UTICA, NY - The No. 2 Utica University men's hockey team looks to capture its third consecutive UCHC Championship this weekend as the team welcomes second-seeded Stevenson University for the title bout. Puck drop from the ADK Bank center is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 2. 
 
Come One, Come All: Tickets for Saturday's UCHC Championship Game are on sale through https://empirestatetix.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventList?groupCode=UCP&linkID=utica&shopperContext=&caller=&appCode=. 
 
Follow Along: Those unable to attend can keep up with live video and/or stats through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. 
 
Last Time Out: In their quest to secure a third straight conference tournament title, and a fifth in the last seven years, the #2 Utica University Men's Ice Hockey team turned to its power play to secure its date with destiny in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference semifinals. Top-seeded Utica unloaded three power play goals on fourth-seeded Alvernia, and netminder Ethan Roberts (Cary, NC/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)) secured a second consecutive postseason shutout as the Pioneers prevailed 4-0 at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. The win sets up a matchup with second-seeded Stevenson for the 2024 United Collegiate Hockey Conference championship. Stevenson defeated third-seeded Wilkes by a 4-3 score in overtime in their semifinal game. The higher seed is 6-0 in this year's tournament games. The Pioneers improved their record to 22-2-3 and have won sixteen consecutive games heading into the conference final. Alvernia finishes with a final overall record of 13-12-2 to cap their final season as a United Collegiate Hockey Conference member. Utica was led by a 3-for-6 outing on the power play on the night, with Chris Carroll (Islip, NY/New Jersey Titans (NAHL)), Matt Wood (Garnet Valley, PA/Richmond Generals (USPHL)), and Aiden Hughes (Mississauga, ON/Milton Menace (OJHL)) tallying goals for the Pioneers in that phase of the game. Alexander Gullichsen (Turku, Finland/Aberdeen Wings (NAHL)) added an empty net goal to help seal the deal for Utica. Roberts finished with 30 saves to blank the visitors. Alvernia netminder Jackson Fellner made 46 saves in the loss for the Golden Wolves. The Pioneers out-shot the Golden Wolves by a 50-30 margin, and were impressive on faceoffs by winning 48 of 63 draws. Senior forward Jakob Breault (Acton Vale, QC/Alaska-Fairbanks (NCAA DI)) was a faceoff magician, winning a simply brilliant 26 faceoffs in 28 appearances. Breault and senior classmate Brian Scoville (Agawam, MA/Alabama-Huntsville (NCAA DI)) had two assists each.Carroll put the Pioneers in the drivers' seat at 8:54 of the first period when he canned a rebound for his first of the postseason and third of the year. Scoville and Khristian Acosta (Port Monmouth, NJ/Mercyhurst University (NCAA DI)) added the assists as Utica led 1-0 after 20 minutes on the power play marker.The lead doubled, then tripled on two man-advantage tallies in the second. Matt Wood (Garnet Valley, PA/Richmond Generals (USPHL)) scored at 3:04 of the second period, and Aiden Hughes (Mississauga, ON/Milton Menace (OJHL)) netted a power play goal of his own on the rush at 5:47, and the Pioneers enjoyed a somewhat comfortable 3-0 lead through two periods. Alexander Gullichsen (Turku, Finland/Aberdeen Wings (NAHL)) finished the job with an empty net goal in the third period to help lift the Pioneers to their seventh conference final in a nine year period, a run that dates back to their membership in the former ECAC West.
 
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 270 points this week to remain second in the poll. Utica advanced to the UCHC Championship game following a pair of shutout wins last week over Nazareth in the UCHC Quarterfinals (3-0) and over Alvernia in the UCHC Semifinals (4-0). The entire Division III men's poll can be found at https://www.uscho.com/rankings/d-iii-mens-poll/.
 
Championship Game History: Utica is set to appear in the UCHC Championship game for the sixth time joining the conference in 2017-18. The team has previously won four out of their five appearances and seeks their fifth championship on Saturday to complete a three-peat of UCHC titles. Most recently, Utica defeated Nazareth in last year's championship game 5-3. Dante Zapata (Huntington Beach, CA/Austin Bruins (NAHL)) led the team with two goals while Buster Larsson (Malmo, Sweden/Utica Jr. Comets (NCDC)), Brandon Osmundson (Virginia Beach, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)), and Kimball Johnson (Dallas, TX/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)) rounded out the scoring. 
 
League's Finest: Nine members of the No. 2 Utica University men's hockey team have been named to 2023-24 All-UCHC Teams, as announced by the league on Tuesday. The nine members accounted for 12 overall selections including UCHC Player of the Year & UCHC Defensive Player of the year, Brian Scoville (Agawam, MA/Alabama-Huntsville (NCAA DI)), UCHC Rookie of the Year, Eric Vitale (Toronto, ON/Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)), and UCHC Coach of the Year, Gary Heenan. For a spectacular senior campaign, Brian Scoville (Agawam, MA/Alabama-Huntsville (NCAA DI)) earned himself a trio of honors including UCHC Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and First Team All-Conference as a Defender. Scoville paced the Pioneers in points, scoring 32 with nine goals and 23 assists. He ranked second in the conference in total points and assists as well. These are Scoville's first three All-UCHC honors. Eric Vitale (Toronto, ON/Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)) was selected as the UCHC Rookie of the Year and to the All-Rookie Team after a terrific freshman campaign. Vitale tallied 25 points on the season thus far, coming from 11 goals and 14 assists. He scored the fifth highest point total amongst all Utica players (highest among newcomers to the team) and was 18th ranked in the UCHC. Following another outstanding season, Gary Heenan has earned UCHC Coach of the Year honors. Heenan led the team to a 22-2-3 overall record with a 19-0-1 slate in conference play. Under his leadership, the team has not lost a conference game since 2021. He is leading the team to their third straight UCHC Championship appearance where they look to earn their third consecutive conference championship. This is Heenan's fourth time receiving coach of the year honors, being recognized in 2019-20, 21-22, 22-23 and now the 23-24 season. After a breakout junior season, Matt Wood (Garnet Valley, PA/Richmond Generals (USPHL)) has been awarded First Team All-UCHC as a forward. Wood sits second on Utica and fifth in the UCHC with 29 points coming from 12 goals and 17 assists on the season. This is Wood's first career All-UCHC honor. After a spectacular second half of the season for junior forward Shane Murphy (Oriskany, NY/Danbury Hat Tricks (NAHL)), he has been awarded Second Team All-UCHC honors. Murphy has a team high of 13 goals and 15 assists for the third most points on the team and eighth most in the UCHC. Murphy had two hat-tricks in the latter half of the season and has really been fantastic down the stretch. This is Murphy's first All-UCHC honor. With another excellent season in his second year on the team, Kimball Johnson (Dallas, TX/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)) has received Second Team All-UCHC honors on defense. Johnson has scored five goals and provided 11 assists this year. His veteran presence has led the team to another outstanding season in which they will look to finish on a high note. This is the second career All-UCHC honor for Johnson. In his first year with Utica, Ethan Roberts (Cary, NC/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)) made an immediate impact between the pipes and was awarded Second Team All-UCHC as a goalie. Roberts leads all qualified UCHC goalies with an incredible 1.55 goals allowed per game and is second in save percentage with a .940 through 18 starts. This is Roberts first All-UCHC honor. Freshman Aiden Hughes (Mississauga, ON/Milton Menace (OJHL)) has been recognized on the UCHC All-Rookie team as a forward. Playing in all 27 games, Hughes accumulated eight goals and 15 points for 22 points on the season. He ranked second amongst newcomers to the team in points and first in assists. This is Hughes first All-UCHC honor. Another terrific freshman for the Pioneers, Griffen Barr (Nanaimo, BC/Vernon Vipers (BCHL)), was also named to the UCHC All-Rookie team as a defender. Barr notched two goals on the season along with 13 assists. He was a key addition to the team, suiting up in all 27 games as well. This is Barr's first All-UCHC honor. 
 
About Stevenson: The Mustangs are 21-5-1 this season which earned them the two seed in the UCHC Championship Tournament. The team topped King's College 5-1 in the Quarterfinals before beating Wilkes University 4-3 in overtime in the Semifinals to earn a trip to the Championship game. Stevenson has a very balanced attack with Liam McCanney leading the squad with 20 goals which is double more than anyone else on the team. Blake Benson is the team's top dimer with 19 assists to go with his 10 goals and his 29 points lead the team. Zach Bannister, John Musella, and Frank Vitucci are three more strong creators with each accumulating over 18 points this season. Ty Outen was the UCHC Goaltender of the Year and has been lights out in net allowing just 44 goals while making 749 saves with a .945 save percentage and a strong 19-5-1 overall record.
 
Season Bouts: Utica finished the regular season with a 1-0-1 advantage over Stevenson as the teams met in each of their first UCHC games of the year. The teams tied 2-2 with Stevenson winning the shootout 1-0 on Friday, November 3 in Utica, NY before the Pioneers responded with a commanding 5-2 win on Saturday, November 4. Drake Morse (Grand Rapids, MI/Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)) and Kimball Johnson (Dallas, TX/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)) scored in the first meeting with goaltender Ethan Roberts (Cary, NC/University of St. Thomas (NCAA DI)) making 34 saves and allowing just two goals over the 65 minutes of action. In the second outing, Jakob Breault (Acton Vale, QC/Alaska-Fairbanks (NCAA DI)) scored twice with Andrew Della Rovere (Caledon East, ON/Georgetown Raiders (OJHL)), Shane Murphy (Oriskany, NY/Danbury Hat Tricks (NAHL)), and Khristian Acosta (Port Monmouth, NJ/Mercyhurst University (NCAA DI)) each scoring once. In net, Roberts made 26 saves while allowing just two goals to collect the victory.
 
Series History: Utica has been in the driver's seat in the all-time series, boasting a fantastic 12-1-1 record over Stevenson. The Pioneers have won six-straight games with the lone blemish coming on the road in the 2019-20 season when the Mustangs defeated the Pioneers 5-4. 

Up Next: The winner will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament with the First Round on Saturday, March 9 with the time and place to be determined. The NCAA selection show will air at 10 a.m. ET on Monday, March 4 and will be streamed on NCAA.com.