UTICA, NY- The Utica College women's hockey team faces a tough test this weekend as it hosts undefeated and nationally ranked No. 1 Plattsburgh State.  Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers improved to 11-2-1 in the conference as they swept Chatham last weekend… Senior Morgan Reed (Fort Myers, FL/Cushing Academy) became just the fourth player in program history to collect 100 points in her career and she also recorded her 50th career goal... Freshman Kayla Dion (Colchester, VT/Boston Shamrocks ) scored her first-career goal and seven Pioneers recorded at least one goal on the weekend.
 
NATIONAL ATTENTION: Utica cracked the top-10 in the D3hockey.com national poll this week, coming in at No. 10…  The Pioneers, who received 10 votes in the D3hockey.com poll, also picked up six votes in the USCHO.com rankings, just eight behind tenth-ranked Castleton… UC is currently 15-5-1 on the year and four of the Pioneers' five losses this season have come to teams currently ranked eighth or higher in both national polls.
 
PLAYOFF PICTURE: The Pioneers have clinched a spot in the ECAC West Conference tournament for the 14^th time in the program's 15-year history… Utica is currently in third place in the conference standings, one point behind No. 2 Elmira College, and three points ahead of Buffalo State… UC is guaranteed to finish no lower than fourth in the conference, ensuring a first round home playoff game.
 
SCHNEPP HEATING UP: Junior Gabrielle Schnepp (Northville, MI/Belle Tire) was named the ECAC West Conference Player of the Week, Monday after totaling seven points in the weekend sweep of Chatham… On Friday, she had one goal and two assists, including the helper on the game-winner with 1:44 remaining in regulation as UC topped the Cougars 4-3…  She followed that up with four points (one goal, three assists) as Utica defeated Chatham 6-1 on Saturday…  For her efforts she was also named to the d3hockey.com national team of the week… She currently leads the team with a career-high 36 points (11 goals, 25 assists) and she is second nationally with 1.14 assists per game… Her 1.71 points per game also rank fifth nationally. 
 
PATTERSON KEEPING PACE: Freshman Lauren Patterson (Burlington, Ontario/Oakville) has continued her standout rookie campaign as she ranks third on the team with 29 points…  Patterson is just the third player in program history to score at least 29 points as a freshman, joining All-Americans Deana Weigand '07 and Megan Myers '14… Patterson leads all rookies with 1.38 points per game and she has totaled 12 points in her last six contests.
 
REED JOINS 100-POINT CLUB: Last weekend, senior Morgan Reed (Fort Myers, FL/Cushing Academy) became just the fourth player in program history to record 100 points in a career… Reed, who now has 101 points in 102 games, also netted her 50^th career goal against Chatham… She is currently second on the team with a career-best 34 points this season.
 
STILL GOIN STRONG: Junior Keira Goin (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Hotchkiss School) currently ranks second in the country in goals against average (1.06) and third in save percentage (.958)… She has allowed one goal or fewer in 11 games this season… Sophomore Amanda Lupo (Auburn, NY/Skaneateles) has proven to be a reliable back up as she boasts a .920 save percentage and 2.25 goals against average to go along with her 3-1 record. 
 
SCOUTING PLATTSBURGH: Defending national champion Plattsburgh State is the unanimous No. 1 ranked team in the nation, as the Cardinals are 22-0 (15-0 ECAC West) so far this season… Plattsburgh also holds a 33-game winning streak that dates back to Feb. 7, 2015… The Cardinals are led by sophomores Melissa Sheeran and Kayla Meneghin, who are first and second nationally in scoring… Sheeran has totaled 43 points on the year, while Meneghin is right behind with 42… Junior Camille Leonard leads the nation in both save percentage (.969) and goals against average (.56)… Plattsburgh also holds the nation's top penalty kill and power play units.
 
AGAINST THE CARDINALS: Utica is 0-10-1 against Plattsburgh in the last five years… Three of those loses have come by just one goal… Last year, the Pioneers fell 5-0 and 3-2… Keira Goin (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Hotchkiss School) made 32 saves in the 3-2 loss, while Taylor Osowski (Highlands Ranch, CO/Colorado Selects) netted one goal and Samantha Husak (Jackson, MI/Grass Lake) had one assist.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: Utica wraps up the regular season next weekend as it hosts Buffalo State on Saturday and Sunday… Puck drop is scheduled for 2 p.m. both days.