HERSHEY, Pa. – Utica scored seven unanswered goals over the first two periods and the Pioneers defeated Lebanon Valley 9-1 in ECAC West ice hockey action Friday evening at the Hersheypark Arena.
Matt Fitzgibbons led Utica (11-7-3, 5-4-3 ECAC West) with two goals and one assist while Kevin Krogol and TJ Schneider scored two goals apiece. Colin Kingston added three assists for the Pioneers, who out-shot the Dutchmen 36-17.
Senior Alex Beatrice scored the only goal of the game for Lebanon Valley (2-21-1, 0-13-1), drilling home a power-play shot from the left circle early in the third period to make it a 7-1 game. With his goal, the 49th of his career, Beatrice moved into a tie with Scott Schilling ’03 for fifth on LVC’s all-time list.
Freshman goalie Aaron Miller started for the Dutchmen and made 17 saves over the first two periods before giving way to sophomore Kelly Curl, who stopped 10 shots while yielding a pair of goals over the final 20 minutes.
Adam Dekker collected 12 saves in 48:42 of action for Utica while Jon Starr saved four shots over the final 11:18 of the second period.
Utica converted 3 of 10 power plays while the Dutchmen were 1-for-10 with a man advantage.
The two teams meet again on Saturday at 3 p.m. back at the Hersheypark Arena in Lebanon Valley’s season finale and Senior Day.
Utica 3 4 2 - 9
Lebanon Valley 0 0 1 - 1
FIRST PERIOD
U – Josh Merson (Colin Kingston, Matt Fitzgibbons), 1:49
U – Kevin Krogol (Dave Werner, Jared Allison), ppg, 13:47
U – Brandon Laidlaw (Tony Wiseman, Bryce Dale), ppg, 16:07
SECOND PERIOD
U – TJ Schneider (Scott Phelps, Mike Lane), 6:43
U – Kevin Krogol (Colin Kingston, Bryce Dale), 7:22
U – Matt Fitzgibbons (Joe Watson, Brandon Laidlaw), 8:42
U – Matt Fitzgibbons (Vincent Nucci), ppg, 16:14
THIRD PERIOD
LV – Alex Beatrice (Bert Malloy, Matt Rowe), ppg, 4:45
U – Jared Allison (Jeff Pappalardi, Tony Wiseman), shg, 10:55
U – TJ Schneider (Colin Kingston), shg, 12:38
Shots: Utica 36. Lebanon Valley 17.
Saves: Utica (Adam Dekker [48:42] 12, Jon Starr [11:18] 4) 16. Lebanon Valley (Aaron Miller [40:00] 17, Kelly Curl [20:00] 10.
Penalties: Utica 11 for 22. Lebanon Valley 10 for 20.
Power Plays: Utica 3 for 9. Lebanon Valley 1 for 10.
Team Records: Utica 11-7-3, 5-4-3 ECAC West. Lebanon Valley 2-21-1, 0-13-1 ECAC West.
-lvc-
