UTICA, NY (11/26/2013) – The nationally-ranked No. 8/8 Utica College men's hockey team returns from a four game road trip on Friday night when the Pioneers square off against Morrisville State in the first of a nine game non-conference stretch. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7 p.m.
BROADCAST INFO: If you cannot make it out to the Aud on Friday night several options are available to follow the contest online … Dave Peroni (play-by-play) and Fred Miller will have the call, as ESPNUR will broadcast the contest on the radio airwaves at 99.1 FM on the radio dial … You can access their audio broadcast online by visiting
www.espnur.com … The game will also be broadcast by UC's student radio on WPNR 90.7 FM by play-by-play man Ray Biggs … A live streaming video broadcast of both games can be accessed for free online by visiting
www.empire8.tv … WPNR's audio can also be accessed online at
www.utica.edu/student/activities/organizations/wpnr/listenlive.cfm ... Fans can also follow live stats on their computer or mobile device at
www.sidearmstats.com/utica/mhockey/.
SOCIAL MEDIA: If you can't make it out to the game make sure to follow live updates on the Pioneers official Twitter feed,
@UCPioneers … If you are at the game and on Twitter, or talking about the game on Twitter, make sure to use: … You can also "Like" the Pioneers on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/UCpioneers.
NATIONALLY-RANKED: The Pioneers are ranked eighth in both the USCHO.com and D3hockey.com national polls … UC currently boasts a 6-1-1 overall record and a 5-1-1 ledger in ECAC West Conference play … The Pioneers are the highest ranked ECAC West Conference team in the country.
WELCOME HOME: The Pioneers are currently 2-1 at the Utica Memorial Auditorium this season … All three games so far this season have been sold out … Utica defeated Brockport 5-2 and Elmira 4-3 at home, before falling to Hobart as time expired, 3-2, back on November 9th … The Pioneers are now 16-4 at home dating back to the beginning of last season.
ALL-TIME AGAINST MORRISVILLE: UC is 1-0 all-time against Morrisville … The only other time these two teams met was last season when the Pioneers topped the Mustangs 6-1 on their home ice on October 19, 2012 … The Pioneers netted five unanswered goals in the final 40 minutes of action to secure a 6-1 victory over Morrisville before a paid attendance of 3,944 at the Utica Memorial Auditorium last season ...
Louie Educate (Chicago, IL/Aberdeen (NAHL)) made an instant name for himself in front of a delighted crowd on the Pioneers' opening night, netting one goal and adding two assists, while
Ridge Garbutt (Toronto, Ontario/Brewster Academy (NH)) added a game-high two goals for the Pioneers …
George Lotito (Staten Island, NY/NH Jr. Monarchs (EJHL)) registered one goal and one assist for UC.
GRAFF IS MAKING HEADLINES: Senior forward
Adam Graff (Bear, DE/Syracuse Stars (EJHL)) currently leads the ECAC Men's West Conference with an average of 0.71 goals per game … He also ranks third in the conference with an average of 1.00 points per contest … Graff has seven points on five goals and two assists in his last five outings … He netted his first career hat-trick to help UC rally from a 2-0 deficit on Saturday night as the Pioneers topped Hobart 3-2 in overtime … His game-winner on Saturday came with just 29 seconds left in the overtime period.
HERTZ CLIMBING THE ALL-TIME LADDER: Senior forward
Trever Hertz (Jaffray, British Columbia/Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL)) is currently tied for the team lead with nine points on three goals and six assists this season … Hertz now has 86 career points (39 goals, 47 assists) in 85 career games played … He needs eight points to pass 2013 graduate
Evan Chlanda (Islip, NY/Springfield (EJHL)) for third place on the College's all-time scoring list (Chlanda registered 40 goals and 53 career assists) … Hertz, who is the program's active career scoring leader, needs 14 points to become just the third player in program history to score 100 points in a career … The other two Pioneers to score 100 or more points in a career are former All-American's Tim Coffman '12 and Jimmy Sokol '05.
SOLID GOALTENDING: Utica has received strong performances from senior goalie
Nick Therrien (Rochester, NH/NY Apple Core (EJHL)) and freshman
Marcus Zelzer (Green Bay, WI/Kenai River (NAHL)) so far this season … The duo has combined for a 2.08 goals against average … Therrien has a 4-1-1 record between the pipes and a 2.14 goals against average to go along with a .927 save percentage … Zelzer has started two games for Utica and boasts a 1.93 goals against average in two victories.
BAIRD BREAKING OUT: Junior defender
Mike Baird (Oakville, Ontario/Huntsville (OJHL)) ranks third on the team with six points this season on one goal and five assists … He has scored at least one point in five of eight games played this year.
EDUCATE LOOKING TO BREAK OUT: Junior All-American
Louie Educate (Chicago, IL/Aberdeen (NAHL)), who is the reigning ECAC West Player of the Year, currently ranks fourth on the team with five points in eight games this season … He tallied an assist on the Pioneers game-winner against Hobart in overtime on Saturday.
GAFFNEY HAVING ANOTHER STRONG YEAR: Senior assistant captain
Jon Gaffney (Dover, NJ/Springfield Blues (NAHL)) is the Pioneers most experienced player with 86 career games played … He has five points this season on one goal and four assists … He is one of seven players in program-history with 70+ career points and he currently has 78 points (38 goals, 40 assists).
UPPERCLASSMEN LEADING THE WAY: The Pioneers top seven scorers this season are either juniors or seniors … UC's roster features 13 seniors and five juniors.
NEW YORK SASH TEDDY BEAR TOSS: This year's New York Sash Teddy Bear Toss will be hosted on Saturday, December 7th as the Pioneers take on Salve Regina at 7 p.m. … This event is one of Utica's favorite holiday traditions … The contest will also be televised live by WUTR ... Game attendees are asked to bring a donation of a new teddy bear or stuffed animal ... When the first Utica College goal is scored fans throw the stuffed animals onto the ice ... Thousands of teddy bears will rain down to be collected by New York Sash and the Pioneers ... Last year 4,500 toys were collected and since its beginning, the New York Sash Teddy Bear Toss has been able to donate nearly 20,000 toys to the community ...
Click here to watch a video of the Teddy Bear Toss
WELCOME HOME COACH KROGOL: Morrisville State Head Coach Kevin Krogol is a 2007 graduate of Utica College where he played in 78 career games for the men's hockey program … Krogol served as a team captain as a senior and helped guide the Pioneers to an ECAC West Conference regular season title during his tenure.
