UTICA, NY - The #2 ranked Pioneers look to keep up their winning ways this weekend as they make the long trip down to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for a UCHC double against the Chatham Cougars. Due to the significant separation between Chatham and the other UCHC reps, all conference series involving the Cougars have been relegated to a two-home two-away format instead of the traditional home-away weekends that are customary for all other conference clashes. Because of that stipulation, the Pioneers will spend the weekend away from home as they look to pick up a pair of quality victories over their scrappy UCHC counterpart within the confines of the Hunt Armory Arena in the heart of the Steel Valley. The crucial contests will also present a packed time frame, with game one of the series being played at 7:00 PM on Friday night before the two teams do it all again at 3:00 PM the following afternoon on Saturday, meaning the two games will most assuredly be done and dusted within 24 hours of the initial puck drop. With all potential factors aside, the Pioneers will attempt to keep their hold on the UCHC lead with the final stretch of the UCHC season looming large over the next few weeks.
 
How to Watch the UCHC Series at Chatham: 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 at Chatham: https://www.pacdigitalnetwork.com/chatham/?B=1539669
Stream link for Saturday's game at Chatham: https://www.pacdigitalnetwork.com/chatham/?B=1539670
 
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 both games at Chatham: https://gochathamcougars.com/sidearmstats/mhockey/summary
 
Two in a Reault: The Brockport-Buster got it done on all levels again this past weekend as Jakob Breault (Acton Vale, QC/Alaska-Fairbanks (NCAA DI)) controlled play in the Pioneers' pair of wins to notch his second-straight Empire 8 & UCHC Player of the Week Awards. Breault added to his ever-growing array of accolades with the back-to-back awards double, picking up his fifth and sixth conference honors of the season. The one-man army from Acton Vale, Quebec made it look easy once again against the Golden Eagles, scoring three goals and adding an assist while also winning 31 of his 45 possible faceoff opportunities for a 68.9% win rate inside the circle. Breault controlled the offensive flow for the current class of the UCHC, not only pumping in even more points but also ensuring the team would have their fair share of chances off the draw with his faceoff finesse. The Pioneers' alternate captain will not soon be forgotten by a Brockport fanbase that watched him put up staggering totals of five goals, four assists, and a 73.4% faceoff win rate against the Golden Eagles in their four matchups this year, averaging over two points per game against the green and gold. The graduate attacker has also been otherworldly since the coming of the new year, leading the team with six goals and seven assists over their first seven games of 2025. In case those numbers don't paint an adequate picture of how integral Breault has been to the Pioneers' scorching start to 2025, it is worth noting that the dominant center has been involved in over half of the team's goals in the new year, scoring or assisting in 13 of Utica's 25 total scores since 2025 began. Breault has kicked it up a notch since the season restarted back on January 7th against Oswego, however, he's far from the only Pioneer who's flipped a switch since the new year began…
 
New Year's Revelations: The Pioneers entered 2025 with talent all over the board, including some new midseason acquisitions to give the team some much appreciated juice heading into the all-important UCHC gauntlet. Despite a balanced offense during the first half of the season, the second half has seen some standouts step forward and establish themselves as the premier threats for a potent Pioneer powerhouse.
 
Breault has been the standout name during this recent run, leading the team in goals, assists, and points so far in 2025; a threatening triple crown which becomes even more absurd paired with his faceoff numbers. Just behind Breault in the offensive ranks is Sophomore star Drake Morse (Grand Rapids, MI/Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)) who has contributed five goals and six assists during the 2025 portion of the campaign so far. Morse captured his first career hat trick against Nazareth a few weeks ago, and has only grown in presence since then, with him and Breault slotting in as a deadly duo of double-digit point getters for the Pioneers. Breault and Morse sit a bit above the rest of the team when it comes to point production since the flipping of the calendars to 2025, however a solid group of additional skaters has managed to find their way onto the scoresheet since then as well.
 
The next highest point producers after the top two are graduate duo Johnny Mulera (Rockville, MD/Salve Regina University (NCAA DIII)) and Brian Scoville (Agawam, MA/Alabama-Huntsville (NCAA DI)), who've added to the Pioneer offense in very different areas despite being tied for the third most points since January 1st with six points each. Mulera has been superb in the slot, rocketing home five goals in the new year with a mixture of powerful slapshots and slick skate movements. His five goals bring him equal with Morse as the team's second-leading scorer in the new year, with his role as a finisher in full effect as he continues to make moves near the opposing net. The Maryland man has been especially effective on the advantage, where he's exploited the alleys left open by opposing penalty kill units to the tune of three power play goals in the new year. Mulera has spearheaded a solid power play unit that's really turned it around recently, overcoming their early season woes to now rank miles ahead of every other player-up platoon in the UCHC.
 
The orange and blue contingent's Captain Brian Scoville (Agawam, MA/Alabama-Huntsville (NCAA DI)) has racked up six points in completely different fashion from his upperclassmen counterpart Mulera. Scoville has been a powerful presence on defense for the team, organizing their ranks while also setting up many successful trips into the opposing zone through his veteran leadership and playmaking ability. It's that latter trait that's allowed him to perform his role as one of the top point getters during the 2025 portion of the Pioneers' run, as he holds one goal and five assists since the new year began to tie Mulera for third on the team. The Pioneer mainstay has done an excellent job setting up his skaters for success, constantly leading them into prime opportunities to score, allowing him to tally the third most assists on the team in 2025 behind Breault and Morse. Scoville's assist total ties him with fellow back-liner Aydin Parekh (Nobleton, ON/Georgetown Raiders (OJHL)) who also has five total assists in the new year. Following that top group of Pioneer point-getters in 2025 is the previously noted Parekh alongside fellow Sophomore talent Eric Vitale (Toronto, ON/Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)), with both players possessing five points each. Matt Wood (Garnet Valley, PA/Richmond Generals (USPHL)) and a recently resurgent Anthony Cafarelli (Middleton, MA/Oklahoma Warriors (NAHL)) round out a solid attacking unit with both players having four points each in 2025. Now, let's talk about a different kind of points…
 
UCHC Check-In: The Pioneers continued to inch farther ahead in the UCHC regular season title race this past weekend with their sweep over Brockport. The Pioneers' two victories secured them six points, helping them keep their lead atop the table after they jumped Geneseo for the top spot the weekend prior. Geneseo once again ran into some trouble, nearly falling to Manhattanville at the Playland Ice Casino on Saturday afternoon. The Knights miraculously came back though, equalizing the game in the final minute before deciding the proceedings in overtime. Despite their thrilling win, another overtime result saw the Knights lose out on yet another point, getting just five to the Pioneers six as the gap between the two teams grew by a tiny amount. With six conference games left on the schedule for each of the UCHC reps, here is what the conference standings look like:
 
1: Utica | 38 points | 16-2-1 (12-1-1 UCHC)
2: Geneseo | 36 points | 16-2-1 (12-1-1 UCHC)
3: Chatham | 17 points | 7-11-1 (6-7-1 UCHC)
4: Manhattanville | 17 points | 6-12-1 (5-8-1 UCHC)
5: Nazareth | 13 points | 6-11-2 (2-10-2 UCHC)
6: Brockport | 5 points | 4-13-2 (2-12-0 UCHC)
 
The Pioneers and Knights both clinched first round byes in the UCHC tournament with their victories this past weekend. This means that the UCHC Semifinal matchups will be taking place in Utica and Geneseo on March 1st.
 
The Pioneers and Knights both swept their foes last week with the Knights needing to use overtime to vanquish the Valiants on Saturday. In the third UCHC weekend series, Nazareth traveled to Pittsburgh for two games with the Pioneers' next opponent, Chatham. The Cougars managed to come up with a couple clutch conference wins over the Golden Flyers, snatching two comeback wins to flip the script and escape with a big sweep over Nazareth. With the two big wins, Chatham gained an edge over their purple counterpart in the fight for a UCHC Tournament Opening Round home game.
 
Even with the large gap between the two conference leaders and the rest of the pack, there's still a ton to be decided when it comes to the UCHC, as the regular season title, along with the first-round home games and tournament seeding are yet to be determined. The last few weeks of conference play could produce a plethora of shake-ups within the ranks. Speaking of ranks…
 
In the Polls: Despite an overtime loss against future UCHC rep Albertus Magnus, the Hobart Statesman remained the #1 ranked team in all of Division III. The defending national champs have had a strong enough campaign so far to retain the top spot even withstanding a loss against an unranked side.
 
Due to that decision, the Pioneers stayed at #2 in both the USCHO and DIII Hockey News poll this week. Despite still ranking behind Hobart, the Pioneers picked up a singular first place vote in this week's DIII Hockey News poll, demonstrating the lesser gap between Utica and Hobart in the rankings even though neither team moved spots.
 
Aurora stayed at #3 in the USCHO poll and moved up to #3 from the #4 ranking in the DIII Hockey News Poll, forming a solid top three with Utica and Hobart after the Spartens sent Trine flying down the ranks with a weekend sweep over their NCHA counterpart. Aurora jumped Trine for that #3 ranking in the DIII Hockey News rankings, usurping their rank after the sweep. 
 
The Pioneers' UCHC rival Geneseo also re-entered the top four this week after sweeping Manhattanville, getting back into the upper echelon of Division III after surviving some mid-season struggles against other UCHC sides. The Knights are now #4 in both polls, potentially setting up yet another top four matchup between themselves and the Pioneers barring any upsets this weekend.
 
A pair of early-season opponents for the Pioneers saw their rankings move in very different directions during the polling cycle. University of New England kept up their strong form, achieving their sixth and seventh straight wins in a weekend sweep over Nichols to climb to #9 in the USCHO poll and #11 in the DIII Hockey News poll. Conversely, former foe Adrian dropped to #12 in both rankings after losing a pair of blowouts against fellow NCHA side St. Norbert.
 
Here are the complete rankings this week:
 

Rank	USCHO	DIII Hockey News
1	Hobart (17)	Hobart (16)
2	Utica	Utica (1)
3	Aurora (3)	Aurora (3)
4	Geneseo	Geneseo
5	Curry	Curry (tie - 5)
6	St. Norbert	St. Norbert (tie - 5)
7	Trine	Trine
8	Hamilton	Hamilton
9	U New England	UW-Superior
10	UW-Stevens Point	UW-Stevens Point
11	UW-Superior	U New England
12	Adrian	Adrian
13	Trinity (CT)	Trinity (CT)
14	Cortland	Cortland
15	Endicott	Endicott
RV	Elmira (8)	Oswego (6)
RV	Oswego (8)	Albertus Magnus (3)
RV	Albertus Magnus (3)	Plymouth St. (2)
RV	Plymouth State (3)	Elmira (1)
RV	Colby (1)	—

 
 
Top Marks: With the final acts of the season rapidly approaching, it's time to revisit the NCAA Division III Men's Hockey statistical rankings to see how the Pioneers have kept up with the best competition from Division III.
 
The Pioneers are still extremely high on many of the team-oriented statistical rankings, with the team performing at the highest level in many facets of the game.
 
The Pioneer power play has been highly potent over the past few weeks, helping them hold the fourth most efficient advantage unit in Division III. Utica has converted 17 of 55 total power play chances, scoring on the advantage at a 30.9% rate. This power play percentage has them ranked near the very top, with the Pioneers' player up unit also slotting in as far and away the most efficient UCHC group.
 
Utica also ranks very highly in the triple crown of team categories, with a top five offense and 18th ranked defense allowing them to place within the top 10 in scoring margin. The Pioneers net 4.37 goals per game, good for fifth in Division III. The team also has solid defensive numbers, ranking 18th and giving up just 2.37 goals per game despite facing off against some of the league's highest-powered offenses throughout the season. This was especially evident at the beginning of the season, as since 2025 began, the team has allowed just 1.71 goals per game, which would rank them fifth in team defense. These numbers combine to give the Pioneers the ninth best scoring margin in Division III, with the orange and blue defeating opponents by an average of two goals per game.
 
On the individual side of things, the team has kept up its high volume of individual success, with four players inside the top 50 for assists per game, three inside the top 50 for goals per game, and three inside the top 50 for points per game.
 
Aydin Parekh (Nobleton, ON/Georgetown Raiders (OJHL)) is inside the top 10 for most assists per game, ranking seventh with 18 total assists at a rate of .95 per game. Wood (13th), Morse (26th), and Scoville (35th) also all place highly in the playmaker category.
 
Another Pioneer skater places within the top 10 in power play goals, with Mulera using his recent run of dominance on the power play to rise all the way up to fifth. Mulera has scored six power play goals this season, with three of those scores coming in just his last five games played since the new year began.
 
Another player whose seen massive success in 2025 is the goaltender Piros, who has been on an absolute tear since joining the team over winter break. Piros, since joining the team, has ranked first in Division III in winning percentage (1.000), 10th in save percentage (93.7%), and ninth in goals allowed average (1.72).
 
The Pioneers will look to keep compounding their success during this week's matchups at Chatham.
 
Checking in on Chatham: Utica and Chatham previously met this season in a series of matchups at the Adirondack Bank Center back in late November 2024. Utica came away with a weekend sweep, although the Cougars showed plenty of fight during the latter stages of the Saturday contest, scoring three goals in the third period to give the hosts a scare as they eventually only lost by a slim 4-3 tally. That second loss to Utica saw the Cougars start out conference play with a dismal 0-5-1 record. However, the Cougars have battled back since then, winning six of their next eight UCHC contests to set them up in prime position for a first-round home game. One of those six conference victories was a shocking 7-6 overtime win against the Knights in Ira, a shocking result that added to their recent momentum. All this is to say the Pioneers will be in for a weekend war with the Cougars, as they'll take on a surging side in enemy territory during the two games.
 
The pair of Pioneer wins in November improved their series record to a clean 15-0 over Chatham in the history of their rivalry. The Cougars will attempt to topple that tally this weekend though, with Nick Cyprian certainly looking to continue his crazy campaign. Cyprian is alone at the top of the Cougars' points column, having 23 points on the season thanks to nine goals and 14 assists. Chatham's lead man is also dangerous on the advantage, having four power play goals to power the Cougars' conversion unit. After Cyprian on the Cougar statsheet, four players are tied with 11 points apiece. The four players who provide secondary support to the Cougars Junior standout in Cyprian are Michael Roby (6G, 5A), Tyler Samodral (6G, 5A), Kyle Contessa (5G, 6A), and Zack Conner (2G, 9A). Rounding out the double-digit point getters for the Cougars are Bekk McClaine (4G, 6A) and Nicholas Babbie (3G, 7A) who each have 10 points on the season.
 
The Cougars main man in goal is Geno Pichora, who has logged by far the most minutes in the crease for Chatham at 719. Pichora has a solid record of 7-4-1 on the season, being the goalie of record for each of the Cougars' wins during the campaign. Pichora has a goals allowed average of 3.09 to pair with a 91.8 save percentage. The Pioneers also saw Louis Finnegan during the Saturday showdown back in November, although Finnegan has only been the goalie of record for two games following that matchup.
 
After Completing the Season Series Against Chatham: The Pioneers will return to Utica and prepare for their Valentine's Day dustup with the Geneseo Knights. Utica will welcome the Knights to the Adirondack Bank Center that night on Friday, February 14th before hitting the road the very next day to greet Geneseo at the Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena. Both of those games will begin at 7:00 PM. The next two weeks will all-but decide the outcome of the UCHC regular season champion.
 
Tune in this weekend as the Pioneers compete with Chatham!