It was a long time coming but the Utica Pioneers celebrated their UCHC championship win with over 3000 excited fans that filled the Utica Memorial Auditorium for the first time in a very long time. In a season where the program has matched or set a new standard with statistics like wins, there is just one task left on this year’s to-do list – win a national championship.
“We have a great opportunity to do something we haven’t done,” said head coach Gary Heenan. “The guys in the room know how special this opportunity is having seen it taken away in 2020 due to the pandemic. We get a chance to rest a little and take a couple of days off before we get back to it and focus on playing either University of New England or Plymouth State at home in front of our very passionate fan base.”
Utica earned the No. 2 seed after finishing the season at 25-2-1 and winning the UCHC championship with a 7-4 win over Wilkes last Saturday night. The Pioneers broke open the game with five unanswered goals to open the first 36:47 of play and cruised to the win over a very talented Colonels team.
“I think we went 2 for 4 on the power play and they went 2 for 4 on the power play,” noted Heenan. “Brian Scoville’s shorthanded goal for us was game-changing against Wilkes but we know we are going to need to be better in the tournament with special teams, our penalty kill and staying out of the box. We have some time to tweak some things in those areas and make sure we are ready to go for whomever we play next Saturday.”
With a roster that includes seven seniors and three graduate students, Utica boasts an experienced group that can play any style of game an opponent wants to bring to the ice. They have four players with more than 40 points on the season and another four with 30 plus points showcasing a balanced scoring group led by Regen Cavanaugh (20-26-46; +33), Buster Larsson (16-30-46; +28) and Dante Zapata (16-27-43; +20) among the forwards, and defenseman Justin Allen (8-32-40; +35) who can generate offense in transition quickly for the Pioneers.
Senior goaltender Sean Dickson (1.38 GAA; .936 SP) has won 16 of his 17 starts this season and established a new shutout record at Utica with his five blank sheets this season.
I think the coaching staff might take a road trip to scout the first round game in Maine this weekend,” noted Heenan. “You always see little nuances in live action when you are in the building versus seeing the game on film. Who knows, maybe we’ll grab a lobster roll and a cold beverage before the ride back and getting ready for the game next Saturday. It will be great to play in front of our fans one last time this season and hopefully they can cheer us on to the Frozen Four.”
