UTICA, N.Y. - The Neumann University men's ice hockey team dropped its second game of the weekend on Saturday night, falling by a score of 9-1 to United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) rival Utica College.
 
Ryan Swain scored Neumann's lone goal for his team-leading 8th goal of the season. Anthony Pupplo and Matt Gibney combined for 32 saves in the loss.
 
Utica grabbed control of the game from the opening whistle, outshooting the Knights 14-2 in the first period. The Pioneers jumped out in front 1-0 just 1:25 into the game, but solid goaltending from Pupplo kept Utica off the board the remainder of the period.
 
The Pioneers continued to press forward in the second, scoring four more times in the period to take a stranglehold on the game. Swain got the Knights on the board late in the period, but Neumann trailed 5-1 heading to the third.
 
The Knights tried to get back into the game in the third period, but a pair of early power play goals from the Pioneers sealed the game for Utica. The hosts would tack on two more goals late and skate away with a 9-1 win. Shots for the contest finished 41-18 in favor of Utica.
 
Neumann (4-5-1, 4-3-1 UCHC) heads to the holiday break before heading to the Middlebury Invitational on December 30th. The Knights will get back to UCHC action in mid-January when they take on Chatham University on January 19th.