UTICA, NY – The Utica College men's hockey team returns to action on the road this weekend when the Pioneers travel to Oswego State on Friday (7 p.m.) and Potsdam State on Saturday (7 p.m.). 

Last Time Out: The Pioneers wrapped up a four game home stand at the Utica Memorial Auditorium last weekend … Utica skated to the first scoreless tie in the 15 year history of the men's hockey program on Friday night against Oswego … UC snapped a six game unbeaten streak on Saturday when they lost to red-hot Buffalo State, 3-1 … After Utica took a 1-0 lead in the first period, the Bengals netted three unanswered goals in the third period to come away with a 3-1 victory … Utica's record is now 8-4-2 overall and 2-3-1 in the ECAC West.

Series Against Oswego: The Pioneers are currently 6-12-3 all-time against Oswego … Oswego and UC have now tied in three of their last four meetings, including a 4-4 tie in front of the largest crowd in Division III men's hockey history (7,047 fans) last season at the Frozen Dome Classic at Syracuse University's Carrier Dome. … Utica's last win against Oswego came in the 2012-13 season when the Pioneers swept the two game series, 3-2 and 6-0 … Oswego enters the weekend with a 7-6-2 overall record, but they are 0-2-1 in their last three outings. 

All-Time Against Potsdam: The last time the Pioneers and Potsdam squared off was back on December 9, 2011 when Utica came away with a 1-0 victory at the Aud … UC is 5-2-1 all-time against Potsdam … These two teams split a pair of games back in 2009 … Potsdam enters the weekend with an 8-5-2 overall record, including a six game win streak to start the season. 

Tough to Score On: As a team, the Pioneer defense is tied for first in the nation having allowed just three goals in 48 penalty kill situations (93.8%) … The Pioneer defense is tied for 14^th nationally with a 2.14 goals against average … Junior captain Kevin Kirisits (Buffalo, NY/Brockville (CCHL)) is the leader of the Pioneers defensive unit and has even posted one goal and five assists this season.

Rookie of the Year Candidates: Utica freshmen classmates Hayden Dawes (Stony Plain, Alberta/Drayton Valley (AJHL)) and goalie Michael Fredrick (Lethbridge, Alberta/Brooks Bandits (AJHL)) have made an immediate impression in their short time at the collegiate level … Dawes leads the ECAC West in rookie scoring with an average of .93 points per contest … Fredrick ranks 11th nationally with a 1.74 goals against average and eighth nationally with a .942 save percentage.

No Sophomore Slump Here: Sophomore forward Kevin Valenti (Queensbury, NY/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) is tied for seventh in the conference and leads the team with an average of .64 assists per game ... Sophomore Anthony McVeigh (Kemptville, Ontario/Carleton Place (CCHL)) ranks third on the team with nine points on two goals and seven assists … Sophomore Alex Brissette (Atlanta, GA/Hampton Roads (USPHL)) ranks second on the team with six goals.

Young Offense: Six of the Pioneers top seven scorers are either freshman or sophomores … Freshman Alex Roberts (Burnaby, British Columbia/Brooks Bandits (AJHL)) has four goals and four assists in his first year in the orange and blue. 

Senior Leadership: Senior Nick Miglio (San Antonio, TX/Bismarck (NAHL)) is tied for third in the nation with three game winning goals … Senior assistant captain Joel Wetmore (Horseheads, NY/Lindsay (OJHL)) is the Pioneers active leading scorer with 84 games played, 13 goals and 25 assists.