GENESEO, NY - Last night, the Utica Pioneers stole the show against Geneseo, pummeling their powerful UCHC counterpart in a 4-0 affair. Tonight, they looked to recapture the momentum gained from that successful outing and win the second leg of their late season rivalry weekend with the Knights. On the road in a hostile environment, the Pioneers got off to a slow start, with the Knights completely flipping the script after last night's result. Later in the game though, the Pioneers started to build some momentum and outplay their conference foe, however, it was too late as the team eventually gave up two late goals to stunt their run and fall in Geneseo by a 7-3 final.
 
After the opening period, it seemed as though the Pioneers had no shot at a series sweep over the dominant Knights. Although, second period scores from Brian Scoville (Agawam, MA/Alabama-Huntsville (NCAA DI)) and Gabriel Lundberg (Gothenburg, Sweden/Janesville Jets (NAHL)), along with a third period strike from Matt Wood (Garnet Valley, PA/Richmond Generals (USPHL)) gave the team a massive boost as the encounter entered its final stages with the Pioneers only down two goals at 5-3.
 
Lundberg also added an assist on the first score, finishing as the team's only multi-point gatherer. Additionally, John Gutt (Middletown, NJ/Utica JR Comets (NCDC)) grabbed an apple on the second score to round out the point-getters for the visitors.
 
Avery Sturtz (Cedar Rapids, IA/Maine Nordiques (NAHL)) entered the net in relief for the Pioneers at around the midway point of the contest, having a solid outing where he allowed just one goal over his 31 minutes of icetime. The junior goaltender made 11 saves and nearly shut the Knights out after their five goal start to the bout.
 
The tie began with Geneseo owning play in the first period, scoring three goals in quick succession to take a 3-0 lead heading into the first intermission, the exact opposite result of yesterday's opening frame.
 
The Knights continued to pour it on in the second as Utica looked to get their gameplan going, netting two more to make it 5-0 approaching the midway mark of the match. It was here that the Pioneers established their presence though, as a Scoville shot drew twine to get the visitors on the board. Prior to this tally, the team had been outshot by a wide margin, with Geneseo having a double-digit lead in the shots on goal category. Following Scoville's score though, the Pioneers would right the ship and embark on a final 30 minutes full of threatening opportunities in the Knights' defensive zone. Through this sustained success on offense, the Pioneers managed to erase the shot disparity, ending the game on nearly equal terms with the Knights as Geneseo took a narrow 38-37 edge in the shot department.
 
Lundberg and Wood would strike to make it 5-3 as the Pioneers' presence was now quite palpable just minutes into the third period. They continued to create chances, attempting to trim the deficit to just one, but saw their efforts come up empty as the Knights tried to hang on.
 
As the clock ticked down, Geneseo would manage to find a breakaway score, increasing their lead to 6-3. They would net an empty netter to bring the score to its final tally at 7-3.
 
The Pioneers had plenty of chances down the stretch and looked extremely competitive later in the game despite the final scoreline, an image they'll look to capture as they set their sights on battling towards a potential rematch with the Knights in the upcoming conference tournament.
 
Utica fell to 18-3-2 with the loss, dropping to 14-2-2 in UCHC play and entering back into a tie atop the UCHC standings with Geneseo. Both teams now possess 45 points, although Geneseo holds the tiebreaker due to their two regular season wins over the Pioneers. Next weekend's series' will be a blinking contest though, as any stumble by the Knights could easily be converted into the conference's number one seed by the Pioneers.
 
The Knights will face Nazareth next weekend in a two-game set. The Golden Flyers recently took Geneseo to overtime in the two teams' last weekend war during this past January. If Nazareth can bring the Knights to the brink and cause them to drop points, the Pioneers could swoop in and steal the regular season title.
 
In order for that to happen though, the Pioneers will need to best Manhattanville in next weekend's action. Friday's matchup will be in Utica, while Saturday's game will take place at the Playland Ice Casino. Both matches begin at 7:00 PM.