UTICA, NY- The Utica College men's hockey team returns home to the Utica Memorial Auditorium this weekend for a two game ECAC Men's West Conference set against first-place Hobart College. The two teams will meet for the first game of the weekend on Friday evening (7 p.m.) and they turn right back around for game number two on Saturday evening (7 p.m.).

HOW UC STANDS: The Pioneers are now 9-2-3 in their last 14 games and their record is 10-6-4 overall on the year … Utica is also 3-5-2 in ECAC West play … They are currently tied for fourth place in the conference with eight points this season… Including the two-game set with Hobart, Utica has just five regular season games left, all of which are in conference play.

HOME SWEET HOME: UC is 5-1 in its last six home games at the friendly confines of the Utica Memorial Auditorium … Utica currently leads the nation with a paid attendance average of 3,697 fans through 10 home games.

AGAINST HOBART: The last six meetings between these two teams have been decided by one goal or less and three of those games have advanced to overtime … Utica is 9-3-1 against Hobart since the 2010-11 season… The last time these two teams met at "The Aud" the Statesmen came away with a 3-2 victory, scoring the winning goal with one second remaining in regulation, on November 9, 2013 … Last year, the teams went 1-1-1 against each other...  Utica lost to Hobart 5-4 in overtime on the road earlier this season on November 15, 2014.

THE HOUSE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD NIGHT: Make sure to join the Pioneers on Friday night as they host The House of the Good Shepherd Night at the Aud … Lucky fans will be chosen between periods to participate in The House of the Good Shepherd Shootout for a chance to win prizes. 

LIVE UNITED NIGHT!: Saturday at the Aud is the annual United Way Night as the Pioneers host Hobart for a fun filled evening … If fans are spotted in their LIVE UNITED T-Shirt they have a chance to win great prizes … T-Shirts will be available if you donate in the concourse at the Live United Information table or fans will have a chance to catch one during the t-shirt toss … During the second period intermission select fans will be welcomed to the ice for an Olaf the Snowman building competition for a chance to win prizes … Fans can donate to Live United by calling 315-733-4691 or by visiting www.unitedwayVGU.org.

LAST TIME OUT: UC is coming off a two game sweep against host Manhattanville, earning the Pioneers four points in the ECAC West Conference standings ... The Pioneers earned their first win of the weekend as they skated to a 3-2 victory on Friday night ... Sophomore Easton Powers (South Lyon, MI/Port Huron (NAHL)) led the team with a career-high two goals, while senior Pete LaFosse chipped in with a goal of his own … Four other Utica players were credited with assists for the night … Freshmen Kevin Valenti (Queensbury, NY/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) and Vinny Stefan (Pittsburgh, PA/Kenai River (NAHL)) each had one assist while freshmen Anthony McVeigh (Kemptville, Ontario/Carleton Place (CCHL)) and junior Joel Wetmore (Horseheads, NY/Lindsay (OJHL)) added two each … The Pioneers rallied to earn a 2-1 victory on Saturday night … Freshman forward Alex Brissette (Atlanta, GA/Hampton Roads (USPHL)) netted the game-winner with 2:16 left in regulation to lift the Pioneers. 

POINT PRODUCTION: Eight Pioneers have at least 10 points so far this season … Senior Louie Educate (Chicago, IL/Aberdeen (NAHL)) leads the pack with 20 points, Justin Hogan (Val Therese, Ontario/Brooks Bandits (AJHL)) and Easton Powers (South Lyon, MI/Port Huron (NAHL)) are ranked second with 15, while Wetmore and sophomore Trent Samuels-Thomas (West Hartford, CT/Omaha (USHL)) follow closely behind with 14 points each … Dalton Carter (Toledo, OH/Northern Cyclones (EHL)), Valenti and LaFosse round out the top eight with 13, 12 and 10 points respectively.

ALL-AMERICAN CANDIDATE: Educate is tied for third nationally with four game-winning goals this season … He is tied for fifth in the ECAC West with 20 points … He also ranks second in the conference with 10 goals … Educate ranks 11th in the conference with 10 assists … He is tied for fifth in the conference with 10 power-play points … Over the course of 102 career games played Educate has 116 points on 61 goals and 55 assists. 

PLAY-MAKERS: So far this season UC has outscored its opponents by a 63-56 margin … Collectively the Pioneers have tallied 117 assists on the season, while their opponents only have 84 assists thus far.

BETWEEN THE PIPES: Junior goalie Dylan Wells (Nashville, TN/Bonnyville (AJHL)) has an 8-3-3 record for Utica so far this season … He has a 2.31 goals against average and a .925 save % … He has started 14 games for the Pioneers and he has one shut out. 

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Freshman defender Vinny Stefan (Pittsburgh, PA/Kenai River (NAHL)) was named the ECAC Men's West Conference Rookie of the Week for the first time in his career on Monday … Stefan totaled three assists as the Pioneers went 2-0 this weekend at Manhattanville … He now has four assists in his last three games and a total of six points this season.

TOUGH OPPONENTS: The Pioneers have the fifth strongest strength of schedule in the country according to the KRACH rankings on USCHO.com … Two of the Pioneers early season opponents are ranked in the top four of the USCHO.com National Poll (No. 2 Oswego , No. 4 Trinity).

MEET THE STATESMEN: First place Hobart is receiving votes in both the USCHO.com and D3hockey.com National Polls … The Statesmen are currently 14-6 overall and 7-3 in the ECAC West … They have won eight of their last ten games … Bo Webster leads Hobart with 22 points this season (eight goals, 14 assists) … Senior Brad McBride has 18 points on a team-high 12 goals and six assists … Freshman Frank Oplinger has won three straight games in net for Hobart and he currently holds a 7-2 overall record and a 2.56 goals against average. 

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.

PIONEERS ALL-ACCESS: If you can't make it out to the "aud" to watch the game in person, Pioneers All-Access is the place to be on game day, providing live video, audio (WPNR 90.7 FM) and stats for all UC home games in the rink… Pioneers All-Access is a completely FREE service provided for those members of the Pioneer nation that might not be able to make it out to the game … Recent stories and social media are fully integrated into the Pioneers All-Access site for the most comprehensive viewing experience …  Make sure to check out Pioneers All-Access at www.ucpioneers.com/watch.

RADIO BROADCAST INFO:  Utica College hockey games will be broadcast on the radio locally at WTLB 99.1 FM/1310 AM (ESPN Radio) by play-by-play man Dave Peroni and color analyst Fred Miller … Live streaming audio can also be accessed on WTLB's website, www.espnur.com … The College's student radio WPNR 90.7 FM will also be broadcasting Saturday night's game. 

DOWNLOAD THE APP: All UC men's hockey radio broadcasts on WTLB 99.1 FM can be heard on the My Hometown Sports Application available in the Google Play store and on Apple ITunes ... After you download the application make sure to select the ESPN Radio coverage … It's a free application so download today!