Utica senior captain Gregg Burmaster. (Utica Athletics)
For the first time in program history, the Utica College men’s ice hockey team took a trip to Wisconsin. After Thanksgiving, the team played in the Stevens Point Holiday Tournament. Awaiting the team in the championship game was top-ranked University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
In the first meeting between the schools, Utica lost, 4-1, after a pair of late third period goals. It dropped the team to a 4-5 record.
Still, head coach Gary Heenan believed that game and that trip were turning points for a young Pioneers squad.