WILKES-BARRE – The second-seeded Wilkes University men's ice hockey team is set to travel to face the top seed Utica University Pioneers Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. in Utica, N.Y.  The winner of the matchup will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament, while the loser will have to wait and see if they will make the tournament during the Selection Show on Monday at 10:00 a.m.
 
Live Stats
Live Video
Championship Central Page

Admission (Tickets can be purchased at the Auditorium box office (Colonels fans should note they are with Wilkes to be seated together)
Adults - $8
Senior Citizens – $4
Students - $4
Children  - $4
 
Preview:
The Colonels are ranked No. 8 in the USCHO Division III Men's Hockey poll and enters the finals with an 20-4-1 overall record. The Colonels have out-scored opponents 125-58 this season and boast six players with at least 20 points.
 
Donald Flynn (Randolph, NJ/) leads the team in scoring with 39 points on 10 goals and 29 assists, while Tyler Barrow (Massapequa, NY/Saint Anthony's) is right behind with 38 points on 13 goals and 25 assists.  Flynn leads the nation with 1.26 assists per game (apg) and is third with 1.70 points per game (ppg), while Barrow is sixth with 1.65 ppg.  Tyler Dill (South Lake Tahoe, CA/) has a team-high 15 goals, while Nick Fea (Oak Ridge, NJ/) and Phil Erickson (Eau Claire, WI/) have 14.  Senior Nico Pidro (Cannonsburg, PA/) and junior Michael Paterson-Jones (Baldwinsville, NY/) form a formidable pair in goal, helping the Colonels post a .907 save percentage as a team while holding opponents to just 2.3 goals per game.  Pidro leads the squad with a 1.71 goals against average, good for tenth in the country.  The Colonels average 5.0 goals per game on offense, good for a tie for third in the nation, and are fifth in the country with a .902 penalty kill percentage
 
Utica is ranked second in the latest USCHO poll, their only blemishes on their 24-2-1 record being losses against Adrian, ranked first, Geneseo, ranked third, and a tie against the Colonels.  Utica earned the shootout point in that tie and won the regular season series 1-0-1 over the Navy and Gold in a pair of games that saw Utica outscore the Colonels 4-3.  The Pioneers have three skaters with over 40 points, with Buster Larsson (45), Regen Cavanagh (43), and Dante Zapata (42) are all top 10 in the nation in ppg, with Larsson tied for fourth with 1.67, Cavanagh ninth with 1.60, and Zapata tied for tenth with 1.56.  Sean Dickson has been unmovable in goal for the Pioneers, leading the country with a 1.17 goals against average and ninth with a .935 save percentage.  Bryan Landsberger has been impressive as the backup goaltender, posting a .965 save percentage with a 5-0-1 record.  Utica plays lightning offense and ironclad defense, scoring 5.8 goals per game and holding opponents to 1.3 goals per game, good for tops in the nation in scoring offense, scoring defense, and scoring margin.