UTICA, NY – The Utica College men's hockey team is hosting Salve Regina Saturday night for the annual New York Sash Teddy Bear Toss. The puck is set to drop at 7 p.m.


Teddy Bear Toss: Saturday night at the Aud will be the 11^th annual New York Sash Teddy Bear Toss … The contest is sold out for the fifth straight year, but it will be televised locally on WPNY Channel 12 on Time Warner Cable and live streaming video can also be accessed at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/ … Don't be late to the game! When Utica College scores their first goal, fans throw their teddy bears onto the ice. In 2009, the toss occurred only 1:28 into the first period and some late fans missed out … Bring a bunch of bears! Stuffed animals should be new and clean … All of the toys are collected by New York Sash and donated to a collaborative toy drive with partners Operation Sunshine, Marine Corp Toys for Tots, WUTR, First News with Keeler in the Morning and WIBX, Time Warner Cable and Utica Mack. The important thing to know is that LOCAL kids will be enjoying the teddy bears you donate this holiday season … Utica College hockey games will be broadcast on the radio locally at WTLB 99.1 FM/1310 AM (ESPN Radio) by Dave Peroni and UC alum Ray Biggs… Live streaming audio can also be accessed on WTLB's website, www.espnur.com.
 
Jersey Auction: For the second time annually the Utica College men's hockey team will once again join forces with AmeriCU Credit Union to support the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund of CNY through their AmeriCU Jersey Night initiative … The Pioneers are currently auctioning off their collector's edition New York Sash Teddy Bear Toss game jerseys from now until game time on December 12^th … Follow the link to the auction page http://ucpioneers.com/jersey.
 
Teddy Bear Toss Fun Facts: The 1st UC Teddy Bear Toss game was played on Dec. 6, 2005 against Hamilton, UC won 4-2 and 1,713 fans attended … Last year 4,110 stuffed animals were collected for local families and organizations … UC is 7-2-1 all-time in Teddy Bear Toss games … The Pioneers have scored the first goal in all but one TBT game … The fastest goal scored was in 2009 when Tim Coffman netted a goal 1:28 into the contest … The last four TBT goal scorers' last names all begin with the letter "G". Graff, Garbutt, Gaffney & Garbutt … Three different players have scored the Teddy Bear Toss goal twice. Colin Kingston (2005, 2006), Tim Coffman (2008, 2009) and Ridge Garbutt (2011, 2013) … No one on the current UC roster has scored the coveted Teddy bear Toss goal. 
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers pulled out a close one on the road against Castleton last Friday winning 2-1 in overtime … Nick Miglio (San Antonio, TX/Bismarck (NAHL)) netted the game-winner, short-handed, with 3:09 to go in the overtime period to give UC the victory ... Miglio is currently tied for first in DIII in game winning goals with three so far this year.
 
National Poll: The Utica College men's hockey team is receiving votes in the latest D3hockey.com National Poll released Monday ...  The Pioneers are receiving five votes, which ranks them sixth among teams in the receiving votes category ... The D3hockey.com Top 15 is voted on by a panel of 20 coaches, sports information directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly.
 
Leading The Way: Hayden Dawes (Stony Plain, Alberta/Drayton Valley (AJHL)) leads the team with 10 points off of six goals and four assists … Kevin Valenti (Queensbury, NY/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) is second on the team with eight points off of one goal and seven assists … Dawes is tied for 12^th in Division III in points per game for a rookie (1.00), he is tied for eighth in the ECAC West Conference in points (10), and is tied for seventh in the conference in goals (6) … Valenti is tied for fifth in the conference in assists so far this year.
 
 
Team Effort: Utica has 18 players who have at least one point so far this year … Alex Brissette (Atlanta, GA/Hampton Roads (USPHL)), Mikhail Bushinski (Woodbury, MN/Kenai River (NAHL)), and Anthony McVeigh (Kemptville, Ontario/Carleton Place (CCHL)) are tied for third on the team with seven points … Brissette has five goals two assists, Bushinski has two goals and five assists, and McVeigh has one goal and six assists … Nick Miglio (San Antonio, TX/Bismarck (NAHL)) and Alex Roberts (Burnaby, British Columbia/Brooks Bandits (AJHL)) are tied for sixth on the team with six points off of four goals and two assists a piece.
 
Between The Pipes: Freshman Michael Fredrick (Lethbridge, Alberta/Brooks Bandits (AJHL)) is second in the conference in goals against average (2.08), save percentage (.928), and saves (245) so far this season … He currently has a 6-2-1 overall record.
 
Penalty Kill: UC is tied for fourth in Division III in the penalty kill with a 94.1 percent kill rate … The team has killed 32 of 34 chances so far this year … The Pioneers have been able to turn the man disadvantage into goals three times this year … Alex Brissette (Atlanta, GA/Hampton Roads (USPHL)) is tied for first in DIII with two short-handed goals so far this season.
 
Scouting Salve Regina: The Seahawks are 6-4-1 overall with a 3-2-1 New England Hockey Conference record … After going 0-4-1 in the first five games of the season Salve Regina is currently on a six game win streak … The Seahawks are led by Peter Gintoli (nine points off of five goals and four assists), Pat Thompson (eight points off of six goals and two assists), and goalie Blake Wojtala (2.57 goals per game average, 231 saves, and a .913 save percentage).
 
Against The Seahawks: The Pioneers are 3-0-0 against Salve Regina over the last five years … UC beat the Seahawks 5-1 in the 2013-14 Teddy Bear Toss game, 6-2 in the 2012-13 season, and 12-0 in the 2011-12 Teddy Bear Toss game.
 
Social Media: Make sure to follow live updates of the game on the Pioneers official Twitter feed: @UCPioneers… If you are at the game and on Twitter, or talking about the game on Twitter, make sure to use #UCMoose… You can also "Like" the Pioneers on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UCpioneers ... Fans can also follow the Pioneers on Instagram: UCPioneers.
 
Next Time Out: UC returns to the ice on Sunday January 3^rd as it hosts Morrisville State College … The game is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.