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PIONEERS BATTLE BUT FALL TO NEUMANN 3-1 IN PLAYOFF OPENER
02/24/10
UTICA COLLEGE SPORTS UPDATE
GIL BURGMASTER
 The Neumann University men’s ice hockey team defeated Utica College, 3-1, Wednesday evening in the first round of the ECAC West playoffs.No. 4 Neumann will travel to No. 1 seeded Elmira on Saturday for a semifinal contest on Saturday. Brent Tamane scored two goals and added an assist for the Knights.
Sean Crozier also scored for Neumann.
Jonathan La Rose made 25 saves in net.Neumann put up two goals in the first period.
Crozier scored first, at the 8:59 mark. Tamane then scored a power play goal and the eventual game-winner three minutes later.
Tamane put the Knights up 3-0, 11:20 into the third period. Utica scored its only goal at the 15:03 mark.
Neumann improves to 15-8-3 and will travel to Elmira on Saturday for a semifinal match-up.
The Utica College men’s hockey team is set to travel to Neumann University for a play-in game of the ECAC Men’s West Conference Tournament on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The Pioneers earned the No. 5 seed and will take on the No. 4 seeded Knights for a chance to move onto the semi-final round of the conference tournament.
The winner of Wednesday night’s match up will take on regular season conference champion and top-seeded Elmira College Saturday at 7 p.m. at Elmira.
The Pioneers closed out the regular season with an 8-13-4 overall record including a 4-9-2 mark in conference play. In three games against the Knights this season the Pioneers went 1-1-1.
UC tied Neumann 4-4 in the regular season opener at the Utica Memorial Auditorium on Oct. 30th. The following weekend the Pioneers defeated the Knights, who are the defending national champions, 7-3. Utica is now 10-10-3 in 23 meetings all-time against Neumann.
UC is guided into the conference tournament by sophomore standout Tim Coffman (Elverson, Pa.) who ranks fourth in the conference with 33 points on 18 goals and 15 assists this season.
The Knights head into the conference tournament having won five of its last six games - including a sweep of top-seeded Elmira on Feb. 12th and 13th. Neumann finished the regular season with a 14-8-3 overall record, including a 7-5-3 conference ledger.
The Knights have not lost a game since a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Hobart on Jan. 23rd. Their current hot streak has catapulted them into the receiving votes category of the USCHO.com National Poll.
 Neumann is led by senior forward Matt Ward who has 27 points this season on 10 goals and 17 assists. Sophomore goalies Ross MacKinnon and Matt Tendler have allowed one goal or less in four of their last eight starts.
The Pioneers led the nation in home attendance for the fourth consecutive season after averaging 2,791 fans in 15 regular season home dates. The Pioneers home attendance figures were higher than 30 division I programs and they ranked 29th in the entire nation at any level of NCAA ice hockey (Div. I/II/III) in home attendance.
The Hobart College hockey team tied Utica 3-3 in an overtime ECAC West contest tonight at The Cooler. The Statesmen end the regular season with a 13-9-3 overall mark and a 9-4-2 league record, while the Pioneers move to 8-13-4 overall and 4-9-2 in the ECAC West.
Utica scored two unanswered goals in the first period to take the lead into the first intermission. Kyle Zobler recorded the Pioneers’ first score with a wrap around goal just one minute, 45 seconds into the contest, thanks to a quick pass from Robert Etts. In the final minute, Utica capitalized on a 5-on-3 power-play opportunity. Russell Anderson took the initial shot, and Max White deflected it into the net after a scramble in front.
The Statesmen bounced back in the second period, putting two points on the board to even the game. On a power play in the fourth minute, junior Patrick Moriarty sent a pass across the zone to classmate Matthew Wallace, who hit the one-timer. Senior Jordan Zitoun also recorded an assist. Wallace’s goal marked his team-leading 15th of the year.
In the eighth minute, Moriarty and sophomore Gregory Ciciola broke free for a 2-on-1 chance. Moriarty fed Ciciola for his seventh tally of the season to tie the game at 2-all. Wallace also picked up an assist on the play.
Hobart first-year Cam Miller notched his first collegiate goal 4:33 into the third period, giving the Statesmen a 3-2 lead. Seniors Bobby Cahill and Nick DeCroo both touched the puck on a scrum in front of the Pioneers’ net, before Miller tipped it in.
Utica’s Evan Chlanda netted the game-tying goal in the 11th minute, during a 4-on-3 power play. He connected on a shot from the point following a pass from Jeff Pappalardi.
Neither team would score for the remainder of the third period, or in overtime. The Statesmen held a 44-35 edge in shots, including a 16-11 advantage in the third stanza. Hobart was 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Pioneers were 2-for-7.
First-year Nick Broadwater registered 32 saves in net for the Statesmen, while Pat Dunn stopped 41 shots in his first start for Utica.
Hobart finished third in the ECAC West standings, and will travel to No. 2 Manhattanville for an ECAC West Tournament semifinal game on Feb. 27.
After a Vincent Nucci goal knotted the score at 3-3 with less than eight minutes to go in the contest it seemed as if the Utica College men's hockey team had the momentum necessary to fend off the nationally-ranked No. 14 Manhattanville Valiants. Unfortunately for the Pioneers, the Valiants netted three goals in the final six minutes en route to a 6-3 victory in conference play in front of 3,656 fans at the Aud on Friday night.
Sophomore Tim Coffman netted two goals to pace the Pioneers.
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Manhattanville improved to 13-4 overall and stands strong in second place in the conference standings behind Elmira, while the Pioneers have now lost two straight and dropped to 6-8-3 overall.
After a scoreless first period, the Aud erupted when Coffman netted the first goal of the contest 6:41 into the second period of play. Freshman Eric Peterson and senior Matt Fitzgibbons assisted on the power play goal which gave UC a 1-0 lead.
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(Pioneers netminder Anthony Luckow (30) makes a sliding save late in the game.)
Just over nine minutes later Manhattaville silenced the home crowd by netting two goals in a span of 1:07 to take a 2-1 lead before the second period intermission.
Scott Hudson, who ranks second on the team in scoring, netted his seventh goal of the season to tie the score at 1-1.
Manhattanville's Mickey Lang (14) puts a lick on Utica College's Dave Burkholder (21) during the 3rd period. Mickey Lang, the conference’s leading scorer, added his team-best 18th goal of the season on a breakaway down the right side to give the Valiant’s a one goal advantage at the 16:57 mark of the second. The third period featured six goals. The first goal of the period gave Manhattanville a commanding 3-1 lead when AJ Mikkelsen netted his sixth tally of the season just 59 seconds into the third period of play. 
( UC celebrates after breaking the ice with Tim Coffman tally.)
In the face of adversity the Pioneers answered with two consecutive goals in less than three minutes to tie the score back up at 3-3. Coffman scored his second goal of the evening at 9:54 before Nucci added the game-tying goal at 12:24.
Matt Fitzgibbons and Matt Jiminez assisted on Coffman’s goal, while junior Sean Timkey added a helper on Nucci’s goal.
1:43 later Arlen Marshall added the eventual game-winner for the Vailiants off assists from Dillon Henningson and Lem Randall. Dillon O’Hara and Matt Piegza added insurance goals in the final five minutes to seal the victory for Manhattanville.
(UC Head Coach Gary Heenan talks to the troops after the Pioneers knotted the score at 3-3.)
Pierre-Olivier Lemieux improved his record to 9-1 on the year with 21 saves, while senior goalie Anthony Luckow stopped 33 shots in net for the Pioneers.
Utica returns to the ice next Friday night when the Pioneers travel to conference foe Elmira College for the first of a two-game weekend set. The contest on Friday night is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Manhattanville will stay in the Mohawk Valley this weekend as they travel to Morrisville for a non conference contest on Sunday at 2 p.m.
( Future Pioneer enjoys the action at the Aud.) 
MANHATTANVILLE 6 UTICA COLLEGE 3
1 2 3 Total
Manhattanville 0 2 4 6
Utica College 0 1 2 3
Boxscore
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