UTICA, NY - The newly ascended #2 Pioneers will look to keep their recently-claimed top spot in the UCHC standings this weekend when they engage in a pair of conference battles with SUNY Brockport. Friday's bout between the two New York sides will be contested within the Wegmans Ice Arena before the two teams head to the Adirondack Bank Center the following night on Saturday. Both meetings will begin at 7:00 PM on Friday and Saturday. Reigning UCHC & Empire 8 Player of the Week Jakob Breault (Acton Vale, QC/Alaska-Fairbanks (NCAA DI)) will attempt to power the team against the Golden Eagles once more as the final stretch of UCHC competition looms large. The Acton Vale native did just that earlier this season, picking up his first pair of conference awards after a dominant double vs Brockport back in November - more on that down below. Tune in to see if the Pioneers can continue their spotless start to the new year. Wondering how you can watch? We've got you covered…
 
How to Watch the UCHC Series vs Brockport: You can watch this weekend's matchups by heading to the links below or by clicking the "Watch" link under each contest on our men's hockey schedule page.
Stream link for Friday's game in Brockport: https://www.empire8network.com/brockport/
Stream link for Saturday's game at Utica: https://www.empire8network.com/utica/
 
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 this weekend's two-game slate.
Live stat link for Friday's game in Brockport: https://gobrockport.com/sidearmstats/mhockey/summary
 Live stat link for Saturday's game at Nazareth: https://uticapioneers.com/sidearmstats/mhockey/summary
 
Racing Ahead: Last week, the Pioneers began their second go-around through the UCHC ranks, completing the season series with Nazareth in what was George Roll's last regular season double against the Pioneers as the Golden Flyers leader will be retiring at the end of this season. In what was potentially his last pair of games against the orange and blue, Roll's side was defeated by a deadly duo of Pioneers, with Jakob Breault (Acton Vale, QC/Alaska-Fairbanks (NCAA DI)) and Ryan Piros (Hartland, MI/University of Dubuque (NCAA DIII)) each anchoring a different end of the ice on their way to collecting an array of weekly conference accolades after piloting a perfect 2-0 week. In an oddly timed Thursday tilt, the Pioneers weathered the storm and managed to pull away at home thanks to two different 30 second periods that accounted for four of their five goals. The home side had the hot hand of Drake Morse (Grand Rapids, MI/Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)), who secured his first career hat trick during Thursday night's action. In addition, the Michigan man also gathered a pair of assists, getting on the scoresheet for each of the Pioneers five strikes in the 5-4 win. Breault also notched a five-point night, getting the game's third goal and adding an apple on each of the other four Pioneer goals to claim a signature stat line in his own right. The dueling five-point nights from Morse and Breault were what got the job done on Thursday. On Saturday though, it was the other Michigan man who supplied the goods. Ryan Piros (Hartland, MI/University of Dubuque (NCAA DIII)) picked up two more wins over the weekend, pushing his record to 5-0 with the Pioneers. Both he, along with Breault, were the two key pieces to Saturday's 2-1 win over the Golden Flyers in Rochester. Both players achieved conference recognition, with Breault even getting the nod from multiple conferences. While Breault's Thursday performance was good, his Saturday showing was even better…
 
One Man Sheault: The veteran graduate player added onto his five-point outing on Thursday by steering the Pioneers to victory on Saturday against Nazareth. In the series finale, Breault beat the Golden Flyer defense for both scores in a 2-1 victory, adding the game's decisive goal with about eight minutes remaining in the contest to break a 1-1 deadlock and put them in pole position for the win. The Acton Vale native racked up seven points during this past week, finishing with marks of three goals and four assists, including being involved in each of the Pioneers' seven scores during the UCHC double. Breault's seven points were enough to earn him his second Empire 8 and UCHC Player of the Week Award wins, with his last pair of nods coming back in November of 2024. Coincidentally, the Pioneers' alternate captain will meet up with the team against which he won his last pair of conference accolades, with the dangerous attacker nabbing both awards after a stellar weekend vs Brockport in November of 2024. Breault's great play this past weekend wasn't just limited to his scoring and assisting output though, as he frustrated the Flyers in faceoff situations, taking 37 of his 53 chances in the circle for an outrageous 69.8% faceoff win percentage. This dominance was evident in the second game vs Nazareth, with Breault costing the Pioneers' conference opposition many opportunities right from the drop. He wasn't alone on Saturday though, as another Pioneer stepped up to guide the team to victory alongside the superstar center…
 
The Cobourg Clamp: Former Cobourg Cougars and University of Dubuque goaltender Ryan Piros (Hartland, MI/University of Dubuque (NCAA DIII)) got it done yet again this past week, adding two more wins to his spotless 5-0 start with Utica after transferring to the east coast over winter break. Piros' ability was on full display during Saturday's showdown as the stellar stopper snagged 37 saves during a supreme showcase of good form in goal. The phenomenal first year allowed just one goal during his full 60-minute shift, getting praise from the opposing broadcasters for his heroic start that helped the Pioneers secure a gritty 2-1 win. To add the cherry on top, Piros also registered an assist on the game winning goal, leaving goal and sending a puck to Reid Oliver (Elmira, ON/Stratford Warriors (GOJHL)) who then completed a drop off to the eventual goal-scorer in Breault. For his efforts, Piros picked up his second Empire 8 Goalie of the Week Award for his success this past week. His successful stint so far has allowed the Pioneers to gain ground in the war for the UCHC's top spot, a race that saw an interesting shift thanks to some shenanigans that occurred south of Rochester on Friday night…
 
UCHC Conference Conflict: Prior to last weekend, the Pioneers were able to make up some ground in the race for the top spot in the UCHC standings, achieving a sweep against Manhattanville and seeing Geneseo lose some position after going to overtime with Nazareth. The Knights managed to win that matchup against the Golden Flyers though, picking up two points and maintaining their hold atop the conference standings. This past week though, the Knights were not so lucky. In a wild Friday night slugfest down in the Genesee Valley, Geneseo and Chatham combined for 13 goals in a UCHC classic, the game eventually being decided in overtime with the Cougars claiming a clutch score to stun the Knights during the extra period. Because of the loss, Geneseo gained one point on Friday, giving up the top spot in the UCHC standings to Utica who ascended to first once again thanks to a 2-0 weekend against Nazareth. Here are the conference standings heading into this weekend's action:
 
1: Utica | 32 points | 14-2-1 (10-1-1 UCHC)
2: Geneseo | 31 points | 14-2-1 (10-1-1 UCHC)
3: Manhattanville | 16 points | 6-10-1 (5-6-1 UCHC)
4: Chatham | 13 points | 5-11-1 (4-7-1 UCHC)
5: Nazareth | 11 points | 6-9-2 (2-8-2 UCHC)
6: Brockport | 5 points | 4-11-2 (2-10-0 UCHC)
 
Geneseo managed to conquer Chatham in the second clash between the two schools on Saturday, winning 7-3 to split with the Cougars.
 
The final UCHC series to mention from last week's action pitted the Pioneers previous opponent, Manhattanville, against their next challenger, Brockport. The Valiants secured a sweep over the Golden Eagles, collecting wins by scores of 3-2 and 3-0 respectively over the Friday-Saturday set. With the sweep, Manhattanville jumped up to third in the conference standings. The Valiants also improved their defensive marks with Friday's shutout, moving them up to third in the UCHC's defensive ranks. Speaking of conference statistics…
 
UCHC Conference Statistics: With the UCHC season entering its final stretch, the conference statistics are beginning to paint a picture of the conference's best units and biggest stars.
 
The Pioneers place right behind Geneseo in both Goals Scored and Goals Allowed, averaging 4.35 goals scored per game to Geneseo's 4.65 goals per game and 2.53 goals allowed per game to Geneseo's 2.35 goals allowed per game.
 
One area where the Pioneers are head and shoulders above the rest of the conference is on the advantage, as the orange and blue hold the best power play unit by a significant margin. The Pioneers are 15-for-49 on the power play, converting 30.6% of their chances and finding a goal nearly once every three advantage opportunities. This comes despite the team having the least power play chances among their conference opponents, with 49 attempts being the lowest amount in the UCHC. Even with the limited chances, the Pioneers still have the most power plays, being three goals clear at the top of the category.
 
The Pioneers are also dominant in all other facets involving penalties, as they are the least penalized team in the conference as well, racking up the least amount of penalties and penalty minutes per game. The team's ability to stay out of the box while playing with their gritty playstyle has been a point of strength for the squad.
 
One final area of dominance has been on the draw, where the Pioneers have the best faceoff win percentage with no other team even in their orbit. Utica has a 63.2% faceoff win percentage, more than 10 points higher than the next best team in the conference (Geneseo, 52.2%). They've also won 698 total chances within the circle, with Geneseo having the next most at 612, an 86-win difference.
 
Breault and fellow center Andrew Della Rovere (Caledon East, ON/Georgetown Raiders (OJHL)) are at the forefront of this faceoff finesse, with the two Pioneer players leading the conference in faceoff win percentage by a country mile. The two players are one and two, with Breault having a 69.8% faceoff win percentage and Della Rovere holding a 66.8% faceoff win percentage. Lane Paddison of Manhattanville ranks third with a 54.2% faceoff win rate. You can view all the UCHC statistical rankings by following this link: https://theuchc.com/stats.aspx?path=mhockey&year=2024
 
Speaking of rankings…
 
In the Polls: The Pioneers stayed at two once again after their 2-0 week, but saw rival Geneseo fall outside the top three, being sent down to number five in both the USCHO and
DIII Hockey News polls.
 
None of the Pioneers' other future opponents saw any action in the rankings, however their past foes litter the lists with former opponents Adrian, University of New England, and Oswego all receiving mentions.
 
Adrian fell to number nine in both polls after an overtime loss against Piros' former team University of Dubuque. The Iowa team pulled off a major upset on the road, getting their first win of the season in stunning fashion by downing the Bulldogs within the Arrington Ice Arena to send the Michigan team rocketing down the rankings.
 
The Nor'Easters moved up one spot in the USCHO poll, jumping over Trinity to climb up to number 11. They remained at 13 in the DIII Hockey News poll.
 
Finally, recent challenger Oswego received recognition in both polls, getting seven votes in the USCHO listing and one vote in the DIII Hockey News ranking.
 
Greeting the Golden Eagles: The Pioneers defeated Brockport by scores of 5-2 and 5-1 in the last series between the two squads back in November 2024. In that set, Breault had two goals and three assists to capture the UCHC and Empire 8 Player of the Week Awards, using his five-point weekend to power the team to a 4-0 conference start. Now, coming off the same accolades against Nazareth, Breault will attempt to keep the team rolling and improve upon their tepid 2025 start.
 
The Golden Eagles are led on offense by a duo of nine-point players in Spencer Flansberg and Chase Maxwell, with the former having four goals and five assists and the latter owning two goals and seven assists, the team-high in playmakers. Flansberg leads the team in goals, not the aforementioned Spencer though, as his twin brother Schuyler has a team-high five scores. The set of sophomore stars provide some of the most dangerous looks for Brockport, with the Golden Eagles spreading the wealth out over the rest of the roster. 21 players in the Golden Eagle lineup have tallied more than one point this season, with a committee of attackers leading the offense.
 
Brockport has employed the services of a couple different netminders throughout the season so far, with all three of David Filak, Dax Easter, and Cole Hudson seeing significant time in net. The Golden Eagles main guy, at least according to the statistics, is Hudson, as the Junior from Tonawanda, New York has spent the most time in net. Hudson has played in nine games, owning a 2-6-1 record along with 3.86 goals per game allowed and a 89.6% save percentage.
 
Brockport also tends to get on the board first, scoring first in seven of their 17 outings in the 24-25 campaign. They've also committed far less penalties than their opposition, receiving 13 more power play opportunities than their foes and picking up 15 less total penalties than their competitors as well.
 
Saturday's Sponsor: Saturday's matchup at the Adirondack Bank Center will be sponsored by Hamilton Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine and will be the final matchup in Utica for a two week span as the team heads to Pittsburgh for a double with Chatham the following weekend.
 
After Completing the Season Series Against Brockport: The Pioneers will voyage down to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania next weekend for a couple clashes with Chatham. Both games will take place at the Hunt Armory meaning that the team will spend some time away from home over the next couple weeks. A double with Geneseo looms on the schedule after that, with the Pioneers welcoming their bitter foe for a Valentine's Day battle.
 
We'll see you on Saturday night as the Pioneers welcome SUNY Brockport!