| Utica Pioneers | |
 | |
| Institution: | Utica College |
|---|---|
| Location: | Utica, New York |
| School founded: | 1946 |
| Enrollment: | 4,400 |
| Colors: | Navy and Orange |
| Home Arena: | Adirondack Bank Center at Utica Memorial Auditorium |
| Capacity: | 3,860 |
| Men's Team | |
| Conference: | United Collegiate Hockey Conference |
| Coach: | Gary Heenan |
| Conf. Championships: | 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 |
The Utica Pioneers are the name of the athletics teams of Utica College in Utica, New York. They play in the ECAC West, which is a NCAA Division III conference.
Both the men's and women's programs were started for the 2001-02 season and joined the ECAC West for that inaugural season, The teams have been based out of the Utica Memorial Auditorium since their founding. The arena is located about five miles off campus. The team joined the United Collegiate Hockey Conference when it was formed for the 2017-18 season.
Men's program[]
The team has won the ECAC West regular season title in 2004-05, 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2016-17. It won the UCHC regular season title in 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20.
The team won the UCHC conference's post season tournament in 2018 and 2020
The team qualified for the 2013 NCAA Tournament reaching the frozen four.
The school hosted the 2017 NCAA Division III Men's hockey championship at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.
The school has lead NCAA Division III Men's hockey in attendance every season since 2006-07 to present (upto and including the 2019-20 season).
Conferences[]
- ECAC West (2001-2017)
- United Collegiate Hockey Conference (2017-present)
Arenas[]
- Utica Memorial Auditorium (2001-present)
Head Coaches[]
- Gary Heenan (2001-present) 290-169-47 as of end of 2019-20 season
Team Year by Year[]
| Season | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | Finish | Conference Tournament | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECAC West | Overall Record | ||||||||||||||
| 2001-02 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 30 | 45 | 5 | 5th | Did not qualify | 25 | 10 | 12 | 3 | 80 | 93 |
| 2002-03 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 37 | 35 | 9 | 5th | Did not qualify | 25 | 11 | 13 | 1 | 84 | 96 |
| 2003-04 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 37 | 35 | 9 | 4th | L, SF 4-2 (Hobart) | 26 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 120 | 85 |
| 2004-05 | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 54 | 34 | 20 | 1st | W, SF 4-3 (2ot) (Elmira) L, F 3-1 (Manhattanville) | 27 | 16 | 5 | 6 | 99 | 74 |
| 2005-06 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 38 | 32 | 16 | 4th | W, SF 5-3 (Manhattanville), L, F 3-2 (Elmira) | 27 | 13 | 11 | 3 | 73 | 66 |
| 2006-07 | 15 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 52 | 39 | 17 | 3rd | L, SF 2-1 (Neumann) | 25 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 87 | 61 |
| 2007-08 | 15 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 61 | 39 | 17 | 3rd | L, SF 6-2 (Manhattanville) | 26 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 97 | 67 |
| 2008-09 | 15 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 54 | 56 | 11 | 5th | L, QF 4-3 (Neumann) | 26 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 101 | 82 |
| 2009-10 | 15 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 47 | 72 | 10 | 5th | L, QF 3-1 (Neumann) | 26 | 8 | 14 | 4 | 90 | 105 |
| 2010-11 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 32 | 36 | 13 | 3rd | L, SF 5-2 (Neumann) | 26 | 17 | 8 | 1 | 96 | 59 |
| 2011-12 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 37 | 41 | 10 | 4th | L, QF 4-3 (ot) (Neumann) | 26 | 15 | 9 | 2 | 109 | 74 |
| 2012-13 | 15 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 69 | 37 | 23 | 2nd | L, SF 2-1 (ot) (Manhattanville) | 28 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 122 | 64 |
| 2013-14 | 15 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 51 | 37 | 21 | 1st | W, SF 1-0 (Manhattanville), L, F 5-2 (Elmira) | 27 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 91 | 65 |
| 2014-15 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 35 | 49 | 11 | 5th | L, QF 5-2 (Elmira) | 26 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 74 | 73 |
| 2015-16 | 15 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 42 | 44 | 15 | 3rd | W, QF 5-3 (Elmira), W, SF 4-3 (ot) (Manhattanville) L, F 5-0 (Hobart) | 28 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 77 | 71 |
| 2016-17 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 57 | 28 | 27 | 1st | W, SF 4-3 (Neumann) L, F 2-1 (ot) (Hobart) | 27 | 18 | 9 | 0 | 101 | 75 |
| United Collegiate Hockey Conference | Overall Record | ||||||||||||||
| 2017-18 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 79 | 34 | 24 | 1st | W, SF 5-2 (Neumann) W, F 8-3 (Elmira) | 27 | 21 | 5 | 1 | 133 | 55 |
| 2018-19 | 18 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 85 | 29 | 44 | 1st | W, SF 4Pts-0 (Nazareth) L, F 2G-1 (Manhattanville) | 29 | 20 | 7 | 2 | 119 | 55 |
| 2019-20 | 18 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 100 | 33 | 46 | 1st | W, SF 4Pts-0 (Nazareth W, F 2G-0 (Wilkes) | 29 | 25 | 2 | 2 | 147 | 57 |
| 2020-21 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 16 | .875 | 1st | W, QF 9-0 (Manhattanville) L, SF 2-1 (3ot) (Elmira) | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 59 | 18 |
| 2021-22 | 18 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 120 | 21 | 53 | 1st | W, 11-1 (Lebanon Valley) W, 4-0 (Manhattanville) W, F 7-4 (Wilkes) | 29 | 25 | 3 | 1 | 164 | 40 |
| 2022-23 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 123 | 30 | 58 | 1st | W, QF 5-2 (Arcadia) W, 11-0 (Manhattanville) W, 5-3 (Nazareth) | 29 | 25 | 3 | 1 | 165 | 57 |
| 2023-24 | 20 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 114 | 28 | 58 | 1st | W, QF 3-0 (Nazareth) W, 4-0 (Alvernia) W, F 3-2 (Stenvenson) | 28 | 23 | 2 | 3 | 132 | 41 |
NCAA Tournament Appearances[]
| Season | First Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship | Third Place | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCAA Division III | |||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Bye | W, 4-2 (Bowdoin) | L, 5-1 (WI-Eau Claire) | N/A | |||||||||||
| 2020 | Tournament cancelled prior first round by NCAA due to COVID-19 pandemic | ||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Bye | L, 2-0 (U. New England) | -- | -- | -- | ||||||||||
| 2023 | Bye | L, 5-4 (ot) (U. New England) | -- | -- | -- | ||||||||||
| 2024 | W, 4-1 (Plymouth St) | L, 3-1 (Hobart) | -- | -- | |||||||||||