UTICA, NY - The No. 3 Utica University Men's Hockey Team will undergo one of the most important and exciting stretches of their season this weekend when they meet the SUNY Geneseo Knights in a home-and-home two game set on Friday and Saturday. Friday, the Pioneers will head to Geneseo, NY for the first time since 2002 to meet the #4 Knights at the Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena. The following day, Geneseo will travel down the thruway and head to the Adirondack Bank Center where a legion of Pioneer fans will be waiting to rain down teddy bears during this year's New York Sash Teddy Bear Toss. Both of this weekend's games will begin at 7:00 PM.
 
How to Watch Friday's Game at Geneseo: You can view Friday's game by clicking the "Watch" link on our Men's Hockey Schedule Page or by heading to the link below:
Utica at Geneseo Stream: https://www.empire8network.com/geneseo/
 
How to Watch the New York Sash Teddy Bear Toss (Saturday): The game will be televised on WKTV NewsChannel 2 in Utica, with longtime Pioneer voice Ray Biggs '13 pairing up with WKTV Sports Director Spencer Davidson. That telecast will be available locally over-the-air on WKTV 2.1 and on local cable systems. It will also be available online at wktv.com/livestream and on the free WKTV NewsChannel 2 streaming app available for Roku, Amazon Fire, and AppleTV Devices.
 
Alternatively, WPNR 90.7 will be streaming the game on the Empire 8 Network and airing the call over WPNR 90.7 FM Radio. You can find the links to those broadcasts down below.
Utica vs Geneseo Empire 8 Network Stream: https://www.empire8network.com/utica/
Utica vs Geneseo WPNR 90.7 FM Radio Call: https://www.pioneerradio.org/
 
Keep Up With Live Stats: You can follow along with live statistics for the games by heading to the "Live Stats" tab under the matchups in the Men's Ice Hockey schedule section of our athletics website. You can also follow the links below to view live statistics for the entire weekend.
(Friday) Geneseo Men's Ice Hockey Live Statisics: https://geneseoknights.com/sidearmstats/mhockey/summary
(Saturday) Utica Men's Ice Hockey Live Statistics: https://uticapioneers.com/sidearmstats/mhockey/summary
 
Weekend Recap: Utica had a weekend to remember this past Friday and Saturday at the Adirondack Bank Center as they hosted a pair of familiar foes in this year's Delta by Marriott Thanksgiving Showcase. The Pioneers pushed past University of New England in the tournament semifinal on Friday, using a solid performance in net by Bryan Landsberger (Montreal, Quebec/Nepean Raiders (CCHL)) as well as a late, third period dagger by John Gutt (Middletown, NJ/Utica JR Comets (NCDC)) to secure a thrilling 6-5 win, their first ever over the Nor'Easters. The next day, Division III's third ranked team left no doubt, drubbing former UCHC rival Stevenson by a 6-1 margin to claim the tournament championship. Andrew Della Rovere (Caledon East, ON/Georgetown Raiders (OJHL)) was named the tournament's MVP, while a group of five other Pioneers were also named to the All-Tournament Team. The crop of Pioneer honorees included Gutt, Landsberger, Johnny Mulera (Rockville, MD/Salve Regina University (NCAA DIII)), and…
 
Back Line Bastion: Captain Brian Scoville (Agawam, MA/Alabama-Huntsville (NCAA DI)) and rookie Anthony Bax (Parkhill, ON/Flin Flon Bombers (SJHL)) were the other two players picked for last weekend's All-Tournament Team, with the two defenders being heavily involved in all facets of the title-winning run. Scoville grabbed some great recognition for his efforts, further filling his trophy cabinet by being named both the Empire 8 Player of the Week and the UCHC Player of the Week in Monday's awards cycle. Scoville put forth a charged effort in the semifinal, finally getting the better of a Nor'Easter team that had defeated him twice before. After that cathartic win, Scoville calmly led the Pioneers to a dominating victory over Stevenson for the tournament crown. The Massachusetts man gathered five goals and two assists, including a three-point performance against UNE, to finish as the weekend's second-leading point getter with five points.
 
The other half of the top defender duo was Bax, who has integrated himself spectacularly throughout his first year donning the moose. Bax, who had already captured a UCHC Rookie of the Week earlier in the year, grabbed a second UCHC honor after a six-point weekend in the Pioneers' tournament run. Bax's ascension to the top line has been unprecedented, with the Freshman sensation finally fully establishing himself in this past weekend's action. Bax, in addition to getting an All-Tournament Team and UCHC Rookie of the Week nod, also finished as the tournament's leading point-getter, a remarkable feat by a newcomer amongst a senior-laden tournament. Bax had a goal and two assists in the semifinal, before notching a trio of apples in the championship game.
 
Landsberger completed the Pioneers' three-headed monster at the back, having a breakout weekend which began with the Senior keeper getting his revenge against the Nor'Easters. Landsberger was also a big part of those Pioneer teams who fell twice to UNE in the NCAA Tournament and finally got his big victory over the Nor'Easters this past Friday, recording a near 30-minute shutout to slam the door on the Maine side and punch the Pioneers' ticket to the tournament championship. In the final, Landsberger had another outstanding outing, allowing just a single score in the Pioneers 6-1 defeat of the Mustangs. Landsberger allowed just one goal in nearly 90 minutes of time in net, ending the weekend with a 0.67 goals allowed average. The Senior keeper also saved 37 shots with a 97.4% save rate. He got his first two wins of the season with the pair of tournament victories and also picked up some great accolades including an All-Tournament Team selection as well as a UCHC Co-Goalie of the Week award pick.
 
In The Leaderboards: The Pioneers' grasp on the top spot in Division III's scoring offense column tightened this week, with the Pioneers putting up 12 total goals across two games, netting six scores in each matchup. This steady stream of goals continued to boost the Pioneers' goal per game average, with the team now having scored 5.5 goals per game over the first 10 games of the season. The gap between Utica and their offensive competition widened, with St. Norbert ranking as the second best offense at 4.73 goals per game, almost one whole goal less per game than the Pioneers. The orange and blue have also tallied the most total goals so far this season, with 55 total scores. St. Norbert is once again second in that category, sporting 52 scores. The list falls off after those two teams though, with SUNY Cortland ranking third for total goals with 39.
 
Utica also ranks third in scoring margin, stretching their average margin of victory to 2.8 goals per game after wrecking Stevenson. That places the Pioneers third in average scoring margin behind the #1 and #2 ranked teams in the most recent USCHO poll: Hobart and St. Norbert.
 
The Pioneers had an average weekend on the power play, but stayed near the top of the power play percentage rankings due to their staggering early season numbers on the advantage. Utica went 1-for-6 on the advantage this past weekend, with their one player-up score being a critical second period strike from Scoville to knot the game against UNE at four goals apiece. Despite only converting at a 17% rate in the Thanksgiving Showcase, the Pioneers still place third overall for power play percentage with a season conversion rate of 37%. Utica also did well to stay out of the penalty box during last weekend's matchups, only seeing six minutes of penalty time while allowing just a single power play goal.
 
Utica kept up their superior assist amounts during the tournament action this weekend, with Matt Wood (Garnet Valley, PA/Richmond Generals (USPHL)) keeping his spot near the top of the Division III ranks despite only securing two dishes in the pair of games. Wood is currently third in all of Division III for assists per game with 1.3 apples per contest. He's also second for total assists with 13. Aydin Parekh (Nobleton, ON/Georgetown Raiders (OJHL)) also managed to stay near the summit of the top assisters even without recording any playmakers during the Thanksgiving Showcase. Even with his quiet weekend, Parekh is still sixth in Division III for assists per game with 1.2 and third for total assists with 12. A new face joined the ranks of the Pioneers top assisters, with Bax's six apples seeing him skyrocket to the 13 spot on the Division III assist charts at exactly one per game. Bax's 10 assists are also good enough for fifth in the total assist category. This means that the Pioneers currently own three of the top five assist getters in all of Division III, with Wood, Parekh, and Bax all placed inside the five for playmakers so far this season. Scoville and Morse round out the five Pioneers who are slotted inside the top-50 assist getters, with Scoville having nine total assists at .9 per game, and Morse having eight total assists at .8 per game. Scoville is 24th while Morse comes in at 43rd in assist per game numbers.
 
The Pioneers also have five players inside the top-50 points per game achievers. Wood is ninth with 1.6 points per game off of three goals and 13 assists, while Morse and Parekh are both 39th with 1.2 points per game. Morse has four goals and eight assists while Parekh has 12 assists. Jakob Breault (Acton Vale, QC/Alaska-Fairbanks (NCAA DI)) joins those two players at the 39th spot, boasting 1.2 points per game off of an even six goals and six assists. Johnny Mulera (Rockville, MD/Salve Regina University (NCAA DIII)) rounds out the Pioneer point-getters, placing 25th in Division III at 1.3 points per game off of six goals and seven assists.
 
Pioneer Primer: The Pioneers continued to outshoot their opponents at a staggering rate over the weekend, launching 76 attempts compared to 50 by their opposition. They also upped their season second period scoring average, getting six goals over both middle 20's against UNE and Stevenson.
 
The Pioneers have now doubled up the number of goals and shot attempts that their opponents have recorded, notching 55 goals on 445 shots vs 27 goals on 230 shots by their opponents. The Pioneers are also winning faceoffs at a 64% clip, capturing 416 of their 648 total opportunities within the circle. Breault and Della Rovere continue to rank as the Pioneers' most dominant duo on the draw, with Breault securing 166 of 238 total faceoffs for a 70% win percentage, and Della Rovere winning 71 of his 102 total opportunities, also winning at a 70% rate.
 
The Pioneers continue to blow their opponents out of the water during the first two periods of games, outscoring the opposition 17-5 during their first periods and 22-10 during their second periods. The Pioneers are outscoring opponents by a 39-15 margin during the first two periods of each matchup, but only hold a 16-12 goals to goals against tally in the third period of games.
 
In the Polls: Utica remained at #3 in both the USCHO and the DIII Hockey News Polls this week, marking the second week in a row where the top three remained unchanged with Hobart and St. Norbert still at #1 and #2 respectively. The Pioneers' opponent this weekend, SUNY Geneseo, also remained at four in both polls, setting up a gigantic two game set between the teams that's set for this weekend.
 
None of the Pioneers' future opponents saw any movement in the rankings, however, a pair of former opponents are represented with UNE still receiving votes in both polls and Adrian still within the top 15 in both rankings. Adrian fell to #8 in the DIII Hockey News poll while simultaneously moving up one spot in the USCHO poll to #6.
 
It's Finally Time to Meet Geneseo: The Pioneers will finally take on the SUNY Geneseo Knights this weekend in a pair of matchups between new conference rivals after the Knights departed from the SUNYAC in order to join the UCHC this past offseason. From the time of the Knights' announcement, it was apparent that they would immediately become the Pioneers' biggest threat due to a rich history of hockey success during the past few decades. Utica and Geneseo, despite being two of the premier programs in New York over the past decade, have not met very frequently, with Friday's matchup at the Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena representing only the fourth meeting all-time between the two teams. Two of those three contests came back in 2002 and 2003, with the Pioneers taking both matchups by a 5-4 tally. The third meeting was the most recent, as Geneseo came to participate in the Pioneers' Thanksgiving Showcase during the 2021 season, defeating Utica by a 3-0 score. That game featured Division III's top two teams at the time, with Geneseo holding the #1 ranking and Utica holding the #2. The vibes will be familiar this weekend, with both teams ranked inside the top 4, however, this weekend will also have the added weight of being for the lead in the UCHC, as both teams are currently 6-0 in conference. This pair of contests will decide who is in the drivers' seat for the conference's regular season crown entering winter break.
 
The Ice Knights are off to a 9-0 start in 2024, defeating Wilkes, Amherst., and Williams in non-conference contests while sweeping two-game sets against UCHC sides Chatham, Manhattanville, and Brockport. Amherst took Geneseo to overtime this past weekend, but besides that contest as well as a pair of one-goal victories over Manhattanville and Brockport, the Knights have had a good run to begin the year.
 
Geneseo, much like the Pioneers, has outshot their opponents by a pretty significant margin, scoring 38 goals off of 388 shots compared to 14 goals off of 232 shots by their competition. The 14 goals allowed by Geneseo are enough to place the Knights 7th in Division III for scoring defense, allowing 1.56 scores per contest.
 
Geneseo is a very balanced goal scoring unit, with a pair of players owning four goals each, and a staggering six players who've each scored three goals. The Knights' leading point getters are Luke Panchisin and Cooper Fensterstock who have 10 and nine points respectively. The former has three goals and seven assists, while the latter has three goals and six assists. After those two players are four different Knight skaters who own eight points each.
 
The Knights, also like the Pioneers, have dominated opponents in the first two periods of play, outscoring the opposition by a 24-8 margin over the opening 40 minutes of games.
 
The Knights employ the services of two main goalkeepers, with Jacob Torgner and Adam Harris both logging over 230 minutes of ice time so far this season. Both goalies have identical save percentages, with each stopping shots at a 94% rate. Harris has more minutes, however the Senior from Burlington, Ontario has also allowed more goals than his counterpart, with nine goals allowed in his five appearances. Torgner has allowed less goals but has also played less minutes, with the Sweden native allowing five goals in his 239 minutes. 
 
After the New York Sash Teddy Bear Toss: The Pioneers will begin winter break following their pair of games against Geneseo. They will next take the ice in 2025, when they welcome Oswego State to the Aud on January 10th to begin the latter half of their campaign. 
 
Do we even have to remind you? Tune in as the Pioneers take on Geneseo this weekend! Saturday's matchup will be the long-awaited New York Sash Teddy Bear Toss!