UTICA, NY – The Utica College men's hockey team returns to the Utica Memorial Auditorium after a 21 day break on Sunday when the Pioneers host Morrisville State for Northwestern Mutual Night. The contest is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.

First Semester Wrap Up: Utica has now won four straight games and is 7-3-1 overall on the season … The Pioneers are also 2-3-1 in ECAC West Conference play … They went undefeated in the first four games of the season, going 3-0-1 in the opening stretch … UC then lost three straight ECAC West games against Hobart, Neumann and Manhattanville before entering its current four game win streak … The first 11 games of the season were highlighted by winning the Radisson Thanksgiving Showcase at the Aud, before hosting another successful New York Sash Teddy Bear Toss where they defeated Salve Regina, 4-1. 

Sunday Game: Sunday's contest against the Mustangs marks the only UC home game that will not be played on a Friday or Saturday night at 7 p.m. … The Pioneers play 14 home regular season games this season: seven on a Friday, six on a Saturday, and Sunday's contest against Morrisville.

National Rankings: The Pioneers are currently receiving votes in both the USCHO.com and the D3hockey.com national polls … Utica picked up 23 votes in the D3hockey.com poll and are first in the "receiving votes" category … UC also picked up one vote in the USCHO poll.

Shooting for 200: Utica College Head Coach Gary Heenan needs one more win to earn 200 career victories … Heenan, who is in the midst of his 15^th season, is the College's only coach in program history and currently holds a career record of 199-139-39 … He headed into the 2015-16 season in the top 20 in Division III in winning percentage among active coaches … He is also in the top 30 in winning percentage all-time at the Division III level. 

Dawes Making a Name for Himself: Freshman forward Hayden Dawes (Stony Plain, Alberta/Drayton Valley (AJHL)) currently leads the team and ranks 11^th in the ECAC West with an average of 0.91 points per game … He has six goals and four assists through 11 games … He registered at least one point in seven of his first eight collegiate games.

McVeigh Coming on Strong: Sophomore forward Anthony McVeigh (Kemptville, Ontario/Carleton Place (CCHL)) has scored six points in his last six starts, including a one goal and one assist performance the Pioneers' most recent 4-1 victory over Salve Regina. 

Memorable Moment: Senior forward Joel Wetmore (Horseheads, NY/Lindsay (OJHL)) netted the coveted Teddy Bear Toss goal on a penalty shot for the first time in the 11 year history of the event as the Utica College men's hockey team earned a 4-1 victory over visiting Salve Regina University in front of a sold out crowd (3,815 fans) at the Utica Memorial Auditorium on December 12^th … The Pioneers and New York Sash collected 3,963 stuffed animals during the annual holiday toy drive where fans brings stuffed animals to the rink and throw them out onto the ice after Utica College scores its first goal … The stuffed animals were collected and distributed to local children throughout the holiday season.

Going Viral: The NCAA Men's Hockey communications team posted Wetmore's New York Sash Teddy Bear Toss penalty shot goal video on the NCAA Men's Hockey Facebook page and it has proved to be one of the most popular videos on the page, garnering 932 "likes" and 86,432 views as of Wednesday morning. 

Solid in Net: Utica goalie Michael Fredrick (Lethbridge, Alberta/Brooks Bandits (AJHL)) stopped 34 shots and he narrowly missed out on his second collegiate shut out as visiting Salve Regina netted a power play goal with just five seconds left on the game clock in the Pioneers' victory on December 12^th … He helped the Pioneers' penalty kill unit hold Salve Regina to a 1-for-5 effort on the power-play … He ranks second in the conference with a 1.98 goals against average and a .933 save percentage this season.

All-Time vs. Morrisville: UC is currently 2-1 all-time against Morrisville … The Pioneers have outscored the Mustangs 12-7 over the course of those three games … UC topped Morrisville 4-3 last season. 

UC Coaching Connections: Friday night the Pioneers will welcome back one of their former captains and current Morrisville State Head Men's Hockey Coach Kevin Krogel to the Aud … Krogel is a 2007 graduate of Utica College where he captained the Pioneers in his senior season … He played in 78 career games and totaled 31 points … Morrisville Assistant Coach Spencer Noyes is also the son of former Utica College assistant coach Geoff Noyes … Current UC Assistant Coach Brian Grady was the head men's hockey coach at Morrisville prior to accepting a position in the Advancement office at Utica College.

Meet the Mustangs: Morrisville earned a tie and a win over Canton before semester break … The last time the Mustangs hit the ice was back on December 5^th when they defeated Canton 3-2 in overtime … Morrisville lost nine of its first ten games of the season and currently holds a 2-9-1 overall record … They are also 1-7 in the SUNYAC … Three of the Mustangs top four scorers are freshman … Freshman Danny Liscio leads the team with 15 points on nine goals and six assists while classmate CJ Stubbs ranks second on the team with 12 points on five goals and seven assists … Sophomore goalie Steven Dombrosky is 2-5-1 overall this season with a 3.98 goals against average and a .889 save percentage.