Utica, NY (2/7/13)- The nationally ranked No. 3/8 Utica College men's hockey team welcomes ECAC West opponent, Nazareth College to the Aud Friday for the Pioneers final home game of the regular season and it is also Dunkin' Donuts Make-A-Wish Night! The teams will then travel to the Sports Centre at Monroe Community College on Saturday for the series finale. Both games will begin at 7 p.m.
Dunkin' Donuts Make-A-Wish Night: Fans can visit the Dunkin' Donuts booth in the concourse and donate $2 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation - in return you will receive a $2 Dunkin' Donuts gift card ... Also, throughout the game fans should keep their eye out for Dunkin' representatives who will be offering fans a chance to win free gift cards ... Also in the concourse, stop by the Dunkin' booth, as they will have a variety of games to play for a chance to win more Dunkin' prizes … During the second intermission the Dunkin' Donuts Mascots will skate on the ice throughout the Dunkin' Iced Coffee Cup Stacking Competition … The winner will receive a prize courtesy of Dunkin' … Also, one lucky contestant will take 3 shots at the net, the first shot will be from the closest blue line and is for a DD Chair and picnic supplies, the second shot will be from the half line and is for a Keurig Brewer, Mugs and K-cups, the final shot will be from the furthest blue line and is for coffee by the pound for a year and a gift card for every fan in attendance!
Chance to Win!: KISS FM 97.9/105.5 and Carbone Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep of Yorkville are providing one lucky contestant with a chance to WIN a lease on a 2013 Dodge Dart courtesy of Carbone Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep of Yorkville … All season fans have had a chance to sign up for the contest at the KISS FM booth in the concourse … Friday night they will draw a name and give one lucky fan a chance to WIN during the first intermission.
Make-A-Wish Bracelets: The Make-A-Wish Foundation will be handing out bracelets to the first 200 people through the gates … Visit www.cny.wish.org for more information about the Central New York Chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Puck Drop: The ceremonial puck drop will be performed by President and CEO of Make-A-Wish Central New York Diane Kuppermann, who will present a plaque to the Pioneers, Maria Moriarty of Valentinos, and Rory O'Bryan, of Cafua Management … They will be joined on the ice by Wish Kids: Austin, Teaghan, Brendan, Alex, Wasyl, Zachary, Will, Brooklyn, and Frankie.
Last Time Out: Utica is coming off a thrilling 1-1 weekend against No. 5/5 Hobart College. On Friday, the Pioneers dropped a heartbreaker, 4-3 in overtime… Senior
Rob Morton (New Hartford, NY/Merrimack (Hockey East)) and sophomores
Louie Educate (Chicago, IL/Aberdeen (NAHL)) and
Peter LaFosse (Merrimack, NH/Kimball Union Academy) each scored for UC… The Pioneers rebounded Sunday as Educate scored the lone goal and junior
Nick Therrien (Rochester, NH/NY Apple Core (EJHL)) stopped all 35 shots he faced to down the Statesmen 1-0.
Where We Sit: The Pioneers are 17-4 overall (8-3 ECAC West) and are currently in second place in the conference… The Utica offense ranks fourth in the nation, averaging 4.62 goals per game… UC is also allowing just 2.19 goals against per contest, which is tied for 11th in the country.
At the Aud: The Aud has proven to add quite the home ice advantage so far this season… The Pioneers are 12-2 at home and have outscored opponents 75-28 on home ice… The Pioneer faithful have come out in droves, selling out nine of 14 home contests this year.
Against the Best: The Pioneers are 6-1 against teams ranked in the top 15 of the latest USCHO.com online poll… UC swept No. 2 Oswego in their two-game series, took two-of-three games from No. 5 Hobart, and picked up a pair of wins against No. 10 Amherst and No. 13 Manhattanville… The Pioneers combined to outscore opponents 26-13 in those seven games.
Class of 2013: On Friday, Utica will honor its six seniors…
Cody Adams (Duncan, British Columbia/Plattsburgh (SUNYAC)),
Robert Etts (Smithtown, NY/Hitmen (EJHL)),
Doug Marshall (Garnett Valley, PA/N.J. Hitmen (EJHL)),
Eric Peterson (Newton, NH/Valley (EJHL)),
Evan Chlanda (Islip, NY/Springfield (EJHL)), and
Josh Schmitt (Buffalo, NY/Buffalo (OPJHL)) have helped the Pioneers to a 57-35-7 combined record and four straight ECAC West Conference Tournament appearances in their four years wearing the orange a blue.
Therrien Leading the Way: Junior
Nick Therrien (Rochester, NH/NY Apple Core (EJHL)) ranks second in the conference with a 2.14 goals against average… He is sixth in the country with a .833 winning percentage and has also racked up a .926 save percentage.
Educate Amongst National Leaders: Sophomore
Louie Educate (Chicago, IL/Aberdeen (NAHL)) is first in the conference and eighth in the nation with 1.57 goals per game… He is tied for sixth in the country in goal scoring (16) and has a league-best 17 assists.
Olivieri Continues Strong Play: Freshman
Donny Olivieri (Philadelphia, PA/Bismarck (NAHL)) is second in the conference with 14 assists… He is also seventh nationally in scoring amongst defensemen (.95 points per game) and leads rookie blue liners in points.
Spreading the Wealth: 24 different players have tallied at least one point on the season and 11 players have ten or more points… Junior
Ridge Garbutt (Toronto, Ontario/Brewster Academy (NH)) is second on the team and third in the conference with 23 points… Senior
Rob Morton (New Hartford, NY/Merrimack (Hockey East)) is tied for fourth in the conference with 11 goals and has a league-best three game-winners… Junior
Jon Gaffney (Dover, NJ/Springfield Blues (NAHL)) has 19 points (nine goals, ten assists), while classmate
Trever Hertz (Jaffray, British Columbia/Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL)) has tallied 19 points (nine goals, nine assists) on the season.
Scouting Naz: The Golden Flyers are 6-10-1 on the season and recently picked up their first ECAC West Conference victory in program history with a 6-4 win over Manhattanville on Jan. 25… Nazareth is led by junior Mark Zavorin and freshman Packy Jones… Zavorin has a team-high 11 goals and 21 points, while Jones has nine goals and nine assists… Utica won the previous meeting between the two teams, 7-2 on Nov. 3… Gaffney netted a hat trick while Educate, Morton,
Justin Hogan (Val Therese, Ontario/Brooks Bandits (AJHL)), and
Adam Graff (Bear, DE/Syracuse Stars (EJHL)) each added one goal.
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers travel to Manhattanville next weekend for the final ECAC West regular season series… Friday's game will be at 6 p.m. while Saturday's contest is set for 4 p.m.
--- www.ucpioneers.com ---
