stats on Saturday via https://portal.stretchinternet.com/nazareth/. 
 
Game Sponsor: AmeriCU will be the presenting sponsor of Friday's game between the Pioneers and Golden Flyers. AmeriCU was named one of the Best Companies to Work for in New York State in 2018 and 2020, and in 2019, was chosen by Forbes as one of the best Credit Unions in New York State. The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) recognized AmeriCU in its Ongoing Event category for the Salute to the Troops Tribute Concert and the Marketing Association of Credit Unions (MAC) awarded AmeriCU two bronze awards for Website Design and Community Engagement in 2020. For more information, visit them on their website at https://www.americu.org/. 
 
Getting in: Tickets for Friday's game can be purchased through https://empirestatetix.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventList?groupCode=UCP&linkID=utica&shopperContext=&caller=&appCode=. 
 
Last Time Out: Backed by a Nicolas Haviar (Vail, CO/Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)) hat-trick, the then-No. 6 Utica University men's hockey team topped the visiting Lebanon Valley College Dutchmen, 7-1, from the Nexus Center on Sunday afternoon. Haviar netted each of Utica's last three goals to complete the hat-trick. The three goals over six shots were also the first three of his Pioneer career. Utica also saw goals from Brian Scoville (Agawam, MA/Alabama-Huntsville (NCAA DI)), Andrew Della Rovere (Caledon East, ON/Georgetown Raiders (OJHL)), Eric Vitale (Toronto, ON/Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)) and Khristian Acosta (Port Monmouth, NJ/Mercyhurst University (NCAA DI)). Scoville added three assists to his line which were tied with Griffen Barr (Nanaimo, BC/Vernon Vipers (BCHL)) for the team lead. Della Rovere assisted on a pair of goals too, as did Alexander Gullichsen (Turku, Finland/Aberdeen Wings (NAHL)). In goal, Ethan Roberts (Cary, NC/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)) made 24 saves with just one goal allowed en route to earning the win. The Pioneers wasted no time jumping out front in the contest as just 17 seconds in, Della Rovere scored off of passes from Scoville and Aiden Hughes (Mississauga, ON/Milton Menace (OJHL)) for an early 1-0 edge. About five minutes later, Scoville and Dante Spagnuolo (Newmarket, ON/Adrian College (NCAA DIII)) fed Vitale for his fourth goal of the season and a 2-0 lead. The sides settled in from there until Acosta nailed a power play goal at 16:55 which would carry the team into intermission with a 3-0 advantage. Much like in the first, Utica came out of the gates hot in the second. After two assists in the first frame, Scoville found the back of the net himself on a pretty one-timer with assists going to Matt Wood (Garnet Valley, PA/Richmond Generals (USPHL)) and John Gutt (Middletown, NJ/Utica JR Comets (NCDC)). Not long after at 4:04, the Dutchmen came back with a score of their own off the stick of Brendan Yingling to cut the deficit back to three. From there on, the freshman Haviar took over the game. At 12:18 in the second, the rookie notched his first career goal before coming right back for his second with under two minutes to play in the period. He capitalized on a clean look on goal in the third to complete the hat-trick at 14:27 to put the de facto end to the game.
 
In the Polls: The Utica University men's hockey team moved up to No. 5 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 205 points this week, up from the 190 points last week, to move up one spot from their previous No. 6 ranking. Utica swept its weekend series against Lebanon Valley College with a 5-2 win on Saturday and a 7-1 victory on Sunday to remain unbeaten in league play. The entire Division III men's poll can be found at https://www.uscho.com/rankings/d-iii-mens-poll/.
 
Tickets Punched: After completing the series sweep over Lebanon Valley on Sunday afternoon, the Pioneers extend their UCHC playoff streak to six years since the conference's inaugural season in 2018-19. Utica is currently 11-0-1 in conference play on the season. Utica's last UCHC loss dates back over 1,000 days when they lost to Elmira in the 2021 UCHC Semifinals in a triple overtime thriller.
 
Rematch: The Nazareth Golden Flyers return to Utica, NY with a bad taste in their mouths after being bounced in the conference championship game last season by a score of 5-3. In that championship game, Nazareth struck first, scoring halfway through the first. Their initial goal silenced the Utica crowd until Brandon Osmundson (Virginia Beach, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) got Utica on the board just a minute into the second. From there, the second frame was all Utica, as the home Pioneers tacked on three more unanswered goals by Dante Zapata (Huntington Beach, CA/Austin Bruins (NAHL)), Buster Larsson (Malmo, Sweden/Utica Jr. Comets (NCDC)), and Kimball Johnson (Dallas, TX/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)). Nazareth would claw back as the game progressed, bringing the game to 4-3 until Dante Zapata (Huntington Beach, CA/Austin Bruins (NAHL)) put the game out of reach, scoring his second goal of the night, giving Utica a two goal lead. Last year's victory in the UCHC Championship marked back-to-back titles for the Pioneers.
 
Hip Hip, Haviar!: Nicolas Haviar (Vail, CO/Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)) was awarded UCHC Rookie of the Week honors after a monster weekend vs Lebanon Valley. In what was his first time playing in back-to-back contests since the Stevenson series in early November, the freshman made the most of his opportunity this weekend. In the first contest, Haviar provided an assist early in third period on an Eric Vitale (Toronto, ON/Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)) goal that extended Utica's lead to 3-1 at the time. In the latter matchup on Sunday, Haviar etched his name into the goal scoring column for the first time in his collegiate career, scoring not one, not two but three goals in the team's huge 7-1 victory. Haviar scored the final three goals of the game for Utica, sending the team and fans home in ecstasy. He will look to build off this great momentum and continue being a key player down the stretch. 
 
Big Game Brian: Brian Scoville (Agawam, MA/Alabama-Huntsville (NCAA DI)) received UCHC Co-Player of the Week honors after two strong outings this weekend. Scoville was dropping dimes against Lebanon Valley, providing two assists in each contest, upping his season total to 12. In Sunday's matchup, he added a goal as well, his sixth of the year. Scoville currently leads the team with 18 points on the season, which also marks him eighth in the conference. The star senior will continue to be a main cog for the team as the season progresses.
 
About Nazareth: After going 18-8-2 and reaching the conference finals in 2023, success has been hard to come by for this year's Nazareth hockey team. The Golden Flyers enter this weekend's matchup vs Utica with a record of 4-11-2 with a 3-7-2 conference record. It seems the loss of First Team All-Conference senior Henry McKinney has massively impacted the 2024 team. McKinney led the team with 38 points last season, scoring a point in each of the team's matchups against Utica last season. Despite a lack of overall team production, Logan Tobias and Blake Frost are picking up right back where they left off last season. The pair of sophomores have accounted for 16 of the 38 total team goals, scoring consistently all season. To have a chance against Utica, these two will need to continue their solid play. Raphael Provencher and Matt Sayles have split duties in net thus far. Both goalies have fared well between the pipes, allowing less than three goals per game apiece with over a .900 save percentage. 

Series History: Utica has dominated Nazareth in their historic bouts, going 23-5-3 all-time against them. The Pioneers currently have a massive 14-game winning streak going against the Golden Flyers. They will look to continue this extended dominance over the weekend in their annual two game regular season series. 

Up Next: The team will travel to Wilkes-Barre, PA on February 2 and 3 for a two-game series at King's College.