UTICA, NY – The Utica College men's hockey team is on the road this weekend as the Pioneers take on nationally-ranked No. 3/4 Hobart in an ECAC West matchup. Friday night's game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. while Saturday's game is set to start at 4:00 p.m.
Last Time Out: UC went 1-0-1 over the weekend against ECAC West opponent Neumann … On Friday, Utica won 2-1 off of goals by
Justin Derlago (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Selkirk (MJHL)) and Luc Bobby … On Saturday, UC tied the Knights 2-2 thanks to power-play goals by
Brett Szajner (Novi, MI/Amarillo (NAHL)) and
Dalton Carter (Toledo, OH/Northern Cyclones (EHL)).
Down The Stretch: After the two games this weekend UC has five more games that are all conference matchups … Three of the five remaining games are at the friendly confines of the Utica Memorial Auditorium … Utica is currently third in the conference and is battling for a position to host conference tournament post season play at the Aud.
Scouting The Statesmen: Hobart is 14-2-2 overall with a 7-1-0 ECAC West record … The Statesmen are 8-0-0 at home and have outscored their opponents 41-11 at the Cooler … Hobart is 9-0-1 in its last 10 games and is 1-1-1 against ranked opponents this year … The Statesmen are led by the senior trio of Ben Gamache, Brad Robbins and Mac Olsen … Gamache leads the team with 21 points on four goals and 17 assists … Robbins leads the team with 13 goals, while Olsen rounds out the top three with 10 goals and eight assists.
All-Time Against Hobart: Out of the 38 meetings between these two teams 10 of them have resulted in overtime and five of those resulted in a draw … UC is 15-18-5 against Hobart all-time including the 5-1 home loss suffered earlier this year … The Pioneers last beat the Statesmen 3-2 in overtime on the road during the 2013-14 season.
Rookie of the Week: Freshman
Alex Roberts (Burnaby, British Columbia/Brooks Bandits (AJHL)) was named the ECAC West Conference Rookie of the Week on Monday for his performance over the weekend ... Roberts registered three assists against Neumann ... He played a part in both goals on Friday night as the Pioneers' topped the Knights, 2-1 ... He added an assist on the Pioneers' first goal of the game on Saturday night ... Roberts is tied for third in the ECAC West this season in rookie scoring with 11 points (.65 points per game) ... His four goals and seven assists rank third on the team.
All-Around Defense: As a team, the Pioneer penalty kill unit is fourth in the nation having allowed just six goals in 64 penalty situations (90.6) … Utica's defense is also 14
th in the nation in scoring defense allowing 2.17 goals per game (39 defensive goals total) … 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 is first in the ECAC West and tied for 26
th in the nation for points per game for a rookie (.82) and leads the team with 14 points off of eight goals and six assists … Fredrick is 18
th in the nation in goals against average (1.86), 10
th in save percentage (.940), and is tied for ninth in shutouts (2) in his first year.
Senior Leadership: Senior
Nick Miglio (San Antonio, TX/Bismarck (NAHL)) is tied for seventh 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.
Young Offense: Four of the top five point scorers for UC are freshmen and sophomores … Sophomore
Kevin Valenti (Queensbury, NY/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) is second on the team with 13 points off of two goals and 11 assists … Freshman
Alex Roberts (Burnaby, British Columbia/Brooks Bandits (AJHL)) and sophomore
Anthony McVeigh (Kemptville, Ontario/Carleton Place (CCHL)) each have 11 points … Roberts has four goals and seven assists while McVeigh has two goals and nine assists.
Dinner With a Pioneer: The annual fundraiser for Make-A-Wish® Central New York is back and once again features a chance to win dinner with the team ... Throughout the season, fans can purchase raffle tickets at home games, which are played at the Utica Memorial Auditorium ... Twenty-nine lucky fans will have the chance to enjoy dinner with their favorite player ... Winners will be drawn on Feb. 7 and the dinner will be held Feb. 11 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Valentino's Banquet Hall in Washington Mills ... Proceeds benefit Make-A-Wish Central New York, which grants the special wishes of local children with life-threatening conditions.
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers return home to host ECAC West opponent Manhattanville College on Friday (2/5/16) and Saturday (2/6/16) … Both games have a 7 p.m. start time.
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.
Watch From Home: Get live video and stats by clicking these links …
http://campus.hws.edu/athletics/hobart/hockey/live/xlive.htm ,
http://www.hwsathletics.com/watch/?Live=587
