Sophomore Kelsey Dowdall and the Pioneers look for their first win of the new year
Utica, NY (1/3/13)- The Utica College women's ice hockey team looks to get back on track Saturday as it hosts nationally-ranked No. 7 Manhattanville College for its final tune up before returning to conference action. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Last Time Out: UC is coming off a 4-1 loss to nationally-ranked No. 4 Middlebury College on Wednesday… Junior
Megan Myers (Las Vegas, NV/LA Selects) scored the lone goal for the Pioneers, with assists going to classmate
Brittany DelleChiaie (Leominster, MA/The Winchendon School) and sophomore
Courtney May (Oxford, MI/Belle Tire)… Junior
Jennifer Hamel (Ithaca, NY/Northwood School) made a game-high 28 saves in the loss.
Where We Sit: Utica is currently 4-6 overall and 3-3 in the ECAC West Conference… The Pioneers are fourth in the conference standings with six points… Ten of the team's 15 remaining games are conference contests… Utica is averaging 1.8 goals per game while outshooting opponents 24 to 21.2 per outing… Manhattanville will be the third ranked opponent UC has faced this year… Earlier this season the Pioneers fell to current No. 3, Elmira College in a weekend series.
Game Coverage: Live stats and video for all home contests are available at ucpioneers.com… Live audio will be provided by ESPN Radio 99.1 FM… Fans can also get live score updates on Twitter by following @UCscoreboard.
Leading the Way: Junior
Megan Myers (Las Vegas, NV/LA Selects) leads the team with six goals and nine points… Freshman
Morgan Reed (Fort Myers, FL/Cushing Academy) is second on the team with six points (three goals, three assists), while senior
Meghan McMahon (Gardner, MA/St. Marks (MA)) (two goals, three assists) and junior
Brittany DelleChiaie (Leominster, MA/The Winchendon School) (one goal, four assists) are tied for third with five points apiece… Senior
Mary Fusco (Enfield, CT/Salve Regina University) leads the defense with four points on the year.
Between the Pipes: Junior
Jennifer Hamel (Ithaca, NY/Northwood School) is coming off her first ECAC West Goalie of the Week honor this season… Hamel earned the accolades after stopping 17 of the 18 shots she faced as Utica fell 1-0 to Amherst in the team's last action before the winter break… On the season, Hamel boasts a .903 save percentage and 2.11 goals against average through eight games.
Need to Score: The Pioneers scored three goals in each of their last three games in November, but have struggled to score as of late… UC has only scored two goals in its last three games.
Scouting Manhattanville: The Valiants are currently 6-3-1 overall, including a 5-0-1 mark in the ECAC East Conference, and were ranked seventh in the nation in the latest USCHO.com poll… All three of their losses came against ECAC West and nationally ranked opponents, Plattsburgh and Elmira… Manhattanville is led by seniors Katie Little and Mary Rose Morrison… Little has seven goals and four assists while Morrison has four goals and seven helpers.
Against the Valiants: The Pioneers are winless against Manhattanville in their four meetings over the last nine years… Manhattanville has beaten UC by identical 2-1 scores in each of the last two seasons… Last year
Meghan McMahon (Gardner, MA/St. Marks (MA)) scored Utica's lone goal assisted by
Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School).
Looking Ahead: Utica returns to ECAC West play next weekend as it takes on SUNY Potsdam in a home and home series… Saturday's game will take place at the friendly confines of the Utica Memorial Auditorium before the teams travel to Potsdam for the second contest on Sunday… Saturday's game will be at 4 p.m. while Sundays face off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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