PITTSBURGH, PA - The #11 ranked Pioneer Women's Hockey team traveled to Chatham University on Friday afternoon for some early-season UCHC action, meeting the Cougars in the first of two games to be played over the weekend. Utica, fresh off of their Utica University Tournament win over then #5 ranked Elmira, looked to channel their momentum into their initial conference matchup of the new campaign against the Cougars. The high-flying Pioneer attack showed off its depth in Friday's contest, employing seven-different goal-scorers in a 7-0 rout of Chatham to begin conference play.
 
Scoring for the Pioneers on Friday was (in order) Madison Novotny (Wesley Chapel, FL/Northwood School), Angelina Garganese (Winter Springs, Fl/Florida Alliance), Autumn Mish (Long Lake, NY/University of New Hampshire (NCAA DI)), Riley Calhoun (New Hartford, NY/Plattsburgh State University (NCAA DIII)), Molly Pedone (Trinity, FL/Shattuck-St. Mary's), Carly Stefanini (Framingham, MA/Brooks School), and Kaci Ryder (Shrewsbury, MA/Shrewsburg (Lady Flames)).
 
Garganese, Calhoun, Stefanini, Ryder, and Ally Nolan (Westford, MA/Chatham University (NCAA DIII)) each added an assist on the afternoon, however no one tallied more helpers than Emma Corbett (Rochester, NY/Adrian College (NCAA DIII)), who finished with three assists and a team-high three points. Corbett was integral during the middle stretch of play that allowed the Pioneers to establish a major cushion over the Cougars.
 
Utica did well in penalty situations tonight, going two-for-three on their power play opportunities as Novotny and Ryder bookended the scoring with player-up conversions. The Pioneers also had a spotless penalty kill during the game, shutting out the Cougars on all three of their power plays.
 
The Pioneers outshot the Cougars by a ludicrous margin, landing 54 shots on goal compared to the hosts' 7. Utica also took 41 of the 53 possible faceoffs for a faceoff win percentage of  77%.
 
Game Summary:
 
Utica set the precedent early, launching the first seven shots of the matchup in quick succession to begin the UCHC season in earnest. The Pioneers managed to rattle off 20 total shots before the Cougars managed to find even their second opportunity of the matchup.
 
Chatham picked up the first penalty of the game, being assessed a tripping penalty at around the midway mark of the first period. The Pioneers looked to take advantage of this early miscue and up their power play conversion percentage which was 20% (1-for-5) through their first two games.
 
Novotny, who produced the Pioneers lone power play score last weekend with an overtime winner against the Soaring Eagles, repeated the feat to break the ice between the visitors and the Cougars on Friday afternoon.
 
The Pioneer Captain received a short pass out near the blue line from Stefanini, setting her up in space. Novotny then proceeded to throw an unassuming wrister in from the right of center ice, guiding the puck past an array of Cougar defenders and notching the first score of the game for the visiting side.
 
Play ensued with both teams at even strength for a few minutes before another quick Chatham penalty resulted in a second quick power play for the Pioneers. The Orange and Blue were threatening in their attempts to establish a two-score cushion, whipping the puck around and attacking the back post relentlessly off of a few dangerous crossing passes. Some solid defensive play forced the visitors to switch up their attacking gameplan midway through the penalty, with the Pioneers attempting to mimic their game-winner against Elmira by finding someone directly in front of the net for a close-range score. The Pioneer efforts were thwarted by Chatham though, who managed to salt away the second penalty of the game and return to even strength with only a single goal separating the squads.
 
Utica, clad in their primarily-navy uniforms, continued that second offensive tactic even after the previous penalty had wrapped up. A couple minutes later, their persistent attacks paid off.
 
Corbett centered the puck at the edge of the Pioneers' offensive zone and fired in a shot from long range which was deflected by the Cougar goalkeeper. Garganese, who had been waiting near the boards, crashed in on-net, finding the deflection and slotting the shot away to extend the Pioneer lead to 2-0. Garganese's goal aligned well with what it seemed like the Pioneers were hoping to do, which appeared to be causing as much chaos in front of net as possible and finding alleys to crash and procure secondary opportunities. The Pioneers 2-0 advantage would hold steady up until the end of the first period.
 
Utica outshot the hosts by a 34-3 margin in the first period of play, launching a dominant spell of possession throughout the first 20 minutes. The Pioneers also captured the bigger share of faceoff success in the first-third, winning 12 to the Cougars four.
 
The second period began with the Pioneers once monopolizing the puck once again, until a cross-checking penalty sent the visitors to their first player disadvantage of the contest. Utica drained the clock in steadfast fashion, freeing themselves of the mounting Chatham pressure for their first penalty of the match.
 
Dueling penalties a few minutes later turned the action into a four-on-four affair and the Pioneers capitalized on the newfound space, further extending their lead. With about 12 minutes remaining in the second period, Corbett once again found a driving lane, skating fast up the left side of the ice before dishing off the puck to a trailing Mish for the 3-0. Mish found excellent space in the slot, utilizing a sliding slapshot to strike home the third goal for the away side.
 
Following the third score, the Pioneers embarked on a ridiculous run of 25-straight shots that ended with yet-another goal, this time at the hands of a Pioneer newcomer in Calhoun. Calhoun's score came with about 4 minutes remaining in the second period, giving the Pioneers a massive 4-0 advantage heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation.
 
The #11 team in all of DIII Women's Hockey put the finishing touches on another successful outing during the third period of Friday's matchup, scoring 3 more goals en route to an emphatic victory.
 
Utica struck with about 12 minutes left in the contest, bringing the tally to 5-0 and beginning a final avalanche of scoring in the match. Pedone nabbed her first score of the night off a slick backhand shot from an insanely tough angle. Pedone, a left-handed player, found herself stuck on the right post, but flipped the puck up over the shoulder of the Cougar goalkeeper for the score.
 
Stefanini then became the sixth different goal-scorer of the game for the Pioneers less than two minutes later, redirecting a Corbett pass from the corner to register the score. Corbett found yet another assist on the play, bringing her play-making total to three.
 
Less than two minutes after that, Ryder notched the third goal in four minutes for the powerful Pioneers. Calhoun found Ryder at point-blank range, with the Pioneer forward launching the puck upper right for a power play goal, completing the Pioneers' scoring barrage and bringing the game to its final score at 7-0.
 
The Pioneers improved to 3-0-0 on the season with the emphatic victory and also picked up their first UCHC win of the season. Utica will take on Chatham tomorrow to complete the two-game set. Puck drop for the second game is scheduled for 1:00 PM. You can stream that matchup right here: https://www.pacdigitalnetwork.com/chatham/