Utica, NY (1/27/2014) – The nationally-ranked No.12 Utica College men's hockey team returns to the ice this weekend when it travels to ECAC West Conference foe Elmira for two games Friday and Saturday Night (7 p.m.).
Last Weekend: UC lost to host Nazareth 2-1 in overtime on Friday night in an ECAC West matchup… Senior
Jon Gaffney (Dover, NJ/Springfield Blues (NAHL)) scored the lone goal for the Pioneers assisted by freshmen
Luc Boby (Chicago, IL/Kalamazoo (NAHL))… The Pioneers hosted cross-town rival Hamilton College the following night and skated to a 4-4 tie... Senior
Ridge Garbutt (Toronto, Ontario/Brewster Academy (NH)) netted two goals and added an assist for Utica... The two teams have met 15 times since the matchup began in 2002 and the series is knotted at 5-5-5 all-time.
ECAC West: The Pioneers (10-4-4, 5-2-1 ECAC West) are currently tied for second in the conference with Hobart (10-4-4, 4-1-3 ECAC West)… Leading the way is Elmira who has a 6-2 mark in the conference… The Pioneers have seven games left in the season, all of which are league games… The conference leading scoring is junior Josh Burnell of Elmira (13 goals, 13 assists).
Last Time UC & Elmira Met: UC beat Elmira 4-3 at the Utica Memorial Auditorium earlier this season on November 8th in front of a sold out crowd... All three Elmira goals came on the power play… Garbutt and
Louie Educate (Chicago, IL/Aberdeen (NAHL)) led Utica with one goal and one assist each, while
Jon Gaffney (Dover, NJ/Springfield Blues (NAHL)) had three helpers on the evening… In the last six meetings between the two teams, the series is tied at 3-3-1.
Pioneers vs. Elmira in the Past: Junior forward
Louie Educate (Chicago, IL/Aberdeen (NAHL)) has seen success against the Soaring Eagles… In just four career games versus Elmira, he has totaled ten points (five goals, five assists), including a four goal game last year… Senior
Ridge Garbutt (Toronto, Ontario/Brewster Academy (NH)) has lit up the scoreboard as well with seven points in his last four games against the Soaring Eagles (three goals, four assists).
Scouting Elmira: Elmira is off to an 11-7 start on the season and 6-2 in the ECAC West Conference… The Soaring Eagles are coming off two ECAC West victories at Neumann College (5-2, 7-3)… Junior Josh Burnell leads the Eagles with 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists), while sophomore Jarryd ten Vaanholt is second on the team with 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists)… Freshmen goalie Sal Magliocco has saved 495 of 542 shots faced for a save percentage of .913.
Follow the Games Live: Video for both games this weekend will be available on www.empire8.tv.
In the National Spotlight: Utica is ranked No. 12 in the latest USCHO.com national poll … The Pioneers have been ranked in the nation's top 15 in both the USCHO.com and d3hockey.com national polls since the beginning of the season … Utica is currently 25th nationally in scoring offense with an average of 3.39 goals per game and it is tied for 13th in the nation in scoring defense (2.22 goals against).
Garbutt on National Leaderboard: UC senior
Ridge Garbutt (Toronto, Ontario/Brewster Academy (NH)) now has two shorthanded goals… He is tied for second nationally in that category… His last shorthanded tally came last weekend against Hamilton… Garbutt has eight points in his last five game (three goals, five assists).
Goalies Sharing Time: 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 1.97 goals against average (15th nationally) and a 7-3-2 overall record … Zelzer has a 2.58 GAA and a 3-1-2 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 … Classmate
Trever Hertz (Jaffray, British Columbia/Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL)) has a team-best 15 points (five goals, 10 assists)…
Ridge Garbutt (Toronto, Ontario/Brewster Academy (NH)) is third on the team with 13 points (six goals, seven assists), while
Jon Gaffney (Dover, NJ/Springfield Blues (NAHL)) has 12 points this year (six goals, six assists) and 85 in his career…
Looking Ahead: Utica will return home next week to host ECAC West rival, Neumann University on Friday and Saturday… Both games are set to start at 7 p.m. … Friday's game will be Dunkin Donuts Night and Saturday will be Indium Night.
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