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The nationally-ranked No. 13 Utica College men's hockey team is set to host No. 2 Oswego State Saturday night in a non-conference contest between the two national powers. Utica Mayor David R. Roefaro will drop the ceremonial first puck and the contest is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Utica is 3-10 all-time against Oswego. Four of the last six contests between these two programs have been decided by one goal. The last time UC beat Oswego was at the Aud when the Pioneers handed the Lakers a 5-2 loss on Jan. 23, 2007.
UC LAST WEEKEND: UC (1-0) is coming off a season-opening victory over Brockport State where the Pioneers battled from a 2-0 deficit to earn a 5-3 victory. Sophomore
Adam Graff (Bear, DE/Syracuse Stars (EJHL)) led the way for the Pioneers' with a game-high two goals and one assist. Senior captain
Tim Coffman (Elverson, PA/Laconia (AJHL)) posted four assists, while sophomore
Trever Hertz (Jaffray, British Columbia/Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL)) added one goal and one assist. Sophomore goalie
Evan Smith (Penticton, British Columbia/Calgary Royals (AJHL)) stopped seven shots in each period, tallying 21 total, to help UC kick off the season with a victory. Classmate
Nick Therrien (Rochester, NH/NY Apple Core (EJHL)) played all 60 minutes between the pipes in the Pioneers' season-opening exhibition, leading UC to a convincing 7-1 victory.
COFFMAN ON THE VERGE OF CATCHING SOKOL: Senior captain
Tim Coffman (Elverson, PA/Laconia (AJHL)) has 110 career points and he needs 20 more points this season to break the previous career scoring record set by All-American Jimmy Sokol '05. Coffman needs nine assists to break the school's all-time assist mark set by Sokol.
TWO HEADED MONSTER: UC features a unique two goalie system with
Evan Smith (Penticton, British Columbia/Calgary Royals (AJHL)) and
Nick Therrien (Rochester, NH/NY Apple Core (EJHL)) each splitting time in net. Both goalies combined for a 2.26 goals against average last season, helping the Pioneers to a school-record 17 victories.
TOP PICK IN THE ECAC WEST: Utica was selected to finish first in the ECAC West Preseason Coaches' Poll released last week. The voting finished with a three-way tie for first place as Utica, Neumann, and Elmira all received 20 votes. UC and Neumann each received two first places votes, while Elmira picked up one. Rounding out the top five in the conference were Manhattanville, which received eight votes, and Hobart (seven). Elmira is currently ranked sixth nationally, while Neumann is 11th in the most recent poll.
SIZING UP OSWEGO: Oswego State swept a home and away series against nationally-ranked No. 6 Elmira last weekend to open its 2011-12 campaign. Scoring was certainly not a problem for the Lakers as they tacked on 13 goals in just two games. 16 different players scored at least one point last weekend. The Lakers were led by junior forward Jon Whitelaw who tallied a team-high four points (one goal, three assists). Three others tallied three points over the course of the weekend, including Luke Moodie and Tyler Leimbrock, who scored two goals a piece. Junior goalie Andrew Hare won bath games for the Lakers, posting 51 saves and a 1.80 goals against average.
