UTICA, NY (2-7-12) - The nationally-ranked No. 10 Utica College men's hockey team is set to host ECAC Men's West Conference rival Neumann University for the final home games of the regular season, this weekend... Friday is Dunkin' Donuts Make-A-Wish Night as the Pioneers face off against the Knights at 7 p.m. Both teams meet again on Saturday for a 7 p.m. puck drop.
Where We Sit: UC is currently 15-6-1 overall and 4-4-1 in the ECAC West Conference… The Pioneers are third in the league with nine points in the standings… Elmira leads the conference with 13 points, followed by Manhattanville with 12… Hobart and Neumann sit at the bottom with five points each.
Dunkin' Donuts Make-A-Wish Night: Throughout Friday night's game fans will have the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win dinner with a UC hockey player at Valentinos ... All proceeds will benefit the efforts of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of CNY ... During the ceremonial puck drop the Pioneers will welcome several “Wish” kids onto the ice and the Make-A-Wish Foundation will grant a “Wish” to a very special child ... The first 200 fans through the turnstiles will be entered into a raffle to win a gift basket that will include items from Dunkin'Donuts, UC Hockey and the Make-A-Wish Foundation ... The winner of the gift basket will be announced during the first intermission.
Senior Night: On Saturday night the Pioneers will bid farewell to four seniors including
Tim Coffman (Elverson, PA/Laconia (AJHL)),
Max White (Sands Point, NY/NY Bobcats (AJHL)),
Soichiro Omi (Tokyo, Japan/Bradford (GMHL)) and
Kyle Guestin (Kingsburg, CA/Prairie (PJHL)) ... Over the course of the last four seasons this talented group of young men have led the Utica College men's hockey team to four straight ECAC Men's West Conference Tournament appearances ... They have compiled 51 victories, including a program-best 17 wins last season ... 36 of those victories have come right here in front of their home crowd at the Aud.
Last Time Out: Last weekend the Pioneers split a home-and-home series with Manhattanville that saw the road team win each game… Friday night UC fell 5-1 before rebounding for a 9-3 win on Saturday.
Previous Meeting: Utica, ranked seventh at the time, lost to host Neumann (ranked No. 12 at the time) 2-1 on Nov. 19, 2011… Junior
Evan Chlanda (Islip, NY/Springfield (EJHL)) netted the lone Utica goal and sophomore
Evan Smith (Penticton, British Columbia/Calgary Royals (AJHL)) stopped 24 of 26 shots.
Against the Knights: UC is 14-17-3 all-time against Neumann… The Pioneers have lost the last five meetings between the two teams including a 5-2 loss in the conference tournament last season.
Home Ice Advantage: The Aud has proven very helpful, as Utica has gone 12-2-1 at home this season… UC has outscored opponents 68-29 on home ice so far this year… The Pioneer faithful have come out in droves, averaging over 3,000 fans per game, including the first sell out in program-history.
In the Record Books: Senior captain
Tim Coffman (Elverson, PA/Laconia (AJHL)) now holds the program record for career assists (76) and points scored (134) and he recently tied the record for goals (58) after tallying three goals and one assist against Manhattanville.
Scoring Leaders: Junior
Evan Chlanda (Islip, NY/Springfield (EJHL)) and sophomore
Trever Hertz (Jaffray, British Columbia/Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL)) lead the team with 30 and 29 points, respectively… Chlanda leads the team with 13 goals, while Hertz has a team-high 18 assists.
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