UTICA, NY - The #10 Utica University men's hockey team rolls into this weekend's Utica Thanksgiving Showcase on a recent run, looking to put their four-game winning streak to the test in their annual post-Thanksgiving tournament. The Pioneers will meet up with UMass Boston in the first round of this year's bracket, facing the Beacons at 7:30 PM on Friday night. With a win, the team would put themselves in a great position to reignite a historic rivalry, as Hamilton College looms large on the other side of the bracket. This year's field contains the #10 Pioneers, #8 Continentals, UMass Boston, and a Morrisville team which already traveled to the Aud for a season-opening exhibition. Get caught up ahead of this weekend's action below!
 
The 2025 Delta by Marriott Utica Thanksgiving Showcase: The orange and blue will welcome Hamilton, UMass Boston, and Morrisville for this season's showcase slate. Below is the schedule of events for this weekend's contests.
 
Friday, November 28th
4:00 PM - #8 Hamilton College vs Morrisville State
7:30 PM - #10 Utica University vs UMass Boston
 
Saturday, November 29th
4:00 PM - Neutral Matchup
7:30 PM - Utica vs TBD
 
All games will take place inside the Adirondack Bank Center
 
Please note that the Pioneers will play at 7:30 on Saturday regardless of first round results. The tournament championship will feature the two winning teams out of Friday's games, and is not locked in for 7:30 PM on Saturday.
 
Looking for a ticket? Tickets will be available at the Adirondack Bank Center box office for each matchup, and will be $12 each. You can also purchase tickets for any of this weekend's games by heading to this link: https://empirestatetix.evenue.net/events/UCP
 
You can stream this weekend's games by heading to the link below, or by clicking the "Watch" link in our men's hockey schedule page.
 
2025 Utica Thanksgiving Showcase Stream:
https://www.empire8network.com/utica/
 
You can follow live stats for this week's contests by heading to this link or by clicking the "Live Stats" link on our men's hockey schedule page.
 
2025 Utica Thanksgiving Showcase Live Stat Link: https://uticapioneers.com/sidearmstats/mhockey/summary
 
Recapping the Multi-Win Weekend at Manhattanville: The Pioneers wrapped up the 2025 portion of their UCHC campaign this past weekend, heading down to the Playland Ice Casino for a two-game set against Manhattanville. In the pair of matchups, the Pioneers put forth a strong defensive effort, holding the Valiants' scoreless over the whole 120 minutes of gametime, shutting out the red and black in consecutive contests while on enemy ice. Nick Ahern (Chicago, IL) and Drake Morse (Grand Rapids, MI) each notched two goals to secure 2/3rds of the team's goal production. Ahern also has a key double on Saturday, scoring the first two goals of the matchup to get the team off to a good start and avoid a Saturday slip as the team underwent its second test in under 24 hours. However, the Pioneers' most powerful weapon wasn't one that was found in front of the opposing goal. On the contrary, the team's top talent spent the entire weekend guarding the Pioneers' goal instead.
 
Curtin Call: Senior goaltender Kyle Curtin (St. George, Ontario) has been growing into his role as the Pioneers' main goal guardian since joining the team this past offseason. The Elmira College transfer with cat-like reflexes has been solid so far, standing tall even against some of the best offenses in all of Division III. Last weekend against Manhattanville, he finally had his first few superstar outings as a member of the reigning UCHC regular season champions. 120 minutes, zero goals allowed, 62 saves, two shutout wins: those are the stats that Curtin produced this past weekend, keeping the Valiants out of net despite facing a healthy serving of shots from the hosts during the double. Curtin secured the team's first back-to-back shutouts since the 2024 UCHC Tournament, when the Pioneers hung zeroes in the first and second round. For his stellar play, Curtin was named this week's Empire 8 and UCHC Goaltender of the Week, his first pair of conference honors since joining the team. Curtin will be called upon again this weekend, hoping to pick up even more wins, hardware, and accolades heading into a string of three-straight high profile non-conference matchups. His pair of dominant starts also helped the team make even more history this past weekend.
 
On a New Level: With last weekend's wins, Pioneer coaching legend Gary Heenan achieved his 399th and 400th career wins, making him the 50th head coach across all divisions of college hockey history to achieve the feat. Heenan currently averages around 17 wins per season in his 25-year tenure, consistently producing results to the tune of eight-straight UCHC regular season titles. The lead man will look to rally the troops and pick up a few more high-profile victories heading into the winter break. Standing in the way are a group of three hungry teams looking to claim this weekend's tournament title. Let's recap last year, and then take a look at this year's Utica Thanksgiving Showcase field
 
Blue and Orange Archive - Utica Thanksgiving Showcase: This season will mark the sixth straight season of the Delta by Marriott Utica Thanksgiving Showcase, since the tournament returned from a brief hiatus during the 2019-2020 season. It will also be the seventh overall, with the initial tournament being played during the 2015-2016 season, ahead of the sixt straight tournaments since 2019.
 
In those six outings, the Pioneers have won the tournament three out of a possible five times, with the 2022 edition being a three-team round robin tournament that didn't feature a championship game. The orange and blue are 8-2-2 all-time in the tournament's history, also winning both shootout opportunities presented by those two ties.
 
Last season, the Pioneers survived a brutal battle against University of New England in the first round, defeating the eventual #9 ranked Nor'Easters by a 6-5 final, before dominating Stevenson in a rematch of the 2024 UCHC Championship to claim the tournament title by a 6-1 final. Andrew Della Rovere (Caledon East, Ontario) was named the tournament MVP.
 
In the 2024 campaign, the Pioneers advanced to the championship thanks to a shootout victory over Saint John's, surviving the Johnnies during a game that saw 12 combined power plays. Then-rookie Alexander Gullichsen (Turku, Finland) scored the Pioneers' only goal in regulation, before the orange and blue nailed all three penalty shots and stonewalled Saint John's on their third attempt to advance. The team would lose to a solid 8-2 Elmira team in the championship game.
 
In 2022, three teams attended the tournament, turning into a round-robin affair. The Pioneers would defeat Plymouth State 5-3 in the opener before felling Trine in a shootout after a 2-2 tie in the second outing. Dante Zapata scored the only goal in a clutch 1-0 shootout win to keep the Pioneers unbeaten in tournament play.
 
In 2021, the Pioneers would defeat NESCAC side Amherst 3-0, setting up a rare #1 vs #2 matchup against Geneseo, the first such regular season matchup in over four seasons. Utica would fall to the Knights in that matchup, a gritty battle that foreshadowed the big battles they would have ahead of them as leaguemates in the UCHC.
 
In 2019, the team would charge through the field, defeating Plymouth State 2-1 and Salve Regina 5-1 to claim their second-straight tournament title.
 
In 2015, the Pioneers would win the inaugural Utica Thanksgiving Showcase, taking down Saint John's 4-2 in the first round before stumping soon-to-be Division I program Saint Thomas 1-0 in the tournament final.
 
This season will see two new faces to the Utica Thanksgiving Showcase field, as Morrisville and Hamilton will make their first appearances in the Pioneers' annual post-Turkey Day tilt. UMass Boston has appeared once previously, grabbing third place in the 2021 edition.
 
Matchup History - Hamilton College - Out of the three visiting teams in this year's tournament field, the foe that the Pioneers have had the longest break against, is their next-door neighbor; Hamilton College. Despite meeting in every single one of the Pioneers' first ten seasons, and matching up 15 times over the Pioneers' first 13 seasons, these two squads haven't met on the sheet of battle in over 10 years. Despite the convenience of being located just miles apart, Utica and Hamilton have had no new entries to their historic rivalry for over a decade. However, if the results fall in a specific direction, these two teams will renew their series in seismic fashion.
 
Last season, the Continentals were one victory away from setting up a historic NCAA Semifinal matchup with the Pioneers - a game that would have taken place at the Nexus Center, making it one of the most storied what-ifs of all time. However, the team would fall to Curry College in the NCAA Quarterfinals, sending the Colonels to the biggest stage where Eric Vitale (Toronto, Ontario) would cement the biggest goal in Utica team history to date.
 
The two teams last met on November 28th, 2014, almost exactly 11 years to the date of their potential series renewal, with that game having to take place on November 29th, 2025, should both teams match up on day two of the Utica Thanksgiving Showcase. In that most recent matchup, the PIoneers would take a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission, before scoring twice more in the second, and once more in the third to capture a 5-3 win and take an edge in the all-time series. The Pioneers hold a series lead of 6-5-4, with Coach Heenan posting an all-time winning record against his alma mater. In fact, if the two teams were to meet up this coming weekend, the Continentals would be looking to snap a four-game losing streak against their urban opponent, with the Clinton-based squads last victory in the series coming back in 2005.
 
Hamilton opened the series with four straight wins, but since that string of success, the Pioneers have gone 6-1-4 against the buff and blue. With Hamilton currently ranked #8 in the most recent USCHO poll, and the Pioneers ranked #10, a potential reunion is something college hockey fans are hoping to see.
 
About the Continentals - Last season, the Continentals posted a 21-7-1 record, also going 13-4-1 in NESCAC conference play to capture the conference's regular season title. Hamilton then posted 5-2, 3-2, and 3-0 wins in the NESCAC Tournament, clinching the tournament title with that three-goal shutout of Tufts. They would go on to defeat University of New England in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling 4-1 at Curry College to conclude the campaign.
 
This year, the Continentals are off to a 4-0 start, steamrolling their first three opponents (Amherst 5-1, Canton 5-2, Wesleyan 6-1) before overcoming an always-competitive Trinity squad in overtime by a 4-3 final.
 
Hamilton's go-to guy is junior forward Luke Tchor, who was named the NESCAC Player of the Year last season during just his sophomore year of collegiate hockey. The Toronto native was named a finalist for the Sid Watson award last season, being recognized as one of the best scoring threats in all of Division III. He posted tallies of 17 goals and 17 assists, leading the team with 34 points. He also struck five times on the power play to pace the Continental special teams.
 
This season is no different, as Tchor leads the Continental attack once again through four games this season. Now a junior, Tchor has three goals and five assists through four games - both team-highs - as he's headed up a potent offense that's put up at least four goals in every game this season.
 
Supporting Tchor up top are fellow juniors Devon de Vries and Ryan Sordillo, who each tie Tchor for the team-lead in goals with three apiece. De Vries has four assists, while Sordillo has three.
 
The Continentals continue their potent offensive numbers all the way down the roster, with that top three producing point-values of eight, seven, and six in the early going, followed up by a five-point forward (Justin Biraben), three players with four points, and two players with three points.
 
In net, the Continentals have favored the reinforcements of Aksel Reid, yet another junior in what's a stacked junior class for the NESCAC side. Reid has started three games this season, posting a goals allowed average of 1.66 and a save percentage of .930. His backup stopper, sophomore Tyler Bloomfield, has also seen one game of action, getting the start against SUNY Canton where he made 18 saves and allowed two goals.
 
Hamilton's penalty kill has been fierce to start the season, only allowing one goal in 15 tries by their opponents.
 
Matchup History: UMass Boston - The Pioneers and Beacons have met just a single time since the inception of the orange and blue program back at the turn of the century. That lone meeting came in November of 2016, coincidentally almost nine years to the day, when the Beacons defeated the Pioneers by a 4-2 final at the Adirondack Bank Center on November 25th. The bout was a big-time one, with the Beacons ranked #9 (while also coming off a Frozen Four appearance) and Utica ranked #4. The Pioneers had gotten off to an incredible 8-0 start to the regular season. Goals by Alex Roberts and Roman Ammirato helped cut the deficit to just one, making it 3-2 with a little under 10 minutes remaining. The Pioneers would outshoot their opposition by a 14-3 tally in the third period, but couldn't find the equalizer as the Beacons would escape with a victory.
 
About the Beacons - Last season, the Beacons went 10-14-1, also holding an 8-11-1 record in the New England Hockey Conference alongside perennial powerhouses like Hobart, Skidmore, and Salve Regina. UMass Boston fought lots of high-level opponents last year, engaging in nine different ranked matchups, even stealing ranked wins over then #11 Elmira and then #12 Skidmore.
 
This season, UMB is off to a 3-3 start, with wins over New England College (4-0), Fitchburg College (3-2), and a Norwich side which was receiving votes at the time of the matchup (3-2 OT). That clash against the Cadets was the Beacons' most recent contest, meaning they are heading into this year's Thanksgiving Showcase with some heat.
 
The Beacons are paced by senior scorer Jude Kurtas, who leads the team with four goals this season, also having two assists to total six points. Second on the scoring charts is fellow senior Jazz Krivtsov, who has three goals, two assists, and five points.
 
The Beacons bolster their defense with a pair of underclassmen goalies, splitting time between freshman Alex Koenig and sophomore Connor McDonough. Each player has received three starts, but Koenig has the edge in the win column, having a record of 2-1 so far in 2025. He was also the player who got the start against Norwich in the Beacons' last contest, getting 32 saves while allowing two goals in the overtime win. The freshman has posted a goals allowed average of 2.66, while boosting his save percentage to .914 in the early season. McDonough, on the other hand, has also posted strong numbers in his sophomore season, making the other three starts for UMB while holding a goals allowed average of 2.32 and a save percentage of .935 over his trio of appearances.
 
Matchup History: Morrisville State - The Mustangs and Pioneers have met eight times in regular season play, with the orange and blue holding a 6-2 record against their slightly western rival. The team's lone losses were on November 29th, 2013 and December 9th, 2016. However, the Pioneers would follow up that latter loss with an emphatic 3-2 overtime win over the Mustangs in that year's Teddy Bear Toss game. Kevin Valenti would tip in the winning goal during that tilt, sending the fans home happy from the 12th installment of the TBT matchup. That rebound win started a streak of three-straight for the moose-clad men, as the team notched 4-1 wins in the two most recent matchups in 2018 and 2019. The Pioneers and Mustangs haven't matched up since the 2019-2020 season, despite meeting in an exhibition during both teams' first game action of this season. The Pioneers took that exhibition by a 7-0 final. The Pioneers have outscored Morrisville 38-17 across their eight contests, while piling up a 5-1 record at home.
 
Meeting the Mustangs - Last season, Morrisville had a down year, going 3-22 while also being winless in SUNYAC play. This year is already a much-improved campaign for the Mustangs, as they enter the Thanksgiving Showcase with a 2-3-2 record, and a 1-1-2 tally in the new and improved SUNYAC conference. The Mustangs have had a very solid string of results heading into this weekend's tournament, going 1-1-2 with very impressive outings against great New York teams in Plattsburgh and Skidmore. Against the Cardinals, the Mustang men scored twice in the third period to stun the hosts on their Teddy Bear Toss night. The win was a gigantic one for the Morrisville program, and proves their massive improvement from even their season-opening exhibition loss at the Aud.
 
One player who showed immense talent even in that 7-0 exhibition defeat was Mustang goaltender Chad Lowe, who continued to impress against Plattsburgh with 47 saves and just one power play goal allowed. Lowe has been Morrisville's preferred choice in net, as the Auburn native has posted a goals allowed average of 2.35 and a ridiculous save percentage of .952 in his five starts. With Lowe in net, upsets are possible for this Morrisville team. The craziest part about Lowe? All of his success comes in just his freshman season for the Mustang program, with the rookie stopper bringing new hope to a side helmed by former Pioneer player Kevin Krogol.
 
On the offensive end, Morrisville is led by a pair of four-point getters, with Mason Losel leading the scoring (3G, 1A) and Tanner Dietz supporting the offense (2G, 2A).
 
Following the 2025 Utica Thanksgiving Showcase: The annual New York Sash Teddy Bear Toss is back at the Adirondack Bank Center next weekend as the Pioneers welcome another high-level opponent in current #6 Oswego State for the 21st installment of the illustrious game. Next weekend's matchup takes place at 7:00 PM on Saturday, December 6th at the Adirondack Bank Center. It will be the Pioneers' final game before the winter break, with a 24-day rest period set to occur following the all-out war that's to ensure during next weekend's bout.
 
Tune in this weekend as the Pioneers take on the Utica Thanksgiving Showcase!