Junior forward Jon Gaffney battles for a puck when the Pioneers traveled to Oswego last season
Utica, NY (12/4/2012) – The Utica College men's hockey team moved up one spot to No. 9 in the latest USCHO.com National Poll released Monday afternoon. The Pioneers, coming off a 4-3 overtime win at home against Buffalo State Friday, will travel No. 2 Oswego State on Friday night to take on the Lakers in a key non-conference heavyweight bout (7 p.m.).
Follow the Game Live: ESPN Radio Utica/Rome 99.1 FM will be making the trip out to the Campus Center Ice Arena to call Friday night's marquee game between UC and Oswego … Fans can access ESPNUR's live audio stream of the contest at www.espnur.com … Play-by-Play man Dave Peroni and color analyst Fred Miller will team up once again to deliver the game back to Utica via the radio airwaves … Oswego also offers live video and live stats and you can access the links on the men's hockey page at www.ucpioneers.com.
Need a Lift to the Game?: Join your fellow UC Hockey fanatics on The Celtic Harp's Bus Trip to watch Utica take on
UC vs. Oswego - Men's Hockey Gallery
Oswego at the Campus Center Ice Arena ...Bus Leaves the Celtic Harp on Varick Street in downtown Utica at 5:00 pm... Bus, Ticket, and Adult's only Tailgate provided... $30 per person... First 50 paid are on the Bus.
Holiday Toy Drive: The Oswego State Athletics Department is asking for your help in making sure each child in Oswego County has a gift to open during the 2012 holiday season by hosting its 25th Annual Toy Drive during the first two weekends of December ... Fans are asked to bring an unwrapped, unopened toy or a new piece of clothing to the Pioneers match up against the Lakers.
All-Time Against Oswego: The Pioneers hope to improve upon their 4-11 all-time record against Oswego … These two New York Hockey power-houses have played each other twice in each of the last three seasons with the Lakers earning a 5-1 advantage in those six games … The last time UC topped Oswego was at home, 3-2, on Oct. 29, 2011 … The last and only time UC won at Oswego was on Oct. 22, 2005 (5-2 victory) … The first time these two teams met back in 2002 the Pioneers won 5-2 … Utica is 1-6 all-time when traveling to Oswego … UC is 3-5 at the Aud against the Lakers … Neither team has ever been shut out over the course of 15 meetings between the two programs.
It's Shaping Up To Be a Shootout: Oswego ranks second in the country with an average of 5.78 goals per contest (52 goals in nine games) … The Pioneers are not far off the Lakers' pace as UC ranks third nationally averaging 5.33 goals per game (48 goals in nine games) … Oswego leads the country in scoring margin, defeating its opponents by an average margin of 4.33 goals per game … Utica ranks fourth nationally with an average margin of victory of 3.00
Educate Can Score: Sophomore forward Louis Educate is tied for third in the country and leads the ECAC West with an average of 2.00 points per contest … Educate leads the team with 18 points on eight goals and ten assists … His eight goals in nine games is tied for 10th in the country.
The Great Gaffney: Junior forward
Jon Gaffney (Dover, NJ/Springfield Blues (NAHL)) is tied for 18th in the country and ranks fourth in the conference with an average of 1.56 points per contest … He currently has 14 points on seven goals and seven assists.
Therrien Standing On His Head: Junior goalie
Nick Therrien (Rochester, NH/NY Apple Core (EJHL))'s winning % of .857 (6-1-0) is tied for tenth nationally … He currently has a goals against average of 2.41 and a save % of .911.
Pioneers Kill Penalties: The UC penalty kill unit ranks fifth in the nation after killing off 36-of-40 penalties so far this season … The Pioneers have killed penalties at a rate of 90%.
Non-Conference Play: The Pioneers have won five straight non-conference regular season games dating back to last season … Coincidentally their last non-conference loss was at Oswego on Jan. 14 (5-2).
Last Time Against Oswego: Oswego, NY (1/14/2012) - Tyler Leimbrock gave the second-ranked Oswego State men's ice hockey team a boost in the second period with a pair of goals to help the Lakers avenge an early-season loss to 10th-ranked Utica (11-5-0) by defeating the Pioneers, 5-2 ... In a penalty-riddled affair where both teams combined for 38 penalties, Oswego State (12-2-2) killed off 12 penalties and recorded four combined power-play and short-handed goals in the win …
Mike Slowikowski (Ewing, NJ/N.J. Hitmen (EJHL)) and
Rob Morton (New Hartford, NY/Merrimack (Hockey East)) netted goals for Utica, while
Trever Hertz (Jaffray, British Columbia/Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL)) registered two assists.
Last Time Out: (12/1/2012) - The Utica College men's hockey team defeated visiting Buffalo State 4-3 in overtime at the 8th Annual New York Sash Teddy Bear Toss in front of a sold out crowd of 3,847 fans on Saturday night … Junior forward
Adam Graff (Bear, DE/Syracuse Stars (EJHL)) netted the game-winner for the nationally-ranked Pioneers when he forced home his second goal of the evening with just 1:14 left on the overtime clock ... Utica improved to 6-1-1 overall in Teddy Bear Toss contests dating back to 2005 … Utica also improved to 7-2 overall on the year after the victory … After Utica forward
Jon Gaffney (Dover, NJ/Springfield Blues (NAHL)) netted the first goal of the contest, 13:16 into the first period of play, over 4,500 stuffed animals rained down onto the ice at the Utica Memorial Auditorium … All of the stuffed animals were collected by the players, community members and volunteers and they will be delivered to needy children in the Mohawk Valley throughout the holiday season … This is the 8th straight year the Pioneers have hosted the event and in that span they have collected nearly 20,000 stuffed animals for charity … The event has grown from just over 400 stuffed animals collected in 2005 (1,713 fans), to a sold out crowd and 4,500+ stuffed animals in each of the last two seasons.
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