UTICA, NY (Feb. 14, 2024) - - Senior forward Rae Hughes was the Monarchs' lone goal scorer in King's College women's ice hockey team's 1-10 setback to No. 14 and United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) opponent Utica University this evening at the Pioneers' home rink, Utica University Nexus Center. With the loss, the Monarchs are now 5-18-1 overall and 4-14-1 in the UCHC.

Utica hit the ground running from the moment the puck dropped at the start of the game as the Pioneers scored their first goal of the season in less than 2 minutes. They then scored two more in less than 5 minutes to give themselves a 3-0 lead over the Monarchs after 6:06 minutes of play. King's was able to hold off Utica until the 12 minute mark when the Pioneers scored their fourth goal of the evening and added a fifth less than one minute later. Utica led 5-0 over King's to end the first period. Despite the scoreboard, Hayley Packer played tough in goal and managed to tally 17 saves.

The Monarchs came out in the second period ready to take on the Pioneers. In a strong defensive showing, King's prevented Utica from scoring the entire second period while adding a goal of its own to the scoreboard. Hughes found the back of the net with just under two minutes left in the second with the assistance of Emma Besa and Brighton Wallin. Packer tallied one more save before Syd Dahl subbed in to make 11 saves in net in the second period. However, King's still trailed 5-1 going into the final 20 minutes of play.

Hungry for more, the Pioneers added two more goals to the scoreboard within the first six minutes of the third period. King's held off Utica for about four more minutes before the team scored again to give itself a 8-1 lead. The Pioneers found the back of the net once more at the 14 minutes mark and then again for the last time with just 39 seconds left in play. Utica ultimately defeated King's 10-1.

Dahl finished the game with 27 saves as Packer tallied 18 for a team total of 45 saves in goal. Ani Quindipan led the Monarchs with eight face offs wins followed closely by Maddie Vaughan with seven.

The Monarchs head back to Utica on Saturday for a rematch against the Pioneers at 2 pm for one last regular season game before the UCHC Tournament begins on Wednesday Feb. 21.