Utica, NY (1/5/15)- The Utica College women's hockey team returns from the winter break Tuesday as it travels to Canton, NY to take on SUNY Canton in non-conference action.  Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
STRONG START: The Pioneers are currently 4-2-2 on the season … UC's only losses came to nationally ranked No. 2 Elmira College on Nov. 22 and 23…  Since then, Utica has been undefeated in its last four games, going 2-0-2. 
 
WHERE WE SIT: The Pioneers are currently fifth in the ECAC West standings with a 3-2-1 mark in conference play… UC ranks 11th nationally in scoring offense with 3.38 goals per game… Utica also boasts a power play that ranks 11th nationally with a 23.7% conversion rate. 
 
LEADING THE WAY: Junior Morgan Reed (Fort Myers, FL/Cushing Academy) leads the team with 14 points (nine goals, five assists)… She is also tied for second nationally with 1.12 goals per game… Reed is in the midst of a five-game scoring streak in which she has tallied 12 points… Reed is the team's active career scoring leader as she has registered 55 points in 62 games played.
 
HELPING OUT: 17 different players have found their name on the score sheet so far… Senior Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) and sophomore Gabrielle Schnepp (Northville, MI/Belle Tire) are tied for second on the team with eight points apiece… Steele-Norton has four goals and four assists in six games, while Schnepp has netted three goals and dished out five assists in eight games this season… Schnepp is currently tied for the national lead with two shorthanded goals… Senior Nikki Kieffer (Rome, NY/Lysander Lightning) is tied for fourth nationally in scoring amongst defensemen with 1.00 points per game.
 
SCOUTING CANTON: The Roos are coming off an 0-2 weekend in the Codfish Bowl last weekend…  Canton is led by sophomore Lora Ardoin who has eight points (five goals, three assists) in 14 games…  Utica downed Canton 3-2 and 4-1 in the two meetings last year… Morgan Reed (Fort Myers, FL/Cushing Academy) had one goal and two assists, while Kelsey Dowdall (Smiths Falls, ONT/Nepean) had two goals in the series. 
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Pioneers face a tough test on Friday as they travel to No. 3 Norwich University for a non-conference game… The opening faceoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.


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