Utica University hockey: Utica University’s men’s hockey team left its season-opening trip to Adrian College without a loss, but only after a four-goal lead disappeared in Saturday’s finale.
The Pioneers and Bulldogs finished in a 4–4 tie after overtime on Oct. 31 at Arrington Ice Arena in Adrian, Michigan. Drake Morse then scored the only goal of a four-round shootout to give Utica a 1–0 shootout victory. That followed the Pioneers’ 3–2 overtime win Friday night.
This weekend showcased the excitement of Utica University hockey and its competitive spirit.
Saturday remains a tie in the official record, not a second win. Utica finished the weekend 1-0-1 overall, while Adrian stood at 0-1-1. The teams entered the series ranked No. 6 and No. 8, respectively, in the USCHO Division III preseason poll, as noted in Utica’s series preview.
Morse helps Utica build a four-goal lead
Morse opened Saturday’s scoring at 4:03 of the first period, with assists from Paul Minnehan and Andrew Della Rovere. Utica carried that 1–0 lead into the first intermission, then scored three times in the second.
Luke Chappelle made it 2–0 at 4:29 of the second period. Nicholas Rogers extended the lead at 7:07. Jakub Galnor assisted on both goals.
Morse added his second goal of the afternoon on the power play at 15:58, with Aydin Parekh and Evan Dantas earning assists. The Pioneers led 4–0 after 40 minutes.
Adrian changed goaltenders to start the third period, turning to Dylan Eliason after Jaiden Sharma allowed four goals and made 12 saves. Eliason did not allow a goal through the rest of regulation or overtime and finished with four saves.
Adrian’s third-period rally forces overtime
Joshua Wiebe began the comeback with a power-play goal at 3:18 of the third period, assisted by Carter Davis and Anton Sorensen. Lucas Busch cut the deficit to 4–2 at 8:59, with assists from Frank Tafelski and Ben Loreto.
The Bulldogs moved within one when Jacob Badal scored from Tafelski at 12:46. Adrian pulled Eliason for an extra attacker at 17:29, and the move paid off with 1:10 remaining.
Jack O’Hanisain scored the tying goal at 18:50, with assists from Badal and Tafelski. Tafelski had a hand in each of Adrian’s final three goals, finishing with three assists.
Utica still needed a major stop in overtime. Goaltender Michael Modelski denied Patrick Saini on a penalty shot at 2:04 of the extra period. O’Hanisain hit the pipe at 2:32, and Modelski stopped a Busch shot with five seconds left to help keep the game tied through overtime.
Neither team scored in the first three shootout rounds. Morse broke through in the fourth, and Saini’s final attempt against Modelski did not score. Modelski was credited with 43 saves in the official goalie statistics, separate from the shootout. None of Adrian’s four shootout attempts produced a goal.
Utica finished 1-for-2 on the power play, while Adrian went 1-for-5. The scoring sequence, overtime penalty shot and shootout are recorded in Adrian’s official final play-by-play.
Friday: Rogers finishes Utica’s comeback
The opener required Utica to come from behind twice before Rogers ended it at 3:38 of overtime on a goal assisted by Minnehan.
After a scoreless first period Friday, Saini put Adrian ahead 53 seconds into the second. Parekh answered at 5:33, with assists from Galnor and Aidan Hughes. Busch restored the Bulldogs’ lead with a power-play goal at 18:42.
Della Rovere tied the game just 38 seconds into the third period, assisted by Morse and Anthony Bax. Mitchell Day stopped all 12 shots he faced in that period, keeping the score 2–2 heading into overtime.
Utica received a power play after an Adrian tripping penalty at 1:28 of overtime. The Bulldogs killed it off, but Rogers scored 10 seconds after the penalty expired. His winner was not a power-play goal.
Day finished with 31 saves as Adrian outshot Utica 33–25. Sharma made 22 saves for the Bulldogs. Those results and scoring times appear in Utica’s official Friday box score.
Where Utica stands and what comes next
As of the end of Saturday’s game, Utica was 1-0-1 overall and 0-0-0 in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference. The Adrian series was nonconference, so it did not add UCHC standings points. The Pioneers’ conference opener is scheduled for Nov. 13 at home against SUNY Brockport.
First comes a home-and-home series with Hobart. According to Utica’s official schedule, the Pioneers host the Statesmen at 7 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, Nov. 5, at NBT Bank Arena at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. They then travel to The Cooler in Geneva for a 4 p.m. game Saturday, Nov. 7.
