UTICA, NY – The Utica College men's hockey team travels to take on ECAC West Conference rival Elmira on Friday and Saturday. The games are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers went 2-0-0 over the weekend defeating visiting Manhattanville in two crucial conference games … UC used the two victories to move into a tie for second in the conference standings with the Valiants  … On Friday, Utica used four unanswered goals including two straight by Adam Moody (Newmarket, Ontario/Cowichan Valley (BCHL)) to defeat the Valiants, 5-2 … On Saturday, Shawn Lynch (Syracuse, NY/Ottawa Jr. Senators (CCHL)) scored the game-winner with 17.3 seconds left in overtime as the Pioneers won 2-1.
 
Closing Out The Regular Season: After this weekend UC only has one more game remaining in the regular season … The final three games will decide if Utica can secure second place in the conference and get a first round bye in the ECAC West Tournament.
 
ECAC West Goalie Of The Week: Michael Fredrick (Lethbridge, Alberta/Brooks Bandits (AJHL)) stopped 59 total shots as the Pioneers earned two key ECAC Men's West Conference victories at home over Manhattanville on Friday and Saturday ...  Fredrick made 28 saves on Friday night and stopped 31 shots on Saturday ... He also guided a penalty kill unit that held Manhattanville to an 0-for-7 effort on the weekend ... Fredrick is one of the top rookie goaltenders in the country and ranks third nationally among freshman net minders with a goals against average of 2.09 this season ...  He leads the conference in minutes played this season (1263:04) and ranks second in the ECAC West with a save percentage of .933. 
 
ECAC West Rookie Of The Week: Shawn Lynch (Syracuse, NY/Ottawa Jr. Senators (CCHL)) netted his first collegiate goal with 17.3 seconds left on the overtime clock to help lift Utica to a 2-1 victory over visiting Manhattanville on Saturday night at the Utica Memorial Auditorium ...  Lynch also assisted on the game's opening goal to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead midway through the first period ...  Lynch was playing in just his 11^th career game for the Pioneers.
 
Strong Defense: As a team, the Pioneers are sixth in the nation in the penalty kill allowing just eight goals in 81 penalty situations (90.1) … Junior captain Kevin Kirisits (Buffalo, NY/Brockville (CCHL)) is the leader of the Pioneers' defensive unit and has one goal and seven assists … Sophomore Brett Szajner (Novi, MI/Amarillo (NAHL)) leads the defense in points with nine off of two goals and seven assists.
 
Veteran Leadership: Senior Nick Miglio (San Antonio, TX/Bismarck (NAHL)) is sixth on the team with 10 points off of five goals and five assists … Miglio is tied for 11th in the nation in game winning goals with three … Senior assistant captain Joel Wetmore (Horseheads, NY/Lindsay (OJHL)) is the Pioneers active leading scorer with 88 games played, 15 goals and 27 assists.
 
Offense By Committee: The Pioneers have six players with 10 or more points so far this season … Five of the six players are freshmen and sophomores … Freshman Hayden Dawes (Stony Plain, Alberta/Drayton Valley (AJHL)) leads the team with 15 points off of a team high nine goals and six assists while fellow freshman Alex Roberts (Burnaby, British Columbia/Brooks Bandits (AJHL)) is third on the team with 13 points off of five goals and eight assists … Sophomore Kevin Valenti (Queensbury, NY/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) is second on the team with 14 points off of two goals and a team high 12 assists while fellow sophomores Anthony McVeigh (Kemptville, Ontario/Carleton Place (CCHL)) (13 points off of four goals and nine assists) and Mikhail Bushinski (Woodbury, MN/Kenai River (NAHL)) (12 points off of two goals and 10 assists) are fourth and fifth on the team respectively.
 
Scouting Elmira: The Soaring Eagles are 10-9-2 overall with a 3-7-1 ECAC West record nearing the end of the regular season … Elmira split last weekends game against Nazareth losing 4-2 on Friday while winning 4-3 in overtime on Saturday … The Soaring Eagles are led by seniors Carter Shinkaruk (22 points off of 17 goals and five assists) and Tommy Sumi (20 points off of nine goals and 11 assists) … In the net for Elmira is the committee of Sandro Aeschlimann (406 saves, .925 save percentage, and a 2.81 goals against average) and Sal Magliocco (294 saves, .907 save percentage, and a 3.19 goals against average).
 
Against The Soaring Eagles: The Pioneers are 13-24-5 all-time against Elmira … UC defeated the Soaring Eagles 4-3 at home earlier this season … Utica's home record against Elmira is 7-10-4 while its road record is 6-14-1.
 
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 At Home: To get live stats and video go to http://portal.stretchinternet.com/elmira/ .
 
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers return home for their final regular season game next Friday (2/19/16) as they host conference opponent Nazareth College … The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.