Utica, N.Y.- The Utica College women's ice hockey team (12-10, 8-8 ECAC West), coming off a much needed sweep of Chatham University, will hit the road this week starting with two-time defending NCAA Division III Champion Amherst College on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Pioneers will remain on the road Saturday (7 p.m.) and Sunday (3 p.m.) when they travel to second place SUNY Plattsburgh for a conference double header to close out the regular season.
The Pioneers have secured a spot in the conference tournament for the 10th straight year and they need a win and a tie against Plattsburgh, to go along with an Oswego loss, to nail down the fifth seed.
UC went on three different three-game winning streaks this year. At one point in the season, the Pioneers were ranked as high as No. 14 in the USCHO.com National Poll and they have had three players receive weekly ECAC West Conference honors.
Utica senior forward Darcy Hier (Centennial, CO/Colorado Selects) currently leads the nation in assists with an average of one per contest (22 total). Junior defensemen MacKenzie Roy (Concord, NH/Cushing Academy) is currently ranked eighth in the nation in points per game among defensemen. Other key players for the Pioneers are Lynny Gonzales (Rochester, NY/New Hampton Prep), Meagan Sudik (West Bend, WI/Wisconsin Wild), Samantha Glockling (Carleton Place, ONT/Tilton School), Megan Myers (Las Vegas, NV/LA Selects), Rebecca Heim (Westwood, NJ/New Jersey Rockets), and Carmen Johnson (Falls Church, VA/Washington Pride).
Junior goalie Marissa Hotaling (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) is having a solid year between the pipes for the Pioneers. She has played in 15 games and totaled 465 saves to go along with one shut out and a goals against average of 2.05.
UC's opponent on Thursday night, Amherst College, is currently second in the NESCAC and leads the conference in scoring. Utica has never lost to the Lord Jeffs (3-0-1) in program history and the Pioneers will look to keep the streak going.
Amherst will be a good test for Utica as it prepares for conference rival SUNY Plattsburgh this weekend. The Cardinals have won two in a row coming into the contest as they look to overtake first place RIT in the conference standings.
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