It was business as usual for both the men’s and women’s hockey teams in the first round of the UCHC playoffs. 

The No. 2 seeded women bested the seventh-seeded Alvernia University 4-0, while the No. 1 seeded men dominated eighth-seeded Lebanon Valley College 11-1, scoring all 11 goals in the first two periods, while also converting on 5-of-7 power plays. 

Women’s Ice Hockey

With not much action in the first period, the women were able to put up 20 shots on goal, but had no answer. It was only until 30 seconds into the second period when senior Georgie Santullo scored her 28th goal of the season and 54th point. With that goal Santullo tied former All-American and Pioneer Hall of Famer Deana Weigand for the most points in a single-season at Utica. Junior Erica Sloan also scored her 52nd point of the season, which puts her third all-time in Utica single-season history.

Sophomore goaltender Angela Hawthorne wasn’t too busy in the cage, only having to stop 11 shots, while notching her sixth shutout of the season. Hawthorne said the trust and dedication to play for each other has been huge for the team’s success. 

“In the D zone, players are blocking shots, clearing out people in front of the net and standing up for each other when the other team is getting physical,” Hawthorne said. “We have dialogue with each other constantly, so we are on the same page and most importantly, we trust each other.” 

The three other Pioneers who scored were Rebecca Brown, Maggie Rylott and Carly Stefanini. 

Playing for each other is a big theme for the Pioneers’ women’s ice hockey team. There are a handful of veterans on the team that are looking to keep the momentum moving forward into the second round. Graduate Student Rebecca Brown said the mentality of the team is that they are going to work hard and do the little things to put them in a good position to win. 

“We have had success because we are playing for each other,” Brown said. “It is an absolute honor to play with every single person on the team and I am just happy I get to play the sport I love with the people I love.” 

The women’s next game will be Saturday, Feb. 26 against Manhattanville in Utica. The Pioneers split the two matchups against the Valiants this season.

Men’s Ice Hockey 

One takeaway from the dominant win against Lebanon Valley was that the Pioneers can score points very quickly. Utica had nine different goal scorers for their 11 goals. The goals were scored by Cameron Patton (2), Dante Zapata (2), Jayson Dobay (1), Brett Everson (1), Eric Holland (1), Remy Parker (1), Regen Cavanagh (1), Jamie Bucell (1) and John Moncovich (1). 

Senior defenseman Justin Allen achieved a long awaited milestone, passing All-Americans Daniel Fritz and Dalton Carter for the most points in a career by a defenseman at Utica. 

Utica was able to capitalize on 5-of-7 power plays in this game. Not only did the Pioneers’ special teams success contribute to the team’s victory, the team outshot Lebanon Valley 56-17, which put them in front by a large margin to get the win. 

Goaltenders Sean Dickson and Louis-Felix St. Jean combined to make 16 saves in the victory. Dickson improved to 14-1 on the season. 

After an early exit in the UCHC tournament last season to Elmira College, in what was the 4th longest game in NCAA Division III hockey history, the Pioneers are anxious to get back on the ice for their next matchup in the second round of playoffs on Saturday, Feb. 26. Against Manhattanville. 

Both the men’s and women’s ice hockey teams had their winningest seasons in program history and will look to continue their success this weekend.