UTICA, NY - New year, new jerseys, same Pioneer prowess.

The Utica University hockey team opened up the second half of its 25th anniversary season with a physical 4-1 win against an old conference rival in Neumann University. On Saturday night at the Adirondack Bank Center, the Pioneers and Knights combined for 147 penalty minutes during a tense affair that resulted in the hosts pulling away late to secure their first win of 2026.

Utica improved to 7-5 on the season, while Neumann fell to 7-4-1.

The Pioneers had four different goal scorers in the matchup, spreading the wealth well as they outshot the opposition by a 49-18 margin. The team also won the faceoff battle quite handily, taking 44 of 67 possible opportunities for a 66% faceoff win percentage. The #14-ranked USCHO side would score once in the first, two times in quick succession late in the second, and top it off with a mid-third period goal to take the 4-1 win. 

Three Stars:

1st Star - Eric Vitale (Toronto, Ontario): Vitale planted a highlight-reel level goal in the second period, one which served as the winning goal as the Pioneers broke the drought and made it 2-1. The junior forward would receive the puck in the slot, but had to pull it back across the goalmouth with his back to the net, eventually doing a turn and slotting it away on the back post to cement the score. Vitale was extremely active on the night, launching seven shots to lead the Pioneer offense. Vitale took the team lead in goals on the season with seven following his spectacular score. 

2nd Star - Sal Cerrato (St. Louis, MO): Cerrato, the rookie defensemen, turned in an excellent outing on Saturday night as he came away with a trio of assists to help give the Pioneers a big victory. Cerrato was involved in all but one of the Pioneer goals, while also recording two blocks in a solid effort. Primary assists on two of those three goals also saw the freshman show off his superior vision and skill on the attack. The St. Louis native is now tied for the team lead in assists with seven on the season.

3rd Star - Andrew Della Rovere (Caledon East, Ontario): After Vitale netted the eventual game-winner, Della Rovere really helped put the game out of reach, notching the third score to help make the gap insurmountable. In addition to his scoring output, the junior center also proved to be a force in the faceoff circle, capturing 18 of a possible 28 draw opportunities. Della Rovere continued his string of strong outings, which he began towards the end of 2025. 

Grabiel Lunberg and Stepan Kuznetsov (Yaroslavl, Russia) rounded out the scoring for the Pioneers, with Lundberg breaking the ice in the first period and Kuznetsov scoring his first Utica goal in his debut matchup for the orange and blue after transferring from Western New England over winter break. Other Pioneer playmakers were headlined by captain Drake Morse (Grand Rapids, MI) who added two apples, while the group of Alex German (Colorado Springs, CO), Alexander Gullichsen (Turku, Finland), and Nick Ahern (Chicago, IL) each grabbed one assist. 

Kyle Curtin (St. George, Ontario) continued his great play in net from the first half of the season, getting the start and saving 17 shots while only allowing a single goal in the outing. 

The Pioneers will be back at the Aud tomorrow night for their final non-conference matchup of the season as they welcome the SUNY Canton Kangaroos for a 5:00 PM contest.