WILKES-BARRE – A remarkable performance by goaltender Michael Paterson-Jones (Baldwinsville, NY/) wasn't enough for the Wilkes men's ice hockey team as they dropped their UCHC contest to No. 4 Utica by a score of 5-0 on Saturday night at the Toyota SportsPlex.
 
The loss brought the Colonels - who received votes in the most recent USCHO.com poll - to 4-2-0 on the season and 2-1-0 in the UCHC. Utica climbed to 5-0-2 overall and 4-0-1 in conference play.
 
The Pioneers got off to a hot start in the first period, containing the majority of play to the Wilkes end of the ice. Paterson-Jones turned aside all 16 shots he faced before a tripping minor sent Utica to the man advantage.
 
While on the power play, Brian Scoville delivered the first goal of the night after picking up a cross-ice pass from Chris Carroll and sending a wrist shot to the back of the net. Carroll and Aiden Hughes were credited with assists on Scoville's goal at 14:07.
 
Through 20 minutes of play, Utica held onto a 1-0 lead. Despite the deficit, Paterson-Jones was relentless in the Colonel crease. The graduate student stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced in the first period.
 
The Pioneers quickly doubled their lead at 0:43 into the middle frame. After winning the faceoff, Gabriel Lundberg shoveled the puck to Vladislav Pshenichnikov who settled the dribbling puck and fired a laser past the Wilkes goaltender to make it a 2-0 contest.
 
The Colonel offense found their stride following the Pshenichnikov goal, sending three consecutive shots on goal before drawing a slashing penalty at 1:07. Although the power play unit couldn't capitalize, they sent seven shots towards goal, four of which were blocked by defenders.
 
Shortly after the end of the power play, Wilkes generated another offensive flurry in which they forced Utica goalie Ethan Roberts to make four more saves.
 
Following a long stretch of back-and-forth play, the Pioneers stole the puck in transition and quickly entered the Colonel zone. Pshenichnikov split the Wilkes defenseman and fired off a backhanded one-timer that found its way into the Wilkes goal. Michael Herrera picked up a helper on Pshenichnikov's second marker of the evening at 17:56.
 
After two periods of action, Utica held onto a 3-0 lead. Shots evened off in the second period as both teams registered 14 on net.
 
The Pioneers carried a power play into the third period and expanded their lead 38 seconds into the final frame. While cycling through the Colonel zone, Hughes threaded a pass to an open Jakob Breault, who made it 4-0 in favor of Utica. Hughes and Khristian Acosta were awarded assists on the play.
 
The Wilkes penalty kill was put to the test midway through the third as two Colonels were assessed minor penalties on the same play, sending Utica to a five-on-three man advantage. While down two players, Matt Carlson (Delmar, NY/) and Max Cocchi (Ludlow, MA/) both made important blocks to keep the puck from reaching Paterson-Jones. The Colonel goalie made two saves on the kill to keep the Utica power play unit from notching their third goal of the night.
 
Immediately following the return to five-on-five action, Michael Herrera added to the Pioneer lead. Pshenichnikov and Griffen Barr assisted on the 5-0 goal at 14:40.
 
Paterson-Jones was the story of the night for Wilkes, as the goaltender made a program-record 45 saves in net. Carlson led the team with four shots while Jimmy O'Kane (Chicago, IL/Notre Dame Prep), Joe Johnson (Midland, MI/) and Teague Porter (Anchorage, AK) followed with three apiece. Johnson also made four blocks for the Colonels.
 
Pshenichnikov recorded five shots, two goals and an assist through 60 minutes of action. The Utica offense saw Scoville and Shane Murphy send five shots on goal as well. Breault won 17 of 25 faceoffs and Roberts made 31 saves in the victory.
 
The Colonels return to the Toyota SportsPlex on Sunday afternoon for the second half of a two-game homestand against Utica. Puck drop is slated for 3:30 p.m.