ASTON, Pa. - The Neumann University men's ice hockey team finished out its United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) regular season slate of games on Saturday evening with a loss at the hands of Utica College by a score of 6-0.
 
Cal Ambrose got the start in goal, stopping 23 shots in the loss. Evan Hoey led the team with five shots.
 
Aiming to pick up the top seed in the UCHC playoffs, Utica wasted no time jumping out to an early lead. The Pioneers scored 7:16 into the contest to take a 1-0 lead, then doubled their advantage on a power play late in the period to make it 2-0 heading to the second. The visitors held a 10-8 edge in shots in the frame.
 
The Pioneers stifling defense continued to thwart the Neumann attack in the second stanza, again keeping the Knights off the scoreboard. Utica also kept rolling offensively, finding two more markers in the frame. The visitors tallied at the 8:40 mark to make it 3-0 and for the second straight period, added a late power play goal to build their lead to four moving to the third.
 
The Knights looked to get back into the game early in the third with a power-play opportunity, but Utica extinguished any hope of a comeback with a shorthanded tally at 3:11 to make it 5-0. The Pioneers then capped off the scoring later in the period, adding a sixth tally to clinch the 6-0 win and the conference's top seed.
 
Neumann (1-5-2) will await results around the league before learning where the team will head for next week's playoffs. Check back later this weekend for more details on the Knights' opening round opponent and game time.