UTICA, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College men's hockey team had its four-game winning streak snapped by Utica College, ranked 10th in Division III by both USCHO.com and D3hockey.com, in a 7-1 loss in the Valiants' regular-season finale on Saturday night at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.
 
With the defeat, Manhattanville (12-8-5, 9-5-2 UCHC) falls into fourth place in the UCHC standings. As a result, the fourth-seeded Valiants will host fifth-seeded Elmira College in the first round of the UCHC Tournament on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Playland Ice Casino. Utica (19-5-1, 12-4-0 UCHC) clinches sole possession of first place in the UCHC with the victory.
 
Both teams had opportunities to score in the opening frame, but it was Utica that took advantage of two chances to take a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. Conor Landrigan opened the scoring at the 6:05 mark, and the next seven shots on goal all came from the Pioneers as well. Junior Tyler Feaver (Whitby, Ont./Whitby Fury (OJHL)) kept the Pioneers at bay again until the 14:54 mark, when Devin Warfield found the net to double the Pioneers' lead.
 
The middle stanza was all Utica, as the home team outshot Manhattanville 14-6 and scored four times to take control of the contest. Junior Matt Lippa (Richmond Hill, Ont./Oakville Blades (OJHL)) helped the Valiants avoid the shutout with his 16th goal of the year, coming with 1:43 left in the third period from senior Kevin Loppatto (Plano, Texas/Springfield Pics (USPHL)). The 16 goals rank third in the UCHC this year and are the most scored in a season by a Valiant since All-American Mickey Lang '11 as a senior in 2010-11.
 
Feaver allowed the first six Utica tallies and made 16 saves in 33:36 before giving way to senior Kyle Redmond (Toronto, Ont./Northfield Mount Hermon), who stopped the final two shots of the second period and then 10 of the 11 he faced in the third.
 
Utica finished the game outshooting Manhattanville by a 35-26 margin. Patrik Virtanen made 25 saves for the victory.
 
Check GoValiants.com early next week for a full UCHC Tournament preview, as the Valiants look to make a run in the inaugural event.