UTICA, NY – The No. 5 Utica College men’s ice hockey team is finally home. The team certainly felt that way on Saturday in their first home game since December 14th. On the heels of a perfect five game road trip, the Pioneers overpowered UCHC rival Neumann by a 5-2 score at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.

The win was the eighth consecutive for the Pioneers, who improve to an overall record of 13-2-2, and a conference record of 7-2-1. Utica has outscored opponents on its recent winning streak by a 51-21 margin, and have scored four or more goals in their last ten games. Utica sweeps the regular season series from the Knights after previously topping Neumann in November. UC has the third best winning percentage in the nation, and the fourth longest unbeaten streak.

The Pioneers remain in fourth in the UCHC now with 22 points, but made a considerable move towards the co-leaders in the conference with a win Saturday. The gap has been closed down to just five points behind the top spot after Wilkes was defeated by Elmira, and Stevenson was idle in league play this week. Both leaders have 27 standings points. Three points are awarded for a regulation or first overtime win in UCHC play.

Utica’s special teams excelled in the matchup with a 2-for-4 power play performance, and the penalty kill logged a short handed goal.

Senior defenseman Daniel Fritz (Harwood, MD/Canisius College (Atlantic Hockey)) had a multi point night to cement his place in the record books further among the program’s best-ever offensive blue liners. He had two assists to break a tie for second place with Zach Borsoi (Brossard, Quebec/Gloucester (CCHL)) on the college’s leaderboard for points by a defenseman in a career. He now has 65 career points to trail only All-American Dalton Carter (Toledo, OH/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) at that position.

Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) had a goal and an assist for the Pioneers, with the goal being the 30th of his career. Dante Zapata (Huntington Beach, CA/Austin Bruins (NAHL)), Eric Holland (Whitby, ON/Brockville Braves (CCHL)), Donovan Ott (Lebanon, PA/Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (ECAC Hockey)), and Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)) also scored goals for Utica. Gianluca Baggetta (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL)) stopped 25 of 27 shots by the Knights to improve to a 7-1-2 record this season. He is now 23-5-4 over the last two campaigns in goal, and is 13-2-2 when playing in regular season conference games over a two year period.

The Pioneers unleashed a rampant opening period with 19 shots, and were able to leverage a tremendous starting pace into a 1-0 lead by the end of the frame. With a delayed penalty on the way, Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)) hammered a Jarrod Fitzpatrick (Wakefield, MA/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) assist into the back of the net to give Utica the lead after 20 minutes.

That one goal lead ballooned to three goals in the second as Utica’s special teams helped create separation. Danta Zapata lit the lamp with a power play strike at 7:29 of the second period as he circled the front of the cage and dangled past goaltender Kyle Pantelone for his second goal in as many home games.

A shorthanded goal for the highlight reels was Utica’s next step. The Pioneers appeared to be jammed up by a pair of mid-second period penalties as John Moncovich (Wilmington, NC/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) was flagged for cross checking at 12:39. The team then found themselves on the short end of a nine second 5-on-3 on another penalty of the same sort as Landrigan also made a trip to the box for cross checking. Utica promptly killed off the first penalty as Gianluca Baggetta (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL)) made a key save on the ensuing faceoff. With Moncovich flying out of the box, defenseman Jacob Cuffley (Kanata, ON/Smiths Falls Bears (CCHL)) lifted the puck up the boards to connect a breakout pass in stride for Moncovich. Ott leapt his way out of the zone into the rush at the same time, and the junior transfer walloped a one-timer past Pantelone for a 3-0 lead that would last through 40 minutes of action.

Both teams scored twice each in the third. Holland and Landrigan scored for Utica, and Danny Cangelosi and Mario Tropea each scored for Neumann as the Pioneers stagnated a three goal cushion en route to a 5-2 win.

ALBANY, N.Y. – Sophomore Owen Savory made 26 saves and seniors Patrick Polino and Todd Burgess netted shootout goals to lead the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men’s hockey team to a victory over Union College, in the Eighth Annual Mayor’s Cup at the Times Union Center. Officially a 1-1 tie, the Engineers are now 10-12-2 overall, while the Dutchmen are 6-17-3.

Following empty trips on both ends in the first round of the shootout, Polino (Buffalo, NY/Lincoln Stars) picked up the top right corner of the net to give the Engineers a 1-0 advantage. A second straight save from Savory (Cambridge, ON/St. Catharines Falcons) set up Burgess (Phoenix, AZ/Fairbanks Ice Dogs) for a third round tally and a 2-0 lead.

A fourth stop from Union junior Darion Hanson (East Bethel, MN), meant the Dutchmen were still alive, but Union freshman Liam Robertson (Courtice, ON) hit the crossbar and the Engineers claimed the Mayor’s Cup for the first time since 2016.

RPI jumped out to a hot start in the first period and held a 10-4 lead at one point, before settling for a 14-9 edge as the buzzer sounded to the end the frame. A late power play chance gave the Dutchmen some life, but Savory was on top of his game, stopping five man-advantage shots in the period.

Union broke onto the board at 16:08 of the second, when junior defenseman Taylor Brierley (East Grand Forks, MN) broke up the right wing boards and lifted a shot off the mask of Savory, before swatting the rebound home out of the air. The tally was his first of the season and second of his career.

The Engineers answered on the power play, just 1:11 later, as freshman Zach Dubinsky (Highland Park, IL/Lincoln Stars) chipped a shot past Hanson from close range for his second goal of the season. Helpers went to senior captain Will Reilly (Toronto, ON/Nanaimo Clippers) and freshman Cory Babichuk (Edmonton, AB/Spruce Grove Saints).

RPI turned in the best chance of the final 25 minutes of regulation and overtime when Burgess received a cross-ice feed a minute into the extra session and ripped a shot that parried away the goalie stick of Hanson.

Savory (6-7-2) had 11 saves in the second period, while Hanson (6-17-3) turned away 14 in the first and 12 in the second, totaling 30 in the contest. RPI finished 1 for 4 on the power play, with Union going 0 for 2.

The Engineers are back in action next weekend, when they host Dartmouth on Friday (7pm) and Vermont on Saturday in the 43rd Annual Big Red Freakout! (7pm). Union welcomes Harvard and Dartmouth to Messa Rink next weekend.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Alex Wilkinson of the Army West Point hockey team was one of the 20 top NCAA® men’s ice hockey student-athletes, who excel both on and off the ice, and has been selected as a candidate for the 2019-20 Senior CLASS Award®.

“Alex Wilkinson has been an asset to our team since coming to West Point both on and off the ice,” said head coach Brian Riley. “It goes without saying that he is one of the best defensemen to come through our program. He has received league recognition for his play in each of his three seasons. Voted to the All-Rookie Team, Team MVP, First Team All-AHA and AHA Best Defensemen. Last season, although he missed a month due to injury, he still was the second in scoring on our team. Alex plays the game the right way and always has the utmost request for his opponents. In his three seasons, he’s only recorded nine penalties. He is well respected by his coaches and teammates and was voted a captain this season. As a leader, he shows his teammates every day how to do things the right way. He is a great example of what a true leader is and always helps the younger players. They look up to him as a player and a leader. He is a great representative of our program, but even more so of the U.S. Military Academy.”

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as a NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

The 20 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists in February, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2020 NCAA Men’s Frozen Final Four® in April.

Wilkinson majors in French and ranks in the top half of his class boasting a 3.094 GPA. He has been on Dean’s List all, but one semester. This past summer, Wilkinson served as a Platoon Leader for BEAST 1 in charge of 38 new Cadets for summer training.

The Raleigh, N.C., takes time each summer to volunteer for the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation which honors soldiers killed in action and setting up scholarships for their children. Wilkinson and the hockey team are always participating in highway cleanups around West Point and is always supporting young fans at the yearly Skate with the Black Knight events.