UTICA, NY- The Utica College women's hockey team returns to ECAC West Conference action this weekend as it takes on SUNY Potsdam in a home-and-home series.  The teams will faceoff in Potsdam on Friday at 7 p.m. before traveling to Utica on Saturday for a 4 p.m. puck drop.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Utica fell to nationally ranked No. 7 Middlebury College, 2-1 last Friday… It marked the third straight year the Pioneers lost to the nationally ranked Panthers by just one point… Junior Gabrielle Schnepp (Northville, MI/Belle Tire) scored the lone goal for UC, while senior Morgan Reed (Fort Myers, FL/Cushing Academy) and freshman Kayla Dion (Colchester, VT/Boston Shamrocks ) had the assists… Sophomore Amanda Lupo (Auburn, NY/Skaneateles) made a career-high 31 saves in just her second start of the season.
 
TOUGH SCHEDULE: Middlebury marked the third ranked opponent Utica faced this year… Four of the Pioneers' five losses have come to teams ranked in the top-10, three of which were by two goals or less… UC's final ranked opponent this season will be No. 1 Plattsburgh State, which it faces at home on Feb. 13 and 14. 
 
IN THE ECAC WEST: The Pioneers (9-5-1, 5-2-1) are currently in fifth in the ECAC West Conference standings, one point behind Buffalo State, and two points behind Oswego State, with two games in hand… All of Utica's 10 remaining regular season games are against conference opponents. 
 
FIRST LINE FINDING THEIR STRIDE: Utica's top line of Morgan Reed (Fort Myers, FL/Cushing Academy), Gabrielle Schnepp (Northville, MI/Belle Tire), and Lauren Patterson (Burlington, Ontario/Oakville) has been strong all season… Reed is tied for ninth nationally with 1.53 points per game, while Schnepp is 13^th (1.47)… Schnepp is also amongst the national leaders with a 1.00 assist-per-game average… Patterson is third in rookie scoring with 1.13 points per game. 
 
IN THE NET: Junior Keira Goin (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Hotchkiss School) has been lights out in net all season… She ranks fifth nationally in goals against average (1.08) and seventh in save percentage (.956)… She also has five shutouts on the year… Sophomore Amanda Lupo (Auburn, NY/Skaneateles) has proven to be a reliable backup as she boasts a .912 save percentage… With her solid performance against Middlebury, Lupo has proven she can rise to the occasion when called upon.
 
HOT START: Utica has outscored opponents 18-3 in the first period this season… UC is 9-2-1 when scoring first, however the Pioneers are 0-3 when the other team scores the game's first goal.
 
SCOUTING POTSDAM: The Bears are 6-10-2 overall and 1-9-1 in the conference… They are coming off a 4-1 win over SUNY Canton on Tuesday… Potsdam is led by junior Jordan Ott, who has a team-high 12 goals and 18 points on the season.
 
AGAINST THE BEARS: Utica is 6-2-4 against Potsdam in the last five years… Last year, the Pioneers split with the Bears, with the home team winning each match up… Morgan Reed (Fort Myers, FL/Cushing Academy) and Gabrielle Schnepp (Northville, MI/Belle Tire) each had one goal, while Victoria Pelton (Sterling Heights, MI/Belle Tire) had two assists on the weekend. 
 
LOOKING AHEAD: On Friday, Jan. 29, the Pioneers will host the fourth annual Shawn Grady Memorial Fund Gold Ribbon Game for childhood cancer awareness as UC takes on ECAC West Conference foe, Neumann University (7 p.m.)… The Pioneers will be wearing special edition gold ribbon uniforms at all home games throughout the month of January to show their support for all those fighting childhood cancer… The jerseys are currently being auctioned off online (HERE) leading up to the game, as well as in the arena the night of the event… All proceeds will be donated to help ease the medical costs of a local family that is currently dealing with the disease.