Utica, NY (1/31/13)- The nationally ranked No. 3/8 Utica College men's hockey team is set for a huge tilt against No. 5/8 Hobart College in ECAC West Conference play at the Aud this weekend… Friday night's contest will be at 7 p.m. before the teams return Sunday afternoon for a 3 p.m. faceoff.
Weekend Rewind: The Pioneers (16-3, 7-2 ECAC West) are fresh off two big ECAC West Conference wins against #11/15 Neumann University and #13 Manhattanville College last weekend… On Friday, the Pioneers downed Neumann 6-2 behind a hat trick from junior
Trever Hertz (Jaffray, British Columbia/Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL)), and a one goal, one assist outing from senior
Rob Morton (New Hartford, NY/Merrimack (Hockey East))… On Saturday, junior
Ridge Garbutt (Toronto, Ontario/Brewster Academy (NH)) netted two goals and sophomore
Louie Educate (Chicago, IL/Aberdeen (NAHL)) added three helpers to lift the Pioneers over Manhattanville, 4-1… Junior
Nick Therrien (Rochester, NH/NY Apple Core (EJHL)) stopped 46 shots on the weekend.
Where We Sit: Utica is currently second in the ECAC West just one point behind top ranked Hobart College (16-2-2, 8-1-1 ECAC West)… The Pioneers moved up to third in the nation in the d3hockey.com poll released Monday, while maintaining their hold on No. 8 in the most recent USCHO.com poll… UC ranks third in the nation in scoring offense (4.89 goals per game) and scoring margin (2.68), while the power play unit is the eighth best in the country after stopping 74-of-85 chances.
Computer Rankings: Utica is ranked No. 1 in the d3hockey.com computer rankings, released Jan. 29… The rankings use a statistical calculator that measures strength and depth of schedule, wins and losses, as well as wins and losses against the top and bottom teams.
Home Sweet Home: The Aud has proven to add quite the home ice advantage so far this season… The Pioneers are 11-1 at home and have outscored opponents 71-24 on home ice… UC has also not scored less than four goals in any of its 12 games at home… The Pioneer faithful have come out in droves, selling out eight of 12 home contests this year.
Therrien Rock Solid: Junior
Nick Therrien (Rochester, NH/NY Apple Core (EJHL)) was named ECAC West Goalie of the Week Monday for his performance over the weekend… Therrien stopped 46-of-49 shots he faced against two ranked opponents… On the season he has compiled a .923 save percentage to go along with his 2.16 goals against average while racking up an impressive 14-2 record… Therrien also ranks fifth in the country with a .875 winning percentage.
New Guys Getting It Done: Sophomore transfer
Louie Educate (Chicago, IL/Aberdeen (NAHL)) leads the team in all scoring categories (14 goals, 17 assists, 31 points) and his 1.63 points per game average ranks fifth in the nation… Meanwhile, freshman
Donny Olivieri (Philadelphia, PA/Bismarck (NAHL)) is tied for fifth nationally in points per game by a defenseman (1.0)… His 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) also rank first amongst freshman blue liners.
Sharing the Wealth: 20 different Pioneers have scored at least one goal on the season with four players netting ten or more goals… Junior
Ridge Garbutt (Toronto, Ontario/Brewster Academy (NH)) is second on the team with 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists)… He also ranks third in the conference with 1.11 points per game… Senior
Rob Morton (New Hartford, NY/Merrimack (Hockey East)) and juniors
Jon Gaffney (Dover, NJ/Springfield Blues (NAHL)) and
Trever Hertz (Jaffray, British Columbia/Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL)) have each tallied ten goals on the season… Morton and Gaffney both have eight assists while Hertz has seven helpers on the year.
Scouting Hobart: The Statesmen are 16-2-2 overall (8-1-1 ECAC West) and ranked fifth in both the d3hockey.com and USCHO.com polls… They are fresh off a sweep over Elmira, winning 4-1 Friday night at home, before taking down the Soaring Eagles 6-3 in Elmira… Hobart is led by senior Frank Salituro and freshman Mac Olson… Salituro has 13 goals and 12 assists for a team-high 25 points, while Olson has seven goals and 13 assists.
Against the Statesmen: UC is 12-7-1 against Hobart dating back to the 2005-2006 season… The Pioneers have won the last seven meetings between the two teams… The last time Hobart defeated Utica was a 4-1 victory on Feb. 19, 2010… UC downed the Statesmen 5-3 on Jan. 19 earlier this year… Both
Ridge Garbutt (Toronto, Ontario/Brewster Academy (NH)) and
Trever Hertz (Jaffray, British Columbia/Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL)) netted a goal and an assist, while
Nick Therrien (Rochester, NH/NY Apple Core (EJHL)) made a season-high 39 saves in the win.
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers return to action next weekend, as they take on Nazareth College in a home-and-home series… On Friday, the teams will meet at the Aud at 7 p.m. for Dunkin Donuts “Make a Wish” night in UC's final regular season home game… The teams will then travel to Rochester, NY for a 7 p.m. faceoff on Saturday night.
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