UTICA, NY - #3 vs #2. Undefeated vs undefeated. Utica vs Hobart. The annual clash of CNY superpowers has arrived.
 
The #3 Pioneers welcome the #2 Statesmen to town tomorrow night for a big battle at the NBT Bank Arena, before the two teams move to Geneva on Saturday as Hobart puts their 70-game home winning streak on the line against a worthy orange and blue battalion. For the second straight week, the Pioneers will feature in Division III's highest-ranked matchup, as a top 3 clash will officially open the program's home schedule.
 
This Weekend's Action: The orange and blue will face #2 Hobart at 7:00 PM on Thursday, November 5th in the NBT Bank Arena, before heading to Geneva on Saturday for a 4:00 PM tilt at The Cooler.
 
Tickets: For tickets to Thursday night's matchup against Hobart, head to this link: https://empirestatetix.evenue.net/events/UCP
 
Stream: To watch both of this weekend's games, click the following links:
Thursday at Utica: https://www.empire8network.com/utica/
Saturday at Hobart: https://hwsathletics.com/watch/?Live=2131&type=Live
 
Live Stats: Spectators can follow along with live statistics by clicking the "Live Stats" tab on our men's hockey schedule page or by clicking the following links:
Thursday at Utica: https://uticapioneers.com/sidearmstats/mhockey/summary
Saturday at Hobart: https://hwsathletics.com/sidearmstats/mhockey/summary
 
Recapping Last Weekend's Set at Adrian: The Pioneers opened their season this past Friday and Saturday in Michigan against a #8 Adrian squad. For the second straight week, the orange and blue bounced back from their 2025 result, coming back to win game one in overtime before taking down the Bulldogs in game two via shootout to leave Michigan undefeated.
 
During Saturday's season-opener, the Pioneers overcame two second-period deficits to defeat the Bulldogs in overtime, sealing a huge comeback thanks to Nicholas Rogers' (Broad Channel, NY/Xavier) extra-period tally. Adrian opened scoring at the beginning of the second period, before Alexander Gullichsen (Turku, Finland/Vaaasa Aftis) redirected an Aydin Parekh (Nobleton, ON/Blyth Academy) shot from the blue line to record the team's first goal of the season just a few minutes later. Another second-period score gave Adrian an additional 1-goal advantage, as the hosts took the lead into the final frame. The Pioneers would make the game level coming out of the locker room, as Drake Morse (Grand Rapids, MI/East Grand Rapids) sent a puck into open space, launching Andrew Della Rovere (Caledon East, Ontario/St. Michael's Catholic) toward net as the top-line center made a swift move to get by the Bulldog blocker and make it 2-2. The game would remain tied over the final 19 minutes, as the two top-10 teams battled to overtime to kick off the season. Immediately following an overtime power play, Rogers would find himself open in the slot, as Paul Minnehan (Cypress, CA/Pacifica) found the Pioneer senior, who sent the puck blocker-side to give the team a massive victory.
 
Game two was equally exciting, as the two teams battled to overtime for the second day in a row. The Pioneers hopped out to a commanding 4-0 lead heading into the third period, despite being outshot 23-16 up to that point. However, a five-minute major, coupled with an additional penalty, gave Adrian a 5-on-3 opportunity and allowed them to slip back into the matchup, resulting in four third-period goals by the hosts to send the game to overtime. However, the extra-period heroes this time around were freshman goalie Michael Modelski (New Boston, MI/Connections Academy) and senior captain Drake Morse (Grand Rapids, MI/East Grand Rapids). Modelski made 43 saves in his first collegiate start, including saving a penalty shot in overtime and stopping all four of Adrian's shootout opportunities. Meanwhile, Morse, who was already sitting on two goals in the contest, added the shootout winner, capping off the weekend in style. Morse would be rewarded for his heroics with the UCHC and Empire 8 Player of the Week awards.
 
Morse finished the weekend with two goals and three assists, not including the shootout winner, to lead a trio of three-point players from opening weekend. Della Rovere would also be heavily involved, grabbing a goal and two assists while also contributing 37 faceoff wins at a .569 rate. Freshman center Jakob Galnor rounded out the players who achieved three points, as he gathered a team-high three assists across the two-game set.
 
In an interesting change of style, the Pioneers, who in years' past would dominate by holding possession and rattling off many more shots than their opponent, turned the tables, as they went undefeated despite being outshot 80-45 on the weekend. This showcases a clinical offense that scored goals on nearly 16% of its shots, and bodes well for the team when they return to their normal high-possession tactics.
 
Poll Position: A 1-0-1 weekend in Michigan, along with losses by then-#3 Aurora, #4 St. Norbert, and #5 UW-Stout, allowed the Pioneers to hop all the way up to #3 in this week's USCHO Division III Men's Hockey rankings. In the DIIIHockeyNews.com poll, the blue and orange now join a core four of New York programs who occupy the top four spots in both nationally recognized rankings polls. Hamilton, who has yet to begin their season, stays at #1, while the rest of the top four reads #2 Hobart, #3 Utica, and #4 SUNY Geneseo. New York also plays host to five of the top 15, as Oswego State sits at #9 in both rankings polls.
 
Orange and Blue Archive - Hobart College: The Pioneers and Statesmen first met on November 3, 2001, beginning a series that has featured 49 meetings over the last 25 years, and has provided battles between some of the greatest teams in Division III Men's Hockey history. Hobart holds a 27-18-4 advantage in the all-time series, but the Pioneers will enter this weekend hungry to end a five-game skid against their CNY counterpart. These two teams have battled each other as close as any programs, and every meeting is must-watch, as five of the last six games have been decided by just a single goal, with three of those ending in overtime.

The most recent regular-season meetings came last November, when #1-ranked Hobart snagged a pair of one-goal wins despite very strong showings by the orange and blue. The first game of the series was an instant classic, as Hobart barely edged out the hosting Pioneers for a 6-5 overtime victory at the NBT Bank Arena. The hosts would punch Hobart in the mouth, scoring the most goals against a sturdy Statesmen team since nearly three years prior. Eric Vitale (Toronto, Ontario/St. Michael Christian) scored back-to-back goals in the third period, including a stellar score with just over two minutes remaining, to give the Pioneers a 5-4 lead. However, Hobart would notch a shorthanded score in the closing minutes, before netting an overtime winner to escape Utica with a win. The following Saturday in Geneva, Hobart earned a 2-1 victory, scoring twice on the power play as the Pioneers came extremely close to ending Hobart's NCAA record home winning streak. Drake Morse (Grand Rapids, MI/East Grand Rapids) scored the lone Pioneer goal in the contest.

The Pioneers and Statesmen also met in the 2025 NCAA Division III National Championship game at the Nexus Center in downtown Utica. In one of the greatest National Championship games of all time, Utica took a 1-0 lead into the third period before Hobart found the equalizer with just over eight minutes remaining in regulation, ultimately winning their third straight title towards the end of a hard-fought overtime period.

Even before the National Championship, the Pioneers and Statesmen always found a way to meet in the biggest moments, as the matchup directly prior to 2025 was a 2024 Division III Frozen Four contest down in Hartford, Connecticut. Hobart earned a 3-1 victory over the Pioneers in that iteration.

Scouting Hobart: The Statesmen finished the 2025-26 campaign with a 30-1 overall record and an 18-0 mark in conference play, with their lone loss coming at the hands of Hamilton College, who defeated Hobart in the National Championship game to prevent the Statesmen from completing a four-peat. Hobart was one of the most dominant offensive teams in the country, averaging 5.1 goals and 45.8 shots per game while allowing just 1.0 goal and 19.3 shots per contest. The Statesmen also converted 33.3 percent of their power-play opportunities and won 54.4 percent of their faceoffs, showcasing their ability to control play at both ends of the ice. Their ability to lock down the neutral zone and prevent opponents from playing through the middle has led to their era of dominance. Even in the 2025 National Championship, the Pioneers had to adapt to a dump-and-chase strategy that nearly toppled the Statesmen, as the orange and blue found gaps behind the Geneva program's staunch neutral zone presence.

Hobart returns several experienced contributors from last year's championship roster, including forwards Adam Mendelson (Jr.), Conor Lally (Sr.), Christian Kocsis (Jr.), and Easton Ryan (Sr.). Mendelson has already emerged as the team's leading offensive producer through the opening weekend, recording three points on one goal and two assists. Lally has added two points on a goal and an assist, while Kocsis and Ryan have each contributed a pair of assists. Nick Dimatos (Jr.) has also chipped in offensively with an assist, while the Statesmen have received goals from six different skaters through their first two regular-season contests.

In goal, Hobart is under new management after the graduation of Sid Watson award winner and three-time National Champion Damon Beaver. This year, the Statesmen have opened the season with a strong tandem effort from Connor Shibley (Jr.) and James Norton (Jr.). Shibley earned the opening-night shutout against Elmira, stopping all 15 shots he faced, while Norton followed with a 20-save performance in Saturday's 4-1 victory. The two have combined for a 0.50 goals-against average and a .972 save percentage through the opening weekend. Both netminders have already shown the ability to provide reliable play between the pipes, giving the Statesmen a pair of experienced options in goal.

Hobart opened its 2026-27 regular season with a two-game sweep of Elmira, earning a 2-0 home victory on October 30 before following it up with a 4-1 road win the next afternoon. The Statesmen outshot the Soaring Eagles 83-36 across the two games, averaging 41.5 shots per contest while allowing just 18.0. Hobart has yet to score on the power play, going 0-for-8, but has killed all five opposing opportunities. The Statesmen also won 54.8 percent of their faceoffs during the opening weekend.

Following the CNY Clash with Hobart: The Pioneers will enter UCHC play next weekend, with a home-and-home scheduled against Brockport to get conference play underway. The Pioneers will welcome Brockport to the NBT Bank Arena on Friday, November 13th for a 7:00 PM matchup, while the two teams will move to Wegmans Ice Arena on Saturday, November 14th for another 7:00 PM start.
 
Tune in this weekend for the Pioneers' matchup with #2 Hobart!