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Utica, NY (1/21/2014) – The nationally-ranked No. 10/11 Utica College men's hockey team returns to the ice this weekend when it travels to ECAC West Conference foe Nazareth on Friday night (7 p.m.) before turning right back around to take on crosstown rival Hamilton College at the Utica Memorial Auditorium on Saturday night (7 p.m.).

Last Weekend: UC tied host Brockport 2-2 on Saturday night in a non-conference contest on the road … Senior's Jordan Hobaica (Clinton, NY/Northwood School) and Rob Morton (New Hartford, NY/Merrimack (Hockey East)) each netted a goal for the Pioneers … Utica is 4-1-2 in its last seven games and the Pioneers' record moved to 10-3-3 overall on the season.

Back to ECAC West Play: On Friday night it will have been exactly 61 days since the last time the Pioneers played in an ECAC West Conference contest … Back on November 23rd the Pioneers topped host Hobart College 3-2 in overtime to improve their conference ledger to 5-1-1 on the year … The Pioneers are currently in first place in the conference with 11 points overall … Elmira sits in second place with a 4-2 (eight points) conference record and Hobart is in third place with a 2-1-3 (seven points) record.

Last Time UC & Naz Met: UC netted three unanswered goals in the final two periods, to rally from an early 1-0 deficit, on its way to a conference victory over host Nazareth, 3-1, in the season opener for both squads on Nov. 1st … The win marked the seventh consecutive season opening victory for UC … Nazareth College joined the conference as an affiliate member last season … The Pioneers have defeated the Golden Flyers in all four of their meetings … UC has outscored Naz 22-6 over the course of four games.

A Local Rivalry Renewed: The campuses of Utica College and Hamilton College are less than ten miles apart … The two local foes return from a four year hiatus and will square off on Saturday night for the first time since a 3-3 tie at Hamilton College back on November 30, 2009 … Utica is 3-0-2 against the Continentals in their last five meetings and 5-1-3 in their last nine meetings … The two teams have met 13 times since the series began in 2002, with the series knotted at 5-5-3 all-time … The series is tied at 2-2-2 when the two teams meet at the Utica Memorial Auditorium … Hamilton is 3-3-1 in the series when playing on its home ice …The last two times these teams have met the game resulted in 3-3 overtime ties … The last time these two teams met at the Aud was back on Dec. 9, 2009 and the game finished in a 3-3 tie.

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 on Twitter, or talking about the game on Twitter, make sure to use #LetsGoUC … You can also "Like" the Pioneers on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UCpioneers.

Tickets for Saturday: Make sure to get your tickets for Saturday's game soon … Utica has sold out six of its eight home games this season and the Pioneers are currently averaging a paid attendance of 3,796 (3,815 is a sellout) ... Tickets are available at the Utica Memorial Auditorium box office or fans can purchase tickets online at:  http://www.ticketmaster.com/venue/259.

Follow the Games Live: Video for both games this weekend will be available on www.empire8.tv … Saturday's game against Hamilton will be broadcast locally on ESPN Radio 99.1 FM and online at www.espnur.com by play-by-play man Dave Peroni and color analyst Fred Miller … Saturday's game will also be broadcast on WPNR 90.7 FM by play-by-play man Ray Biggs.

In the National Spotlight: Utica is ranked No. 10 in the latest USCHO.com national poll … The Pioneers are also ranked No. 11 in the D3hockey.com national poll … The Pioneers have been ranked in the nation's top 15 in both polls since the beginning of the season … The Pioneers rank 20th nationally in scoring offense with an average of 3.50 goals per game and they are tied for 12th in the nation in scoring defense (2.12 goals against average) … The Pioneers are winning games by an average scoring margin of 1.38, good for 13th in the country.

Hertz Leads the Way: UC senior Trever Hertz (Jaffray, British Columbia/Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL)) leads the team with 14 points this season (four goals, 10 assists) and he currently ranks fourth on the College's all-time scoring list with 91 career points. 

Goalies Standing Strong: Utica goalies Nick Therrien (Rochester, NH/NY Apple Core (EJHL)) and freshman Marcus Zelzer (Green Bay, WI/Kenai River (NAHL)) have split time in net as of late … Therrien has a 1.98 goals against average (16th nationally) and a 7-2-2 overall record … Zelzer has a 2.35 GAA and a 3-1-1 record between the pipes.

Veteran Leadership: Five of the Pioneers' top six scorers this season are seniors … Adam Graff (Bear, DE/Syracuse Stars (EJHL)) leads the team with seven goals in 15 games played … Jon Gaffney (Dover, NJ/Springfield Blues (NAHL)) has 11 points this season (five goals, six assists) and 84 career points … Ridge Garbutt (Toronto, Ontario/Brewster Academy (NH)) is tied for fourth on the team with ten points (four goals, six assists). 

Meet Nazareth: The Golden Flyers are currently 3-12-1 overall and 0-6-1 in the ECAC West … Freshman Ben Blasko leads Naz with 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) while junior Tom Seravalli has 12 points on six goals and six assists … Sophomore goalie Ed Zdolshek has played in 14 games and he currently has a 3.49 goals against average.

Meet Hamilton: The Continentals are 4-8-1 overall and 3-6-1 in the NESCAC this season … Senior forward Michael DiMare leads the Continentals and ranks fourth nationally with an average of 1.85 points per game … DiMare has eight goals and 16 assists through just 13 games … DiMare's 1.23 assists per game ranks second in all of division III men's hockey … Freshman forward Robbie Murden ranks 17th nationally with an average of 1.28 points per game (nine goals, nine assists, 13 games) … Freshman goalie Charlie Fennell has started the last three games in between the pipes for the Continentals … Fennell has a 3.01 goals against average and a 2-4 record this season.