UTICA, NY - The Adirondack Bank Center will be electrifying once again this coming Friday when the #3 ranked Pioneer men's hockey team returns home for its first contest in the new calendar year. The opposition will be a familiar yet unfamiliar side as SUNYAC rep Oswego State will be the first hurdle for Utica in a very hopeful second half of the season. The Lakers are familiar in the fact that they've already played at the Adirondack Bank Center this season, it just wasn't against the Pioneers. The two teams have seen each other before, with both squads participating in this past November's Utica Thanksgiving Showcase. However, there is still a sense of unfamiliarity in the air as the two teams did not match up during the event. Friday's faceoff will be an interesting clash of tactics between two teams who have seen the other side, but have not yet met on the ice. It's been a long and snowy winter break in the Mohawk Valley, but the wait is now over. Get caught up on all you need to know before Friday's matchup sponsored by First Source Federal Credit Union down below.
 
How to Watch Friday's Game against Oswego State: 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 vs Oswego Stream Link: https://www.empire8network.com/utica/?B=1342052
 
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 Friday's game.
Utica vs Oswego Live Stats Link: https://uticapioneers.com/sidearmstats/mhockey/summary
 
Where are we?: It will have been exactly 33 days since the Pioneers' last contest when they take the ice on Friday against the Lakers. The team will enter with a record of 9-2-1 and a ranking of 3 in both the USCHO and DIII Hockey News polls. It has been a solid season so far for one of last year's Division III Frozen Four participants as their quest to make it back to the pinnacle of DIII Hockey saw them battle and defeat some top contenders in the 2024 portion of the campaign. Utica led off the season with a double against fellow 23-24 Semifinalists Adrian in Michigan, a series in which they took the first matchup and were extremely challenging in the second. The Pioneers also fought through a Utica Thanksgiving Showcase gauntlet that featured an instant classic against now #15 ranked University of New England in the first round, with the Pioneers finally vanquishing their Maine counterpart for the first time in school history by a score of 6-5. Utica also met now #2 ranked Geneseo for a pair of conference matchups to end the opening half of their season. In the two meetings, the Pioneers took a shootout win over the Knights at the Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena before falling to the Knights in the return matchup the following night. Even fellow UCHC side Nazareth represents a good resume builder for the Pioneers, with the Orange and Blue capturing a key sweep over the Golden Flyers on the opening weekend of conference play. Nazareth began to pick up steam towards the end of 2024, with the Golden Flyers defeating new #9 ranked team Hamilton by a 4-2 score on December 13th. We'll take a look at the UCHC landscape later on in the article.
 
 What's to Come?: Oswego will present the final chance for the Pioneers to pick up a non-conference win during this campaign, with the rest of the 24-25 schedule sporting UCHC opposition. Following the tie against the Lakers, Utica will face the only remaining UCHC team that they haven't seen this season, facing off against Manhattanville on January 17th and 18th to begin a string of six-straight UCHC weekend doubles to end the season. The order of teams that the Pioneers will face goes as follows: Manhattanville (1/17, 1/18), Nazareth (1/23, 1/25), Brockport (1/31, 2/1), Chatham (2/7, 2/8), Geneseo (2/14, 2/15), Manhattanville (2/21, 2/22).
 
UCHC Outlook: Heading into the deciding stretch of UCHC competition, Geneseo leads the conference with 22 points. The Knights pulled ahead in the conference race due to their December 7th victory over the Pioneers, however, the Pioneers are well within reach thanks to their shootout win the night before, which gifted them an extra point and allowed them to stay just behind the Knights with 20 points. The complete UCHC standings as of today (1/8/25) are as follows:
 
1: Geneseo | 22 points | 10-0-1 (7-0-1 UCHC)
2: Utica | 20 points | 9-2-1 (6-1-1 UCHC)
3: Manhattanville | 10 points | 3-7-1 (3-4-1 UCHC)
4: Nazareth | 10 points | 5-4-2 (2-4-2 UCHC)
5: Chatham | 8 points | 3-7-1 (2-5-1 UCHC)
6: Brockport | 2 points | 1-7-2 (1-7 UCHC)
 
New Faces: Reinforcements are on the way for the Pioneers who will welcome three new players starting this Friday with the addition of three underclassmen transfers who will look to help bolster an already strong unit. Let's take a look at each new member of the team and see where their travels have taken them ahead of their first experience as a part of Utica Hockey.
 
#32 Ryan Piros (Hartland, MI/University of Dubuque (NCAA DIII)) | Goaltender | Freshman
Previous Team: University of Dubuque (NCAA DIII)
Hometown: Hartland, Michigan


 
The Pioneers will have a new face among the netminder corps as talented youngster Ryan Piros (Hartland, MI/University of Dubuque (NCAA DIII)) will make his way east, moving from Dubuque, Iowa to the Mohawk Valley.  Originally from Michigan, Piros played his first semester of collegiate hockey at Dubuque University in Iowa. Prior to his collegiate career, Piros manned the cage for the Cobourg Cougars of the OJHL, making 70 appearances for the club over the span of two years. In his first season with the club, Piros played in 29 games, posting a .909 save percentage and a 3.28 goals against average and finishing with a record of 16-12. The Cougars cage guardian stepped it up even further in his second season though, appearing in 41 games and posting a .923 save percentage along with a 2.64 goals against average. Piros had an excellent postseason run with the club as well, appearing in 18 playoff matches and recording a .917 save percentage in addition to a 2.83 goals allowed average during postseason play. Piros finished his second year with a total record of 24-13-2 and a 10-7-1 record in the playoffs. The Coburg Cougars made it all the way to the conference finals, where they eventually fell in six games to the Trenton Golden Hawks. The postseason experience for Piros is tremendous though, as the team will hope to gift Piros with many postseason opportunities to prove his mettle during the course of his career.
 
#20 Tio D'Addario (Montreal, QC/SUNY Plattsburgh (NCAA DIII)) | Forward | Sophomore
Previous Team: SUNY Plattsburgh (NCAA DIII)
Hometown: Montreal, Quebec



D'Addario dons the moose after spending a year and a half up north with SUNYAC rep SUNY Plattsburgh. The Canadian product was great in his first three semesters of collegiate play, racking up 28 total points over his 38 games played for the Cardinals. In last season alone, his freshman year, the talented forward scored 10 goals and procured 13 assists over his 28 appearances, notching 23 total points and taking home the coveted SUNYAC Rookie of the Year Award. D'Addario is also undeniable in the clutch, grabbing three game-winning goals. He also excels on the power play, tying for the team-high at Plattsburgh last year with five power play goals during his rookie season. Before college, D'Addario played for a host of clubs across Canada, suiting up for the Surrey Eagles (BCHL), Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL), and most recently the Navan Grads (CCHL). D'Addario had a monster year in the 2022-23 season for the Grads, picking up 66 points in 55 games, recording over a point a contest. The Pioneer newcomer scored 22 goals and added 44 assists during that incredible season for the CCHL club.
 
#18 Collin Patterson (Rockledge, FL/UMass Dartmouth (NCAA DIII)) | Forward | Sophomore
Previous Team: UMass Dartmouth (NCAA DIII)
Hometown: Rockledge, Florida


 
Patterson joins the Pioneers after a year and a half at MASCAC side UMass Boston where he remarkably slotted in as the Corsairs primary offensive weapon for the entirety of his tenure. Patterson, a native of Florida, appeared in 35 games for the Massachusetts squad, racking up an immense point total of 51. He scored 28 goals and nabbed 23 assists during his time as a Corsair, tearing through all opposing defenses despite being only a season and a half into his collegiate career. This year, Patterson is almost single-handedly responsible for a Corsair power play unit that ranks top 10 in Division III for most metrics. The Pioneer newcomer has seven power play goals in just eight games played, which is tied for the Division III lead with Peyton Hart of Wisconsin Stevens Points. Besides those two players, no one in Division III is remotely close when it comes to scoring on the advantage, as the next closest group of players have just four power play goals to offer. Patterson is also firmly atop the Division III goals per game leaderboards, sporting an outrageous 1.5 goals per game so far this season. He also leads the points per game category with two points per outing. Patterson will be a welcome addition to an already high-powered Pioneer offense, joining many players who sit beside him in the Division III Men's Hockey statistical leaderboards, including…
 
Familiar Faces: Despite the allure that new additions provide, one can't forget about the Pioneers who have paved the way for Utica so far this season. 2025 will bring new challenges, opposition, and chances at glory, and a steady group of mainstays will look to continue their dominance in the moments to come. Who better to guide the squad than a talented group of playmakers who sit firmly inside the top 10 of Division III's ascendant assist-getters. Aydin Parekh (Nobleton, ON/Georgetown Raiders (OJHL)) and Matt Wood (Garnet Valley, PA/Richmond Generals (USPHL)) will look to continue feeding a Pioneer offense that ranks near the top of almost every statistical category, with the two players tied for fifth in the Division for assists per game with 1.08 each. Wood and Parekh lead the team with 13 assists each, while a pair of young defensemen aren't too far behind with Anthony Bax (Parkhill, ON/Flin Flon Bombers (SJHL)) and Preston Brighton (Brighton, MI/Amarillo Wranglers (NAHL)) engaged in a tie for 39th in the country at .75 assists per game. Drake Morse (Grand Rapids, MI/Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)) also joins this grouping, with each player possessing nine assists to round out the premier playmaking corps for the Pioneers.
 
Wood and Morse also place highly in the points per game category, with the former ranking 22nd at 1.33 points per game and the latter at 35th with 1.17 points per game.
 
Jakob Breault (Acton Vale, QC/Alaska-Fairbanks (NCAA DI)) and Johnny Mulera (Rockville, MD/Salve Regina University (NCAA DIII)) are also having excellent seasons in their own right, with both players being in a three-way tie for third in team points along with Parekh. Breault has seven goals and six assists while also taking and winning a vast majority of the faceoffs for the Pioneers, also nabbing an Empire 8 and UCHC Player of the Week honor. Mulera has six goals and seven assists in the 24-25 season and is having a solid year in his first year as a Pioneer. Both Breault and Mulera have the share of power play goals for the team, with each player having three. They'll potentially welcome Patterson to the fold with the idea of creating a three-headed monster on the player-up advantage.
 
Also achieving recognition during the fall semester was Shane Murphy (Oriskany, NY/Danbury Hat Tricks (NAHL)), Anthony Bax (Parkhill, ON/Flin Flon Bombers (SJHL)), Brian Scoville (Agawam, MA/Alabama-Huntsville (NCAA DI)), and Bryan Landsberger (Montreal, Quebec/Nepean Raiders (CCHL)). Murphy, and Scoville each earned a UCHC Player of the Week win while Landsberg grabbed a UCHC Goalie of the week nod. Bax won two UCHC rookie of the week's during his first semester of collegiate play.
 
In the Polls: The Pioneers bounced up to #3 in the latest USCHO and DIII Hockey News Rankings, jumping up one spot after St. Norbert's loss to UW Stout last week.
 
The Lowdown on the Lakers: The Oswego State Lakers placed fourth in the Utica Thanksgiving Showcase back in November. However, like with most renown programs, the Lakers have found their footing. With longtime Head Coach Ed Gosek at the helm, the Central New York squad has overcome a 3-4-2 start to enter Friday's matchup on a three-game winning streak, at 6-4-2. Since their Thanksgiving Showcase showing, the Lakers have gone 3-0, defeating Morrisville, Neumann, and Alvernia by a combined margin of 18-0. Oswego is on an absolute tear at the moment, with all the upward motion coming to a head in the den of the Pioneers on Friday.
 
Over the three-game stretch of dominance, Oswego has relied on the offensive power of Matt McQuade and Jesse Horacek who had three goals each over the trio of contests. Travis Baker also aided in the goalfest, getting six assists and helping to create lots of chances during the run. The Lakers had a trio of players achieve five points during this period as well, with Nico Paone, Connor Gatto, and Ryan Burke each adding a handful of points.
 
Brandon Milberg stood tall in net for the Lakers, recording three straight shutouts during his 180 minutes of ice time over the three-game win streak. Oswego's main netminder had 56 saves during that spell. On the season as a whole, Milberg has allowed 17 goals in 11 appearances for a 1.6 goals allowed average. He has 217 total saves in addition to a save percentage of .927.
 
On the offensive side of things, McQuade leads the Lakers with eight goals, followed by Horacek with five. It's Sophomore defensemen Travis Baker, however, that leads the Lakers in points, with his team-high 14 points coming off three goals and a team-high 11 assists.
 
First Source Federal Credit Union Night: Friday's contest is sponsored by First Source Federal Credit Union. The matchup is First Source's "Socks to the Rescue" Night. Prior to the start of Friday's game First Source will be on site collecting new socks for the Rescue Missions of Utica and Rome and they want your help! For the next month they will be collecting new socks at each of their branch locations. You can also scan the QR code in Friday's game program and order socks directly through Amazon that will ship to First Source. How easy is that?
 
After First Source Federal Credit Union Night vs Oswego: The Pioneers will dip back into the UCHC gauntlet for the rest of the season, beginning with a home and away double against Manhattanville next Friday and Saturday!
 
Tune in for Utica Men's Hockey's 2025 debut!