UTICA, NY - The top-seeded and nationally ranked No. 2 Utica University men's hockey team is set to host the fourth-seeded Alvernia University Golden Wolves in the UCHC Semifinals at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24 from the Adirondack Bank Center. 
 
Follow Along: Those unable to attend can keep up with live video and/or stats through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. 
 
Ticket Info: UCHC Semifinal tickets are now available to the general public. To purchase yours, visit https://empirestatetix.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventList?groupCode=UCP&linkID=utica&shopperContext=&caller=&appCode=. 
 
Last Time Out: The No. 2 Utica University men's hockey team defeated the Nazareth University Golden Flyers in the UCHC Quarterfinals by a score of 3-0 on Wednesday evening. The contest was closely matched through the first two periods, but Utica bested Nazareth over the final 20 minutes of play as all three goals came in the closing frame. Michael Herrera (Syracuse, NY/Utica Comets (NCDC)), Brian Scoville (Agawam, MA/Alabama-Huntsville (NCAA DI)) and Shane Murphy (Oriskany, NY/Danbury Hat Tricks (NAHL)) scored the team's goals while Vladislav Pshenichnikov (Moscow, Russia/Utica Comets (NCDC)), Dante Spagnuolo (Newmarket, ON/Adrian College (NCAA DIII)), Drake Morse (Grand Rapids, MI/Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)), Preston Brighton (Castle Rock, CO/Amarillo Wranglers (NAHL)), Jakob Breault (Acton Vale, QC/Alaska-Fairbanks (NCAA DI)), and Ethan Roberts (Cary, NC/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)) all added an assist. Roberts was outstanding in net all night, making 22 saves without allowing a goal. It was a hard fought first period where both teams battled in the neutral zone for much of the action. Neither team could muster up any offense with Utica out-shooting Nazareth 12-9 in what was 20 minutes of tightly contested play. Utica was knocking on the door in the second with several close scoring chances on breakaway opportunities, yet Nazareth held strong defensively, continuing to keep them at bay. During a 5-on-3 penalty kill stretch that period, the Pioneers fought off any Nazareth offensive attack with Ethan Roberts (Cary, NC/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)) making three great saves to hold the feisty eight-seed in check.While Nazareth had played clean hockey the first two frames, a mistake in the third would cost them and shift the energy in the arena. Morse intercepted a bad Nazareth pass and had himself a wide open scoring chance. Before firing a shot he was tripped with the play still live and a delayed penalty awaiting. This left Herrera unguarded from close range where he would skate in hard on the puck and poke it in to score the team's first goal. The change in momentum was palpable after getting on the board. Just two minutes later, Scoville would snipe a deep range one-timer from the wing, igniting the crowd and making it a two goal lead. Murphy would later put the nail in the coffin, beating an outstretched Nazareth skater to a loose puck and scoring on an empty net with two minutes remaining.
 
In the Polls: The Utica University men's hockey team remained No. 2 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 271 points this week, two more than the 269 points received last week, to remain second in the poll. Utica swept its weekend series at home against Arcadia with a 9-1 win on Friday and a 5-2 victory on Saturday to cap-off another unbeaten conference slate. The entire Division III men's poll can be found at https://www.uscho.com/rankings/d-iii-mens-poll/. 
 
Postseason Merchandise Deals: Special playoff merchandise deals are still taking place at the merchandise table located in the main concourse. All hats and long sleeve t-shirts will be sold for just $5 while all sweatshirts will be marked down to just $10. 
 
A Look at the Bracket: The eight-team 2024 UCHC Men's Hockey Championship Tournament will take place with quarterfinal action on Wednesday, Feb. 21, Semifinals on Saturday, Feb. 24 and the Championship game on Saturday, March 2. The UCHC Champion receives an automatic berth into the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Championship Tournament. Aside from the top-seeded Pioneers' 3-0 win over (8) Nazareth, other Wednesday quarterfinal games included second-seeded Stevenson defeating seventh-seeded King's, 5-1, third-seeded Wilkes topping sixth-seeded Chatham, 5-1, and fourth-seeded Alvernia taking down Manhattanville, 6-1. (2) Stevenson will host (3) Wilkes in the other UCHC Semifinal contest at 3 p.m. on Saturday. 
 
Playoff History: Utica has qualified for the UCHC Tournament as the number one seed for the seventh season in a row. Since joining the UCHC in 2017, Utica has been crowned conference champion four times, with an accumulative record of 17-2 in the playoffs. The team is on a seven-game UCHC Tournament win streak, with their last loss dating back to 2021 when the team fell to Elmira in triple OT. This will be the first-ever postseason meeting between Utica and Alvernia. 
 
About Alvernia: The Alvernia Golden Wolves have had immediate success in their second year as a program with a record of 13-11-2 while going 10-9-1 in conference play. They are coming off their first playoff victory as a program after defeating Manhattanville 6-1 in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The UCHC's leading point scorer, Logan vande Meerakker, has been an integral part of the team's success. He leads the team in both goals and assists with 14 and 19 including one goal and two assists in the team's recent playoff victory. Isaac Chapman has been another key contributor with 13 goals and 14 assists on the season. The team has combined to score 85 goals, ranking fourth most in the conference with a .3 margin of victory. Jackson Fellner projects to start in net in Saturday's Semifinal matchup. He has allowed 2.67 goals per game with a .923 save percentage. Most recently, he allowed only one goal on 44 shots against Manhattanville.
 
Series Slate: Utica is 4-0 in the series history against Alvernia. This season, the Pioneers defeated the Golden Wolves 4-1 and 5-2. In this year's matchups, Khristian Acosta (Port Monmouth, NJ/Mercyhurst University (NCAA DI)) and Jakob Breault (Acton Vale, QC/Alaska-Fairbanks (NCAA DI)) led the team with three points apiece, while John Gutt (Middletown, NJ/Utica JR Comets (NCDC)) had a team high two goals, scoring once each game. 

Up Next: With a win, the Pioneers will host the winner of Stevenson and Wilkes in the UCHC Championship game on Saturday, March 2 at the ADK Bank Center. Game time will be TBD.