SALLES, CALLAHAN LEAD UTICA TO VICTORY OVER HARRISBURG

Harrisburg, PA. – Utica City rode multi-point efforts from five different players to a 7-5 win over the Harrisburg Heat Sunday evening at the PA Farm Show Arena. Mauricio Salles and Liam Callahan led the way with a pair of goals each, while Darren Toby, Lucio Gonzaga, and Nate Bourdeau also chipped in a goal apiece. Andrew Coughlin made five saves on 10 shots.

Callahan got the scoring started seven minutes into the game, deflecting a shot from Jake Schindler past Heat goalkeeper William Banahene. Salles added a power play goal two minutes later to double Utica’s lead.

Matt Braem got Harrisburg on the board 1:53 into the second quarter on a breakaway. Salles responded a minute later with a gorgeous left-footed strike for his second of the game. Ricardo Carvalho scored as time expired in the second quarter to make it 3-2 Utica heading into halftime.

Carvalho struck again 16 seconds into the third quarter to tie the game at three. Tavoy Morgan gave Harrisburg their first lead of the game five minutes later. Callahan tied things up at four at the 6:41 mark, converting on a brilliant bounce pass from Freddy Moojen. Toby buried a rebound off a Lucio Gonzaga shot on the power play to put Utica back on top with 7:10 to go in the third quarter.

Utica’s defense was masterful in the fourth quarter to stifle Harrisburg’s final push. Gonzaga and Bourdeau put the game out of reach with a pair of empty net goals in the final minute. Dylan Hundelt got one back for the Heat, but Utica held on in the final 18 seconds to come away with the win.

Utica returns home to the Adirondack Bank Center for a two-game series to close out the home portion of the regular season. Tickets for March 30 and March 31 are available at www.empirestatetix.com.

Scoring Summary