UTICA, NY - Another postseason run began on Saturday night as the Pioneers welcomed the #4-seeded Nazareth Golden Flyers for UCHC Semifinal action at the Adirondack Bank Center. With their 25th Anniversary season hanging in the balance, the Pioneers would take care of their western opposition, defending home ice as they bookended the matchup with two goals in the first and third periods to seal a 4-1 win and advance to the UCHC Championship Game.

The #1-seeded Pioneers would improve to 18-7-1 with the victory, also moving on the next Saturday's UCHC Championship Game, where they'll face SUNY Geneseo at 7:00 PM down at the Aud. Nazareth would conclude their season with a 16-8-3 record, doubling their wins from the prior season in the first year under new head coach James McDonald.

Utica would win the shot and faceoff battles, although the Golden Flyers would make it a tight affair, with the orange and blue pulling away to grab a 23-21 advantage in shots and a 26-17 advantage in faceoff wins. This playoff matchup also featured a considerable number of penalties, with nine total power plays during the tilt. The Pioneers were able to make the most of their man-advantage, as they went 2-for-5 on the power play, scoring their second and third goals with an extra skater. Advantage time would ultimately be the deciding factor, as the Golden Flyers went 0-for-4 on their four power-play opportunities. 

The Pioneers would own play in the first period, shooting out to a commanding 2-0 lead, but missed out on a few great opportunities that could have made the deficit even larger. In the second, Nazareth would fight back in an attempt to keep their run afloat, cutting the lead in half as they made it 2-1 heading to the final period. The Golden Flyers gave it their best shot, but the Pioneers were able to defend home ice, as John Gutt (Middletown, NJ) would net an early third-period goal to give the team a 3-1 lead, before an empty net score by Aidan Hughes (Mississauga, Ontario) would end the affair.

Three Stars:

First Star - Aidan Hughes (Mississauga, Ontario): Hughes, in addition to that final score, also secured another goal and an assist to finish with a game-high three points. The junior returned to his stellar form from just a few weeks ago, bookending the contest by notching the first and last goals. He would also secure his lone assist on Gutt's goal to open the third. Hughes had his line playing at peak performance, also ending the game as a +2.

Second Star - Andrew Della Rovere (Caledon East, Ontario): Della Rovere was active in this matchup, scoring the game-winning goal and also securing 13 of his 19 faceoff opportunities. With just seconds remaining in the first period, the superstar center would receive a pass at the blue line, proceeding to thread the needle between a mix of both teams' skaters as the puck screamed into the upper left part of the net to make it 2-0 Pioneers. That goal would prove to be the decisive one, as the hosts would only allow Nazareth to score once after that.

Third Star - John Gutt (Middletown, NJ): Another Pioneer center played extremely well on Saturday evening, celebrating his birthday with a momentum-changing goal and an array of faceoff wins. Right at the beginning of the third period, Gutt would grab a rebound and guide the puck around the outstretched pad of the Nazareth goaltender to grow the Pioneers' advantage to 3-1. In addition to that pivotal goal, Gutt would win six of his eight faceoff attempts.

Gabriel Lundberg (Gothenburg, Sweden) would show great vision in the contest, slotting in as the only Pioneer with multiple assists as he gathered a pair of playmakers. Other Pioneers would racked up an assist in the contest were Sal Cerrato (St. Louis, MO), Aydin Parekh (Nobleton, ON), Alex German (Colorado Springs, CO), Alexander Gullichsen (Turku, Finland), and Preston Brighton (Castle Rock, CO).

Senior goaltender Kyle Curtin (St. George, Ontario) would receive the start, notching 19 saves and heavily contributing to the Pioneers' perfect night on the penalty kill. 

The team will now turn its attention towards the SUNY Geneseo Ice Knights, who they'll welcome next Saturday, March 7th, for the UCHC Championship Game. That matchup is scheduled for 7:00 PM at the Adirondack Bank Center. Please check last week's ticket release for more information on how you can attend next weekend's championship matchup.