UTICA, NY (Feb. 23, 2009)– The Utica College men's hockey team earned the No. 5 seed in the ECAC Men's West Conference Tournament and will travel to Ashton, PA Wednesday to take on No. 4 seed and host Neumann College in first round action. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7 p.m. and live stats for the contest will be available at: http://livestats.internetconsult.com/neumann/mhockey/.

The Pioneers (11-11-3, 5-9-1 ECAC West) closed out the regular season with a tie and a win against nationally-ranked No. 5 Elmira College Friday and Saturday. UC led 4-1 against the Soaring Eagles on Friday night in front of 3,080 fans at the Utica Memorial Auditorium, but the Pioneers allowed three unanswered goals in the final two periods and skated to a 4-4 tie. UC came back Saturday and knocked off Elmira on the road, 4-3, to end its regular season schedule on a high note.

The Pioneers are led by freshman forward Tim Coffman, who ranked 22nd nationally averaging 1.48 points per game. He led the conference with 37 points (17 goals, 20 assists) in 25 games. Coffman needs one goal to tie the College's all-time record for goals in a single season. Junior forward Aaron Jeffery finished the season strong with two goals in the Pioneers' 4-4 tie Friday night. He currently ranks second on the team with 19 total points (eight goals, 11 assists).

UC has used a two-goalie system all season with sophomore Justin Bolla and junior Anthony Luckow both playing in 14 games. Bolla holds a 2.86 goals against average to go along with a team-best .906 save percentage. Bolla also boasts four conference victories, compared to Luckow's 1-4-1 record in net against ECAC Men's West opponents.

For the third straight season Utica led the nation in home attendance, averaging 2,880 fans in 17 home dates. The Pioneers once again set the NCAA Division II/II record for home attendance in a single season.

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