UTICA, NY – Although the Utica College men’s ice hockey team was not afforded a first round bye by this year’s conference tournament format, the top-seeded Pioneers left little to no doubt that they would take care of business on Wednesday. After a scoreless first period, No. 1 Utica got an electrifying power play performance and flawless goaltending. That combination allowed UC to erupt for nine goals in the second and third periods combined as they routed No. 8 Manhattanville by a 9-0 score in a United Collegiate Hockey Conference quarterfinal at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.
Utica wins an eighth game in a row to improve to 8-1, and has won 28 of its last 29 games. They will play an opponent to be determined in the semifinals of the single elimination tournament. The opponent will be the lowest remaining seed, which means it will be either sixth-seeded Neumann, or fourth-seeded Elmira, pending the outcome of Thursday’s quarterfinal between third-seeded Stevenson and Neumann.
Manhattanville finishes the season at 0-4.
Highlighting the night was a 12 save shutout by junior goaltender Sean Dickson (Millbrae, CA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL-Premier)). The shutout was the fourth of the season in six starts for the third year Pioneer. Four shutouts is a new school single season record, as he broke the previous record of three held by Adam Dekker and Gianluca Baggetta (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL)). He has an active shutout streak of 195:38.
The Pioneers devastated the visitors on the power play with a 4-of-7 conversion rate on the man advantage. They outshot the Valiants 49-12.
The Pioneers employed a balanced attack in the rout, as fifteen skaters had at least one point. Senior forward Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) continued his scorching pace with four points on two goals and two assists. He now has a point in 25 consecutive games. Brandon Osmundson(Chesapeake, VA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) had three assists. Meanwhile, John Moncovich(Wilmington, NC/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) scored twice, and Dylan McMahon (Kanata, Ontario/Kanata (CCHL)) had the first multi goal and multi point game of his career with a pair of scores. Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)), Jayson Dobay (Weymouth, MA/Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)), and Buster Larsson (Bunkeflostrand, Sweden/Syracuse Stars (NCDC)) had the remaining goals. Blake Holmes (Apple Valley, MN/Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)), Justin Allen (Rochester, NY/Rochester Monarchs (USPHL-NCDC)), and Jamie Bucell (Garfield Heights, OH/Philadelphia (EHL)) had two assists apiece.
The Pioneers dictated the terms from the opening draw, but came up empty handed in the first period. Utica ran up a 17-2 first period shot count while Manhattanville netminder Alexei Masanko took care of everything thrown his way, and the visitors blocked a gaggle of shots to escape the first 20 minutes unscathed.
That changed quickly in the second period when Dylan McMahon (Kanata, Ontario/Kanata (CCHL)) opened the floodgates at 5:28 when he potted the puck off a pass from the point from Blake Holmes (Apple Valley, MN/Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)). Jayson Dobay (Weymouth, MA/Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)) struck with a highlight reel goal of his own at 13:17. The rookie defenseman slid by a defender at the point with a seismic fake, then buried a shot into the top of the net for a 2-0 lead. Buster Larsson (Bunkeflostrand, Sweden/Syracuse Stars (NCDC)) increased the lead to 3-0, and John Moncovich (Wilmington, NC/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL)) scored twice in a 2:12 span before the end of the period for a 5-0 advantage.
The third period saw the score get even more lopsided, with Utica running up another four goals. Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)) and Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) each tallied a power play goal, while McMahon and Landrigan had the even strength goals to polish off the win.
