Senior captain Tim Coffman needs just one goal to move into first on the College's all-time goals-scored list
Utica, NY (2-15-12) – The nationally-ranked No. 13 Utica College men's hockey team travels to Elmira Friday to take on ECAC West leader and the 11th ranked Elmira Soaring Eagles. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7p.m.
Final Stretch: Friday's game marks the end of a strong regular season for the Pioneers as they go into this weekend's game with a record of 15-7-2… The Soaring Eagles will be a strong final test for the Pioneers as they prep for the post-season.
Pioneers Look for Season Split: UC has gone up against Elmira twice already this season. In what seems like ages ago, Elmira beat the Pioneers back in November by a score of 3-1 on the Soaring Eagles home ice. In January the conference foes faced off against one another for the second time as they battled to a hard fought 2-2 draw in front of 3,000 plus at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. UC hopes to even up the season series on Friday.
Regional Rankings: The Pioneers were ranked seventh in the first NCAA Division III East Region Poll released Tuesday… Oswego State (19-2-2), Norwich (19-2-1), Amherst (18-3-1), and Plattsburgh (16-3-4), are ranked 1-4 in both the east region and national rankings… Elmira (14-7-2) and Manhattanville (13-6-3) are ranked fifth and sixth in the region, respectively… Four of the five teams in the ECAC West are ranked in the top ten of the east region.
Balanced Attack: The Pioneers have six players with over 15 points on the season and 12 in double figures... They are led by junior forward
Evan Chlanda (Islip, NY/Springfield (EJHL)) who has 31 points on the year… Right behind Chlanda are sophomore
Trever Hertz (Jaffray, British Columbia/Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL)) and senior captain
Tim Coffman (Elverson, PA/Laconia (AJHL)) who are both tied with 30 points thus far… Coffman, the all-time leader in assists and points, needs just one goal to surpass Hall of Famer Jimmy Sokol '05 for first on the career goals-scored list.
Playoff Picture: Utica currently sits third in the ECAC West division with a conference record of 4-5-2, behind only second place Manhattanville and this Friday's opponent, the first place Soaring Eagles… Rounding out the bottom of the ECAC West are Neumann and Hobart, respectively… The Pioneers need a win or a tie against Elmira to lock up the third seed in the conference tournament.
All Time Against Elmira: The Soaring Eagles currently hold a 16-8-5 advantage in the all-time series against the Pioneers … The last time Utica defeated Elmira was on Feb. 21, 2009 when the Pioneers beat the Soaring Eagles in Elmira by a score of 4-3.
Getting To Know The Soaring Eagles: Elmira (14-7-2, 7-2-1 ECAC West) has won seven out of their last ten and is looking sharp late in the season… They are coming off of a tough 5-4 loss against visiting Hobart, marking their second conference defeat of the season… The Soaring Eagles are led by senior forward Kevin Willer who has 30 points on the season thus far, scoring 11 goals and dishing out 19 assists.
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