UTICA, NY - On a chilly Friday night at the Adirondack Bank Center, the first-ever matchup between the #10-ranked Utica University Pioneers and the St. John Fisher Cardinals took place. In a UCHC battle, the Pioneers kept up their recent winning streak, delivering a 7-1 win against the upstart Cardinals. 

The Pioneers continued their eight-win streak, moving up to 13-5 on the season, as well as boosting their conference record to 9-0. Following their first-ever matchup against the orange and blue, the Cardinals fell to 9-10, also dropping their UCHC conference record to 3-8. 

The hosts continued to outshoot their opponents by a large margin, with the Pioneers launching 46 shots, compared to the Cardinals' 25. The Pioneers not only dominated on shots, but also excelled in face-off opportunities, capturing 40 of 60, with John Gutt (Middletown, NJ) and Andrew Della Rovere (Caledon East, Ontario) securing a majority of the draws. Gutt won 16 of his 18 and Della Rovere won 14 of his 19. A combined faceoff win percentage of 81% (30-37).

Three Stars:

First Star - Alexander Guillchsen: Gullichesen had a stellar performance during this contest, scoring a game-high two goals, his first being scored shortly after the start of the second period and his second being netted midway through the third. The junior continues to produce on the ice, improving upon his junior totals of five goals, seven assists, and 12 points.

Second Star - Drake Morse (Grand Rapids, MI): Morse's leadership on the ice shone through his actions tonight, as one of the Pioneers' two captains contributed a goal on the night, late in the 2nd period, and an assist to Nicholas Rogers (Broad Channel, NY) on a beautiful 2-on-1 breakaway goal during the second period. His two-point night helped raise his total to eight goals, 12 assists, and 20 points on the season. 

Third Star- Nick Ahern (Chicago, IL) & Stepan Kuznetsov (Yaroslavl, Russia): Ahern and Kuznetsov each earned a share of the game's third star, as both contributed a goal and an assist during the matchup. Ahern's first goal of the contest came late in the 1st period - while planted on the back post, Ahern received a Gutt pass, receiving the puck on his knees to slot away the eventual game-winner for the Pioneers. Kuznetsov scored the last goal of the night while posted up in the slot, grabbing a rebound off of an Eric Vitale (Toronto, Ontario) wrap-around attempt to continue his steady stream of point production. Both players improved upon their recent point steaks. The rookie phenom moved his point streak to seven, and has also scored in the last four games. Ahern, on the other hand, also moved his point streak to seven games. Both players have gained a point in every game since the turn of the new year.

The other Pioneer goal-scorers were the duo of Mathieu MacMillan (Ottawa, Ontario) and Nicholas Rogers (Broad Channel, NY). As for assists, each of the following players grabbed one apple in the game: Gutt, Della Rovere, Vitale,  Anthony Bax (Parkhill, Ontario), Gabriel Lundberg (Gothenburg, Sweden), Aiden Hughes, and Preston Brighton (Castle Rock, CO). 

The Pioneers are hitting the road tomorrow night, headed to St. John Fisher to complete their first series against the Cardinals. Puck Drop is at 7:00 pm at the Rochester Ice Center in Fairport, NY.