UTICA, NY - For the second straight weekend, the #10 Pioneers will open up a new chapter in their matchup history.
 
The orange and blue will be back at the Aud on Friday night, before heading to Rochester on Saturday night to complete their first ever series against new program St. John Fisher. For the second weekend in a row, Utica faces a never before seen opponent, with the chance to get off on the right foot against an unfamiliar face. Friday night's content will get underway at 7:00 PM at the Adirondack Bank Center, and will also be Excellus BlueCross BlueShield Night! Saturday's road tilt will also begin at 7:00 PM over in Rochester. The Pioneers will be staking their unbeaten conference run against a solid St. John Fisher squad who look much better than most first year programs tend to. Check out all the information about this weekend's series!
 
This Weekend's Action: The Pioneers have a doubleheader slated for this weekend, as they face new conference opponent St. John Fisher on Friday and Saturday night. The #10-ranked Pioneers welcome the Cardinals to the Adirondack Bank Center on Friday, before heading out to the Rochester Ice Center the following day. Both games have start times of 7:00 PM.
 
Looking for a Ticket for both games?
 
For Friday, 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
 
For Saturday, you can purchase a ticket at the following link: https://events.hometownticketing.com/boxoffice/sjfcardinals/L2VtYmVkL2V2ZW50LzI4OQ%3D%3D
 
Adult admission for Saturday is $9.00, while senior citizens and non-St. John Fisher students get in for 6.00.
 
Stream: You can stream this weekend's games by heading to the following links:
 
Friday: https://www.empire8network.com/utica/
 
Saturday: https://www.empire8network.com/stjohnfisher/
 
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 these links:
 
Friday: https://uticapioneers.com/sidearmstats/mhockey/summary
 
Saturday: https://sjfathletics.com/sidearmstats/mhockey/summary
 
Recapping Last Weekend's Sweep Over Albertus Magnus: The Pioneers met Albertus Magnus last weekend in a hard-hitting doubleheader in downtown Utica. Against the spoiler-prone Falcons, the orange and blue remained steadfast, outscoring the navy-clad opposition by a total margin of 15-5 over the two-game set. Utica would win 10-4 in the opener and 5-1 in the rematch to continue their conference unbeaten streak.
 
Game one was tight for a majority of the matchup, however, the Pioneers hit the gas pedal in a six-goal third period to break away completely from the competition. The hosts faced numerous one-goal deficits in the opening period, but responded on each occasion to make the game 2-2 heading into the second. The middle frame would see the Pioneers take a two-goal lead, before the superb third period would put the game to bed. A plethora of Pioneers piled up points in the bout, as Nicholas Rogers (Broad Channel, NY) (2g, 2a), Nick Ahern (Chicago, IL) (1g, 3a), and Sal Cerrato (St. Louis, MO) (1g, 3a) each finished with four points apiece. Stepan Kuznetsov (Yaroslavl, Russia) (1g, 2a) also had a stellar outing. The Pioneer power play was also humming on Friday night, as the #10-ranked team in Division III scored SIX power play goals, going 6-10 on the advantage.
 
On Saturday, the Pioneers sped past the Falcons for the second straight night, this time due in large part to the success of phenomenal freshman goaltender Frank Murphy (Mississauga, Ontario). Murphy allowed just one goal in the outing, which massively contributed to the 5-1 victory. He also made many highlight-reel stops in a 20-save performance. To top it off, Murphy logged 10 saves in the final frame, and aided in shutting down three opposing power plays during the win. Aidan Hughes (Mississauga, Ontario) led the team with two goals, putting the game to bed with back-to-back scores late in the third period. Kuznetsov also continued his personal run, grabbing a goal and an assist. Freshman forward Mathieu MacMillan (Ottawa, Ontario) would snipe the winning score, grabbing a goal from an insane angle to make the match 2-1 and notch the game winning goal.
 
The Pioneers picked up their seventh and eighth conference wins, remaining unbeaten in league play.
 
Superb Streaks: The Pioneers have been red hot as of late, holding streaks in many different areas of play.
 
The most important streak has been a stellar run of wins which dates back to late 2025. The orange and blue have fully rebounded from a slow start to the campaign, piling up wins in their last seven games dating back to December's Teddy Bear Toss matchup against then #4 Oswego. The team has also won 12 of its last 13 matchups dating back to early November. This run of dominance has helped the team secure the full three points in every matchup of UCHC play as they've gotten out to a perfect 8-0 start, outscoring their conference opponents by a margin of 44-10 overall and 5.5-1.25 per game.
 
Another streak is the run of conference honors that the team has captured, a string of awards that continued this week with junior forward Aidan Hughes (Mississauga, Ontario) being named the Empire 8 Player of the Week and the UCHC Co-Player of the Week. Hughes became the fourth different Pioneer to take home the conference double, and secured the fourth conference double in a row to begin the 2026 portion of the Pioneers' season. His recent run includes a five-game points streak that dates back to the SUNY Canton matchup, as he'd scored five goals and gathered five assists since that contest. Stepan Kuznetsov (Yaroslavl, Russia) was also named UCHC Rookie of the Week during an awards cycle that kept the award streak active. Here is a look at all the conference awards that the team has won this season:
 
John Gutt (Middletown, NJ) | Men's Hockey - UCHC Co-Player of the Week - November 17th
John Gutt (Middletown, NJ) | Men's Hockey - Empire 8 Co-Player of the Week - November 17th
Kyle Curtin (St. George, Ontario) | Men's Hockey - Empire 8 Goaltender of the Week - November 24th
Kyle Curtin (St. George, Ontario) | Men's Hockey - UCHC Goaltender of the Week - November 24th
Sal Cerrato (St. Louis, MO) | Men's Hockey - Empire 8 Player of the Week - January 5th
Sal Cerrato (St. Louis, MO) | Men's Hockey - UCHC Co-Rookie of the Week - January 5th
John Gutt (Middletown, NJ) | Men's Hockey - Empire 8 Player of the Week - January 12th
John Gutt (Middletown, NJ) | Men's Hockey - UCHC Player of the Week - January 12th
Gabriel Lundberg (Gothenburg, Sweden) | Men's Hockey - Empire 8 Player of the Week - January 19th
Gabriel Lundberg (Gothenburg, Sweden) | Men's Hockey - UCHC Co-Player of the Week - January 19th
Aidan Hughes (Mississauga, Ontario) | Men's Hockey - Empire 8 Player of the Week - January 26th
Aidan Hughes (Mississauga, Ontario) | Men's Hockey - UCHC Co-Player of the Week - January 26th
Stepan Kuznetsov (Yaroslavl, Russia) | Men's Hockey - UCHC Rookie of the Week - January 26th
 
In terms of personal streaks, no one has been on a bigger roll than the reigning conference Rookie of the Week Kuznetsov. Since joining the team over winter break, the rookie sensation has climbed up to seventh on the Pioneer point charts, having 11 points in his first six games. Even more impressive; the freshman has scored in all-but one matchup since joining the team, grabbing a single goal in every outing except the first contest against Nazareth. Despite missing the net in that one game, Kuznetsov still managed to grab two assists, cementing his point streak in the process. Kuznetsov is currently in the midst of a six-game point streak since joining the team, contributing to at least one score in every single matchup since donning the moose.
 
Another player who's been hot since the break? Nick Ahern (Chicago, IL). The junior forward is also on a six-game points streak, having scored or assisted in every matchup since the turn of the new year. In 2026, Ahern has totals of three goals and 10 assists, racking up 13 points over the six-game span.
 
Finally, Gutt has also put together a good streak in the past few games, currently riding a five-game point streak that dates back to the SUNY Canton matchup. The two-time UCHC and Empire 8 Player of the Week has scored five goals and accumulated five assists since facing the Kangaroos in early January.
 
The Postseason Picture: Not much changed in the postseason picture following this weekend's games. The Pioneers increased their hold on the top spot in the UCHC, taking the lead over Geneseo thanks to the Knights' home loss at the hands of Elmira. Utica has a 24-22 lead on the Knights, with two games in hand. Chatham's continued success has them in third with 17 points, while having the same amount of games played as the Pioneers.
 
In the national rankings (NPI), the Pioneers hopped up one spot thanks to Bowdoin's loss against Middlebury. The Pioneers are currently sixth in the NPI rankings, placing them in the second at-large spot, given that the other conference leaders (Hobart, Hamilton, Aurora, and Endicott) were all to win their respective conference titles. Chatham climbed to 12th in this week's NPI update, creating a solid opportunity for the Pioneers to further cushion their position towards the end of the season. Geneseo is down to 21st in the NPI, but still presents a great opportunity thanks to the home-away split, as the model accounts for away victories.
 
Orange and Blue Archive - St. John Fisher: In terms of history, these two teams have none! This is the first year of varsity ice hockey for the Cardinals, who have put together a solid resume in their first year as a varsity program. The Rochester-based team has jumped headfirst into a hotbed of Division III hockey, joining the ranks of New York's college hockey programs.
 
Scouting the Cardinals: In their first season of play, St. John Fisher has gotten out to a 9-9 start, also posting a 3-7 record in UCHC play. The Cardinals are 4-3 on the road and 4-5 on home ice (Rochester Ice Center). The team got off to a great start, winning their debut game over Buffalo State by a 2-1 final, before falling just short against a powerful Chatham team 3-2 in the Championship of the Buffalo State Tournament. To start the season, the Cardinals went 7-3, showing promise early into UCHC play. Since then, the team has lost six of its last eight matchups, including getting swept by some of the conference's elite in Geneseo and Chatham.
 
It's only fitting that a team in its first year of existence would be led in scoring by a freshman. Sam Ciappa has 19 points on the year, scoring nine goals and assisting 10 more in his debut season of collegiate hockey. Ciappa is flanked on offense by a pair of junior transfers in Brendan Merriman (Chatham) and Leyton Pettypiece (Wilkes), who have 14 and 13 points respectively. Merriman has been an effective scorer, racking up six goals and eight assists, while Pettypiece has displayed a veteran distribution of the puck, having three goals and 10 assists. Local product Ian Emery has also done well in his first season of collegiate hockey. The freshman out of Webster, NY has seven goals and four assists on the season.
 
In net, the Cardinals' main man has been Sebastian Woods, who has a 3.18 goals allowed average and .894 save percentage in his first season since transferring from Manhattanville. Woods has a 5-8 record, and has started 13 games for the Cardinals. Fisher has also utilised their freshman goaltender Dylan Grover in a few matchups, as the Canandaigua, NY native has posted a 1.85 goals allowed average and .939 save percentage in his five games played.
 
Following This Weekend's Conference Doubleheader: Following the series with St. John Fisher, the Pioneers will renew a conference rivalry with Elmira, taking on the Soaring Eagles next weekend for the first time since the purple and gold joined the UCHC. The first matchup on Friday, February 6th will be in Elmira, while the second contest on Saturday, February 7th will take place at the Utica University Nexus Center in downtown Utica. More clarification about tickets will be available in the weeks leading up to that second contest.