UTICA, NY - The scorching hot #10-ranked Pioneers will venture into uncharted territory this weekend when they face off against a strong Albertus Magnus side.

The Pioneers will be back on home ice for a two-game set against new UCHC opponent Albertus Magnus this Friday and Saturday night. The Falcons, in their first season of UCHC conference play, have put together a solid resume, including a 4-2 win over a strong Chatham team in Pittsburgh back in December. The Falcons have also picked up solid non-conference wins over NESCAC opponent Wesleyan and SUNYAC side Skidmore, whom the Pioneers fell to in a preseason exhibition. The Falcons remain the last team to beat three-time reigning NCAA champion Hobart, taking down the Statesmen by a 3-2 overtime final last season. Albertus Magnus will be looking to upend a Pioneers team that will enter this weekend's series having won 10 of their last 11 games. 

This Weekend's Action: The Pioneers have a doubleheader slated for this weekend, as they face new conference opponent Albertus Magnus on Friday and Saturday night. The #10-ranked Pioneers welcome the Falcons for two games at the Adirondack Bank Center on back-to-back nights at 7:00.

Looking for a Ticket? You can purchase a ticket for $12 at the box office on gameday, or by heading to the following link to purchase online: https://empirestatetix.evenue.net/events/UCP 

Stream: You can stream this weekend's game by heading to the "Watch" tab on our athletics website, or by clicking the following link: https://www.empire8network.com/utica/

Live Stats: Interested spectators can follow along with live statistics by clicking the "live stats" tab on our men's hockey schedule page, or by heading to this link: https://uticapioneers.com/sidearmstats/mhockey/summary 

Recapping Last Weekend's 9-1 Win at Nazareth: Exactly one week after a third-period surge sent the Pioneers to a 5-1 win over Nazareth, the orange and blue completed the sweep, this time on enemy ice, as they defeated the Golden Flyers 9-1 thanks to a seven-goal second period.

The decisive win propelled the Pioneers to a record of 10-5, whilst remaining undefeated in UCHC conference play at 6-0. Defending UCHC Champion SUNY Geneseo has the conference lead by a single point; however, the Pioneers have two games in hand against the Knights.

Much like last weekend, the Pioneers took advantage of a string of Nazareth penalties, with a couple of power-play goals officially opening the floodgates in the middle frame. Utica would go 3-5 on the advantage, raising their season power-play percentage to 67% (6-9) against the Rochester-based team.

Gabriel Lundberg (Gothenburg, Sweden) bolstered his offensive numbers during the team's Saturday night scorefest, scoring two goals and grabbing one assist to wrap up a three-point night. Lundberg produced a helper on the first score of the game, while his goals came on the seventh and eighth scores for the orange and blue. Additionally, the junior center won seven of his nine faceoff opportunities, also proving to be a massive factor at the onset of most plays. His great performance earned him the First Star of the Game against Nazareth.

Lundberg's Lift: Following his electric performance against the Golden Flyers, Gabriel Lundberg (Gothenburg, Sweden) was awarded Empire 8 Player of the Week and UCHC Co-Player of the Week. The Swede has six goals and two assists for a total of eight points in 15 games played so far this season. The center is also a +5 on the year for the Pioneers and has posted a .507 career faceoff percentage. Against Nazareth, Lundberg won seven of his nine opportunities from the faceoff circle. Keep an eye on Lundberg going down the stretch, as he was a postseason hero for the Pioneers last season. As the center of a very stout bottom six, Lundberg scored three goals and one assist for four points, including the game-winning goal against St. Norbert in the NCAA Quarterfinals, securing the Pioneers' second-straight NCAA Division III Frozen Four appearance. The Pioneers have won six total awards since the start of the new year. Alongside Lundberg, Sal Cerrato (St. Louis, MO), and John Gutt (Middletown, NJ) have won awards for their outstanding play, which contributed to the Pioneers remaining unbeaten in UCHC conference play. 

Climbing the Mountain: After being well outside the NCAA Tournament at-large conversation for the majority of the season following the team's 0-4 start, the Pioneers have successfully clawed their way back into the at-large conversation, currently occupying the third at-large spot should the season end today, according to the USCHO's NPI rankings. The NPI, while not official on the USCHO website, is the metric by which the four at-large bids for this year's NCAA Tournament will be selected. The primary factors in measuring each team include metrics such as overall record and strength of schedule.To receive a bid, a team must occupy one of the top four slots not held by a conference tournament champion. After spending numerous weeks in the 30s and 20s, the Pioneers' recent run has seen them rise immensely, leaping back up to the number seven NPI position. Here are the top ten NPI slots according to the USCHO website:

Asterisks indicate a projected conference champion
1: *Hobart | SUNYAC | 16-0 | 64.796 NPI
2: *Hamilton | NESCAC | 12-1-2 | 83.184 NPI
3: *Endicott | CNE | 12-2-1 | 58.776 NPI
4: *Aurora | NCHA | 15-2 | 58.723 NPI
5: Oswego | SUNYAC | 11-2-1 | 58.481 NPI
6: Bowdoin | NESCAC | 9-4-1 | 58.351 NPI
7: *Utica | UCHC | 10-5 | 57.434 NPI
8: Salve Regina | INDEPENDENT | 17-3 | 57.219 NPI
9: University of New England | CNE | 11-5 | 57.107 NPI
10: Adrian | NCHA | 12-5 | 57.077 NPI

If the projected conference champions were to all win their league's postseason tournament, the top four at-large bids would be: Oswego, Bowdoin, Salve Regina, and University of New England. The Pioneers need to continue their streak of success in order to create a good cushion atop the NPI charts, but they've climbed back up to a pretty stellar spot as of right now.

Here is a link to USCHO's projected NPI section: https://www.uscho.com/rankings/npi/d-iii-men

Orange and Blue Archive - Albertus Magnus: These will be the first two matchups between the Pioneers and Falcons in both programs' history. Albertus Magnus joined the UCHC conference alongside St. John Fisher and Elmira College, going into this season. After facing the Falcons for the first time, the Pioneers will battle St. John Fisher, whom they have also never faced before in program history. The next two weeks will be uncharted territory for a prestigious, well-traveled Pioneer team. Albertus Magnus is a relatively new face in Division III hockey, joining the NEHC in 2019-2020 for their first varsity season. This past season, following the NEHC's disbanding, Albertus Magnus joined the UCHC in 2025-2026. 

Scouting the Falcons: Albertus Magnus has been a program on the rise in recent years. After going 17-7 then 16-9 in 2022 and 2023, the Falcons had a down year last year, going 12-13. However, they have seemed to bounce back this year, beginning the season 10-5 and scoring almost a full goal per game more than in their 2024-25 campaign. The Falcons are led offensively by the upperclassmen duo of Zane Kindrachuk and Connor Bertamini. Kindrachuk, a Calgary native, has scored eight goals and five assists for 13 points in 14 contests this year. Bertamini, a fellow Calgary native, has scored three goals and 10 assists to also have 13 points in 14 contests this season. Bertamini, their top defenseman, has scored two of his three goals on the power play and also has a game-winner on the year. In between the pipes for the Falcons is the duo of Chace Hale and Caleb Chabot. Hale, a sophomore from Pittsburgh, PA, has recorded 348 saves and a 3.16 goals against average in 13 games played. Chabot, a freshman from Quebec, has played in five games and recorded 26 saves. 

Following This Weekend's Conference Doubleheader: Following the two-game homestand vs Albertus Magnus, the Pioneers will welcome new UCHC foe St. John Fisher to the Adirondack Bank Center the night of January 30th before traveling to Rochester to face the Cardinals again the following day. Puck drop for the 30th is set for 7:00.