Utica, N.Y. (1/13/2011) – The nationally-ranked No. 11 Utica College men's hockey team travels to Massachusetts Saturday and Sunday for its last two non conference contests of the season. The Pioneers will take on Suffolk University (4-8) Saturday at 7 p.m., before traveling to Wentworth Institute of Technology (6-5-4) on Sunday for a contest that begins at 5:45 p.m.

The Pioneers have won three in a row and six out of their last seven headed into the weekend set. Utica, which is 2-2 on the road this season, is also 9-2 in non conference play. Following the weekend road trip to New England the Pioneers will open up a pivotal stretch of eight straight ECAC Men's West Conference games, beginning with a visit to Elmira on Jan. 21.

Utica is currently 11-4 overall and they have been a fixture in the top 15 of the national rankings for the last month. Through 15 games the Pioneers have doubled up their opponents in scoring by the count of 64-32 and they are currently tied for 11th in the nation averaging 4.27 goals per contest. UC is also in the top ten nationally in scoring defense, having allowed an average of 2.13 goals per game. The Pioneers' power-play unit has come up big all year, ranking fifth nationally, after scoring 24 goals in 82 man-up chances.

UC's success has certainly not gone unnoticed and the Pioneers are averaging 3,220 fans per home game at the 4,000 seat Utica Memorial Auditorium. This impressive stat not only leads Division II and III but ranks 24th in all of NCAA Hockey, including Division I. The Pioneers have a higher home attendance average than 34 Division I institutions including Notre Dame, Miami, Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Army, Niagara and Colgate, just to name a few.

Junior captain Tim Coffman (Elverson, PA/Laconia (AJHL)) currently leads the team with 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) and ranks seventh nationally with an average of 1.14 assists per game. He needs just six points to become the second player in the program's ten year history to score 100 or more points in a career. He ranks second on the College's all-time scoring list with 94 career points (42 goals, 52 assists) and needs 36 points to break the school's scoring record set by Pioneer Hall of Famer Jimmy Sokol in 2005.

                                                                        --- www.ucpioneers.com ---