Brittany DelleChiaie and the Pioneers take on Elmira Saturday at 7 p.m.
Utica, NY (2/27/13)- The Utica College women's hockey team travels to Plattsburgh, NY this weekend for the final four of the ECAC West Conference Tournament. The Pioneers will square off against conference rival, and nationally ranked No. 4 Elmira College Saturday night at 7 p.m. with the winner moving onto the championship, Sunday at 3 p.m.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers are coming off a 5-1 win over Potsdam in the quarterfinal game on Friday night… Sophomore
Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) and freshman
Morgan Reed (Fort Myers, FL/Cushing Academy) each netted two goals and one assist, while junior
Megan Myers (Las Vegas, NV/LA Selects) had a goal and two assists…
Jennifer Hamel (Ithaca, NY/Northwood School) stopped 23-of-24 shots on net.
Game Coverage: Links to live stats and video of Saturday's contest can be found on ucpioneers.com… Fans can also follow @UCPioneers on twitter for in game updates.
The Other Semifinal: Nationally ranked No. 1 Plattsburgh State earned the top seed and hosting rights after going 15-0-1 in the conference… The Cardinals will take on sixth seeded Neumann University Saturday at 4 p.m… Neumann is coming off a 3-0 upset win over Oswego in the quarterfinals.
Tournament History: The Pioneers are making their fourth trip to the conference semifinals in the last six years… The last time UC was in the semifinals was March 5, 2011 when it fell to top seeded, and eventual national runner-up, RIT 2-0… Utica has made it to the conference championship one time, in 2006, after defeating Elmira 4-1 in the semifinals… UC has never won a conference championship.
Myers Leading the Way: Junior
Megan Myers (Las Vegas, NV/LA Selects) leads the team and ranks 11th in the nation with 1.29 points per game… She is tied for third in the conference with 17 goals on the season and was named to the First Team All-Conference for the second straight year… Myers recently scored her 55th career goal, to surpass All-American Stephanie Price '07 for second on the College's career goal-scoring list... She has tallied at least 30 points in each of her first three seasons and ranks third on the College's all-time list with 104 career points.
May's Defensive Play Recognized: Sophomore
Courtney May (Oxford, MI/Belle Tire) was selected to the second team All-conference for the first time in her career… She is tied for fifth in the league and leads all defensemen with 14 assists on the season... She has helped lead the Pioneer defense that has allowed just 1.9 goals per game, and has helped the Utica special teams kill a national-best 132-of-140 power play opportunities.
Clausen Named Co-Coach of the Year: Head Coach
Dave Clausen was named ECAC West Co-Coach of the Year with Plattsburgh's Kevin Houle… He has led the Pioneers to a 16-8-2 record and the team's 11th postseason appearance in the program's 12-year history... This is the second time Clausen has earned Coach of the Year status, the other was the 2007-2008 season when he led UC to a program-best 18 wins for the third straight season.
Scouting Elmira: The Soaring Eagles are currently ranked No. 4 in the latest USCHO.com national poll… They earned the number two seed in the tournament after compiling a 20-4-1 overall record, and a 14-2 mark in the conference… They are led by sophomores Ashton Hogan and Ashley Ryan… Hogan has racked up 17 goals and seven assists, while Ryan has netted 14 goals and added ten helpers.
Against The Soaring Eagles: UC is 4-25-1 all-time against Elmira… Earlier this year, the Pioneers were swept by the Soaring Eagles in just the second weekend of the season… UC is 2-2 against Elmira in the post season… The last time the two teams met in the playoffs was Feb. 26, 2011 when Utica defeated the Soaring Eagles 2-1 in the quarterfinals…
Megan Myers (Las Vegas, NV/LA Selects) scored both goals, while
Marissa Hotaling (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) made 52 saves in the win.
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