Utica, NY (3/5/14) - The Utica College women's hockey team travels to Plattsburgh, NY for the ECAC West final four this weekend. The Pioneers take on top-seeded and nationally ranked No. 1 Plattsburgh State in the semi-finals on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
TICKETS: Ticket prices are $5 general admission and $3 for college students with a valid ID. Ticket prices are per day and no weekend passes will be sold... Ticket sales will begin at 2 p.m. on Saturday and at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday at the Field House Box Office.
FOLLOW ALL THE ACTION: Live stats will be provided by Plattsburgh State… Please visit the women's hockey schedule page of ucpioneers.com for links to game coverage.
LAST TIME OUT: UC is coming off of a 4-1 ECAC West Conference quarterfinal victory over Potsdam last Sunday … Sophomore
Morgan Reed (Fort Myers, FL/Cushing Academy) scored three goals and added an assist and
Megan Myers (Las Vegas, NV/LA Selects) assisted on all three of Reeds goals and added a goal of her own … Reed became the first player in program-history to score a hat-trick in a playoff game.
PLAYOFF PAST: This marks the 12th post-season appearance in the program's 13-year history… The Pioneers are 6-7 in playoff games since 2005-06… Last season, they defeated the Potsdam Bears at home 5-1 before losing in the semifinals to eventual national champion, Elmira College 5-0.
HAMEL CAREER LEADER: Jennifer Hamel (Ithaca, NY/Northwood School)'s 35th victory Sunday tied Jill Doherty '10 for the school-record for wins in a career … She is 13-8-1 on the season and a .907 save percentage, to go along with a 2.46 goals against average.
REED, MYERS DUO: Myers and Reed played a part in all four of the Pioneer goals on Sunday … Senior All-American
Megan Myers (Las Vegas, NV/LA Selects) assisted on all three of Reed's goals and added a tally of her own early in the second period … Her 19th goal of the season tied the school-record for goals in a career … Myers tied former All-American and Hall of Famer Deana Wiegand for the school-record for career goals with 74 … Myers also ranks second on the College's all-time list with 143 career points (74 goals, 69 assists) … Reed's three goals Sunday was the first hat-trick of her career … She has now netted five goals in two career playoff games against Potsdam.
SCOUTING PLATTSBURGH: The Cardinals are 21-1-1 overall and 15-1 in the conference … Plattsburgh is ranked first in both the USCHO.com and D3hockey.com national rankings … Their only loss of the year was a 2-0 loss at Elmira on 2/7/14 … The Cardinals have six players with at least 25 points on the season and seven players with over ten goals… Goalie Sydney Aveson was named the ECAC West Player of the Year after leading the nation in save percentage (.980) and goals against average (.37)… She has allowed just seven goals on the season and collected 13 shutouts… The Cardinals are also led by ECAC West Coach of the Year, Kevin Houle.
AGAINST THE CARDINALS: UC is 0-8-2 against Plattsburgh in the last ten meetings… This season, the Pioneers dropped two games, both at home, 8-0 and 2-0 … Last season, Utica went 0-1-1 during the regular season against the Cardinals.
LOOKING AHEAD: Saturday afternoon's winner will play the winner of the Elmira and Oswego State semifinal game on Saturday night. The winners of the semifinal will meet on Sunday, March 9 at 3 p.m. with the winner earning an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
--- www.ucpioneers.com ---