UTICA, NY - Utica and Geneseo in the UCHC Championship, what more could New York hockey fans ask for?
 
The conference's top two teams will meet in this edition of the climactic conference clash on Saturday night at the Adirondack Bank Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM. As if the stakes could be any higher, both of these teams currently sit on the cusp of, or just outside of, the at-large picture according to the NPI. So, contrary to last year's Championship, where both teams were all but assured to make the NCAA Tournament regardless, this season's showdown will be much more tense, with a loss almost assuredly resulting in the exclusion of said team from the NCAA Tournament. This weekend will be do or die, with the Pioneers hoping to finally break through against a Geneseo side that's had their number as of late.
 
Get caught up ahead of this weekend's UCHC Championship!
 
This Weekend's Action: The top-seeded Pioneers will welcome the #2-seeded SUNY Geneseo Ice Knights for this year's UCHC Championship Game! Utica is currently ranked sixth in the Division III NPI, holding the third at-large, but in dangerous territory with a loss Geneseo is currently ranked 13th in the Division III NPI, and will almost certainly need to win the UCHC Championship to make the NCAA Tournament. Puck drop for this Saturday's Championship tilt is scheduled for 7:00 PM at the Adirondack Bank Center.
 
Check out all the information about this weekend's contest!
 
Looking for a Ticket? You can grab your ticket for this semifinal matchup by heading to the following link: https://empirestatetix.evenue.net/events/UCP
 
General admission is $12. College students can gain free entry by presenting a college ID at the door.
 
Stream: You can stream this weekend's matchup by heading to the following link: https://www.empire8network.com/utica/
 
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 this link: https://uticapioneers.com/sidearmstats/mhockey/summary
 
How They Got Here: The Pioneers battled #4-seeded Nazareth in last weekend's UCHC Semifinal, with a loss ending their season as they had no hopes of an at-large selection in that scenario. The Golden Flyers were riding a massive wave of momentum heading into the matchup, having just defeated Albertus Magnus in double overtime after trailing 3-1 earlier in the third period. However, despite the challengers coming in hot, it was the Pioneers who would swing the energy in their direction, using staunch defense and punishing Nazareth's miscues to win 4-1 and advance to the final.
 
The Pioneers would shoot out to a 2-0 lead, scoring twice in the final ten minutes of the opening period to grab an advantage heading into the first break. Aidan Hughes (Mississauga, Ontario) started the scoring just over 12 minutes in, as he got on the rush and found a pass in the middle of the slot from Alexander Gullichsen (Turku, Finland) to get the goal. Andrew Della Rovere (Caledon East, Ontario) would then cap off the period on a high note, sniping a power play score from the blue line as he fired a wrister past a pack of defenders, finding the upper left corner to make it 2-0. Nazareth would get one back, making it 2-1 early in the second period; however, the Pioneers would pile it on in the third period, as another power play goal, this time by John Gutt (Middletown, NJ), and an empty net score by Hughes would clinch the Pioneers' fifth straight UCHC Championship appearance.
 
On the other side of the bracket, Geneseo would survive a late push by a high-powered Chatham side to advance to the final. The Ice Knights would take advantage of a tired Chatham team, who advanced just a few days prior after a triple-overtime marathon against Brockport, getting out to a 5-1 lead less than halfway through the contest. Chatham wouldn't fold, though, as the Cougars scored four of the next five goals to make it 6-5 Geneseo with just over eight minutes remaining. Geneseo would counter just seconds later, making it 7-5, which would oddly be the final goal scored, as neither team would strike again over the remaining eight minutes.
 
These wins set the scene for the second straight UCHC Championship between the Pioneers and the Ice Knights, with the orange and blue looking for payback from last season's finals loss.
 
Postseason Picture: The path to the NCAA Tournament is as clear as ever for these two teams - win, and you're in.
 
However, there is a lot to look at regarding the NPI, as not only do the rankings determine which teams make the NCAA Tournament, but they also determine which teams have the best chance to host NCAA Tournament action. A few conference tournament exits shook up the rankings last weekend, with Adrian falling out of the at-large ranks thanks to a multi-goal loss in the NCHA Semifinals against Aurora.
 
Here is a look at the top 10 of the NPI heading into championship weekend, along with the current at-large selections and the projected hosts for each round:
 
Highlighted teams are no longer in their respective conference tournaments.
 
National Collegiate Percentage Index as of 3/4/26
#1: Hobart* | 66.166 | 27-0 | SUNYAC (1)
#2: Hamilton* | 59.350 | 19-4-2 | NESCAC (1)
#3: Endicott* | 58.773 | 20-3-3 | CNE (1)
#4: Bowdoin | 58.140 | 17-6-1 | NESCAC (2)
#5: University of New England | 58.124 | 21-5 | CNE (2)
#6: Utica* | 58.091 | 18-7-1 | UCHC (1)
#7: Aurora* | 58.091 | 23-4-1 | NCHA (1)
#8: Salve Regina | 57.739 | 17-3 | Independent
#9: UW Stout* | 57.561 | 20-5-1 | WIAC (1)
#10: Adrian | 57.488 | 20-7-1 | NCHA (3)
 
In the current rankings, if each conference tournament were won by the current NPI leader in that league, the remaining at-large bids would go to Bowdoin, University of New England, Salve Regina, and Adrian. In the event that these rankings hold, the two first-round byes would most likely go to Hobart and Hamilton, with each team guaranteeing hosting rights for a quarterfinal matchup. The projected hosts for the first round would be the remaining teams who are seeded in the top 8 - Endicott, Bowdoin, UNE, Utica, Aurora, and Salve Regina. However, due to geographical restraints, Wisconsin Stout would likely steal hosting rights from one of those lower-ranked teams. If the Pioneers defeat Geneseo, they could very likely find themselves within the top four - a great spot to guarantee hosting rights up through the NCAA National Semifinals and National Championship, which will also take place at the Adirondack Bank Center.
 
Here is a link to the current NPI: https://www.uscho.com/rankings/npi/d-iii-men
 
Here are some featured matchups to keep an eye on this weekend, related to the top 10 of the NPI (the rankings used are from the NPI and are not from either of the rankings polls).
 
Saturday, February 28th
 
NESCAC Semifinals and Championship
#2 Hamilton vs #35 Williams - 1:00 @ Hamilton
#4 Bowdoin vs #16 Middlebury - 4:30 @ Hamilton
Championship on Sunday
 
CNE Championship
#5 University of New England vs #3 Endicott - 7:00 @ UNE
 
SUNYAC Championship
#1 Hobart vs #14 Oswego - 7:00 @ Hobart
 
NCHA Championship
#11 St. Norbert vs #7 Aurora - 8:00 @ St. Norbert
 
WIAC Championship
#9 Wisconsin Stout vs #45 Wisconsin River Falls - 8:00 @ UW Stout
 
Orange and Blue Archive - UCHC Championship and SUNY Geneseo: This weekend, the Pioneers will play in their fifth straight UCHC Championship Game, with all five of the most recent title tilts taking place inside the Adirondack Bank Center. The Pioneers will look to get back to their winning ways after last year's bump in the road. Before last year's result, the Pioneers had taken home the past three UCHC Tournament Titles. Since winning their first-ever conference tournament title in 2018, the Pioneers have captured the gold in five of the past eight seasons, failing to reach and host the UCHC Championship only once. Here is the history of Utica men's hockey's trips to the conference tournament title game throughout the program's history. To date, the team has won five UCHC Tournament titles and looks for number six this weekend.
 
Utica Men's Hockey Conference Championship History
UCHC
2025: (2) SUNY Geneseo 7, (1) Utica 3
2024: (1) Utica 3, (2) Stevenson 2
2023: (1) Utica 5, (2) Nazareth 3
2022: (1) Utica 7, (2) Wilkes 4
2020: (1) Utica 4, (2) Wilkes 0
          (1) Utica 6, (2) Wilkes 2
2019: (1) Utica 5, (3) Manhattanville 2
          (3) Manhattanville 4, (1) Utica 3
          (3) Manhattanville wins mini game 2-1
2018: (1) Utica 8, (5) Elmira 3
 
ECAC WEST
2017: (3) Hobart 2, (1) Utica 1
2016: (1) Hobart 5, (3) Utica 0
2014: (2) Elmira 5, (1) Utica 2
2006: (3) Elmira 3, (4) Utica 2
2005: (2) Manhattanville 3, (1) Utica 1
 
In last year's UCHC Championship game against Geneseo, the Pioneers would fall behind early, as a four-goal first period by the visiting Knights would see them take a 4-0 lead into the first intermission. The orange and blue would battle back in the second period, scoring three goals of their own to get the crowd back into play. The three scores were separated by only about 5 minutes. Now only down one, the Pioneers pushed for an equalizer. But it would be the Ice Knights who eventually pulled away, with two goals late in the second period, and a single score in the third period, eventually giving the Ice Knights their first UCHC Championship off of a 7-3 final.
 
The Pioneers and Ice Knights will duke it out again this weekend, with the two New York powerhouses back in the Championship for the second straight time.
 
This time around, Utica will be looking for massive amounts of revenge, as, coupled with the UCHC Championship loss last season, the Pioneers will be looking to avenge their losses from earlier this season and hope to break their four-game skid against the Ice Knights. Following the recent run by the Pioneers' Western New York counterpart, the all-time series is now tied at six wins each, along with a shared tie. The Pioneers are 4-4 against SUNY Geneseo all-time within the confines of the Adirondack Bank Center, and will look to improve that margin with a win in the series' most important matchup to date.
 
Scouting the Ice Knights: Geneseo enters this game with the exact same record as Utica, posting an 18-7-1 mark, although Utica was able to avoid some shock losses to weaker competition, losses which have left the Ice Knights with a 12-4 UCHC record despite defeating the Pioneers twice during the regular season. The Ice Knights will enter Saturday's game on a two-game win streak, following up a shocking loss at home to Brockport with a 5-2 win over the Golden Eagles to cap off the season, followed by a 7-5 victory in last weekend's UCHC Semifinal.
 
The same notes from last game still stand - the Ice Knights are a balanced and deep group, possessing a wide array of skilled players that all possess solid vision and game sense. The Ice Knights aren't as explosive as they've been in years past; however, they do punish mistakes exceptionally well and will overwhelm opponents with the sheer amount of players who can pick out the right passes.
 
On offense, the team is still led by Alex Dameski, who has scored the second-most goals in the UCHC this season with 21, to pair with 16 assists, holding 37 points on the year. Filip Wiberg and Carter Diceman are the other two main goal-scorers for the team, each having at least 10 goals.
 
In net, the Pioneers will most likely face Jacob Torgner, who has posted a 14-5-1 record while having a 2.31 goals allowed average and a .925 save percentage.
 
In the regular season series, the Ice Knights saw massive contributions from Dameski and Diceman, who each netted one goal and secured two assists. Also proving to be a massive factor in the earlier season sweep was freshman forward Danny Bagnole, who netted two goals, including the overtime winner in the second game. Robert Gatewood would also grab two goals in the series to help power the Ice Knight offense.
 
For the Pioneers, Drake Morse (Grand Rapids, MI) would have a huge impact on the series, becoming the only Pioneer to notch multiple goals in the two-game set. His leadership and skill will be counted on again this weekend, along with his fellow junior Andrew Della Rovere (Caledon East, Ontario), who grabbed a trio of assists in the pair of matchups. Della Rovere will look for more success at the dot this time around, looking to rebound from a weekend where he went less than 50% from the spot.
 
With a Win: The Pioneers would claim their sixth UCHC Conference Tournament Championship and advance to the upcoming NCAA Tournament. They would also be a shoo-in for hosting NCAA Tournament action in the first or second round.
 
Grab your tickets and make sure to tune in for this weekend's UCHC Championship!