UTICA, NY- The Utica College men's hockey team looks to get back on track this Friday as it hosts SUNY Cortland. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
AmeriCU Jersey Night: The Pioneers have joined 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 AmeriCU Carol M. Baldwin game jerseys online (
HERE) until 5 p.m. on game day, with the auction picking up at the Aud at 6 p.m… Actor, director and producer Daniel Baldwin will be on hand to speak briefly about his mother's foundation, the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Fund.
Last time out: After having a tremendous 8-0 start and a six game ECAC West winning streak, the Pioneers have dropped two straight non-conference home games… Utica lost 4-2 against UMass Boston last Friday… Utica junior
Roman Ammirato (Williamstown, NJ/Union College (ECAC)) and sophomore
Alex Roberts (Burnaby, British Columbia/Brooks Bandits (AJHL)) each scored one goal against UMass… Last Saturday, Utica gave up a two-goal (5-3) lead late in the third and another one in overtime to lose to Amherst College 6-5… Junior
Kevin Valenti (Queensbury, NY/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) scored a game-high two goals and one assist… Ammirato, junior
Brett Szajner (Novi, MI/Amarillo (NAHL)), and sophomore
Hayden Dawes (Stony Plain, Alberta/Drayton Valley (AJHL)) each scored one goal in the game… Pioneer goalie
Henry Dill (Columbus, OH/UMASS (Hockey East)) made 26 saves.
National Rankings: The Pioneers remain in the top-10 in both national polls this week… Utica is currently No. 7 in the USCHO.com poll and No. 9 in the d3hockey.com rankings.
Top Performing Player:
Roman Ammirato (Williamstown, NJ/Union College (ECAC)) has now scored a team-high nine goals and ten assists this season… He is tied for fourth in the nation in points per game (1.90)… He is also tied for first, in the ECAC West, in scoring.
Top Performing Goalies:
Henry Dill (Columbus, OH/UMASS (Hockey East)) and freshman
Patrik Virtanen (Vantaa, Finland/Lincoln (USHL)) have each played and started five games… Dill has the most saves for the team this season with 151… Virtanen made 117 saves this year.
Scouting SUNY Cortland: Cortland is 3-5 overall… Most recently, the Red Dragons lost 4-2 on the road against Hobart on Monday… Junior Darren McCormick and freshman Nico Gonzalez each scored a goal for Cortland… SUNY Cortland goalie Drew Weigman recorded 41 saves in the loss… The Red Dragons have scored a total of 23 goals this season… McCormick has scored a team-high five goals this season… Weigman holds a .897 save percentage and 2.86 goals against average through six games.
Against the Red Dragons: Utica is 6-1-1 all-time against Cortland… This is will be the first meeting between the two teams since Jan. 11, 2013, when Cortland shut out the Pioneers 5-0.
Looking Ahead: Utica will travel to Morrisville State College next Friday to play the Mustangs at 7 p.m… The Pioneers home on Dec. 17 to play the Mustangs again in the 12th Annual New York Sash Teddy Bear Toss… The start for that game is 7 p.m.
