UTICA, NY- The Utica College women's hockey team faces a tough test this weekend as it travels to nationally ranked No. 1 Plattsburgh State.  The teams will face off at 3 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Utica is coming off a 7-1 win against Lebanon Valley College on Tuesday… The Pioneers out shot the Dutchmen 82-4 on the day… Lauren Patterson (Burlington, Ontario/Oakville) and Jane Pagano (Erie, PA/Tabor Academy) each scored two goals, while Gabrielle Schnepp (Northville, MI/Belle Tire), Emily Coope (Phoenix, AZ/Colorado Tigers), Meghan Power (Windsor, Ontario/Southwest Wildcats), Danielle Haasbeek (Grand Forks, ND/Balmoral Hall), and Samantha Husak (Jackson, MI/Grass Lake) each had two assists… Kayla Dion (Colchester, VT/Boston Shamrocks ), Elizabeth Dohner (Highlands Ranch, CO/Colorado Selects), and Jennifer Liu (North Saanich, British Columbia/Shaftesbury Titans ) found the back of the net once each.
 
RECEIVING VOTES: The Pioneers are currently in the "Receiving Votes" category of both national polls… UC is second in the category in the d3hockey.com poll, getting six votes, just one behind Morrisville State, who the Pioneers swept earlier this season… Utica also picked up one vote this week in the USCHO.com national rankings.
 
GET THE FIRST GOAL: Utica is 7-0 on the year when scoring first… So far this year, the Pioneers have scored five times within the first five minutes of the first period… UC is 24-2-1 when scoring first since the beginning of last season.   
 
GOIN NAMED GOALIE OF THE WEEK: Senior Keira Goin (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Hotchkiss School) was named the ECAC West Goalie of the Week on Monday after helping Utica go 2-1 last week… She allowed just three goals against in the three games, two of which were on the power play… On Tuesday, Goin stopped all 19 shots she faced for her third shutout of the season and 12th of her career… 12 shutouts is a new program record… Goin also made 28 saves to help Utica down No. 8/9 Oswego 2-1 on Saturday… On the season, she has a 1.24 goals against average and .947 save percentage.
 
100-CLUB: With two assists on Tuesday, senior Gabrielle Schnepp (Northville, MI/Belle Tire) became the fifth player in program history to record 100 points in her career… Schnepp has totaled 101 points (38 goals, 63 assists) in 96 career games played… She also ranks fourth all-time in assists… This season, she leads the team with 14 points, including a team-best 12 assists.
 
BIG D: Sophomore Kayla Dion (Colchester, VT/Boston Shamrocks ) is fourth on the team in scoring with a career-high 11 points (four goals, seven assists)… Dion is tied for seventh in the nation in scoring by defensemen, with .79 points per game… Dion was also named to the D3hockey.com Team of the Week, Wednesday… Senior Jane Pagano (Erie, PA/Tabor Academy) is tied for fifth on the team in scoring with nine points… Her five goals on the year share the team lead with classmate Emily Coope (Phoenix, AZ/Colorado Tigers)… Pagano also has a team-best 10 blocked shots on the year.
 
BALANCED ATTACK: Four players have tallied at least ten points on the season… apart from Schnepp and Dion, junior Meghan Power (Windsor, Ontario/Southwest Wildcats) and senior Emily Coope (Phoenix, AZ/Colorado Tigers) have 13 and 12 points, respectively… Power is second on the squad with 11 assists and she has tallied seven points in her last six games… Coope shares the team lead with five goals… She has matched the highest point production of her career.  
 
SCOUTING PLATTSBURGH: The Cardinals of Plattsburgh State come into this contest with the top spot in both the U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) and D3hockey.com national polls after receiving all of the first place votes... With a 14-1 overall record, they are led by junior Melissa Sheeran who leads the ECAC Women's West in total goals (17) and she is tied for third with 25 total points… Plattsburgh ranks third in the country in scoring offense, averaging 4.67 goals per game… The Cardinals are also sixth national in scoring defense, allowing 1.20 goals against per game.
 
AGAINST THE CARDINALS: UC went 1-2 against Plattsburgh last season, marking the only team to defeat the Cardinals on their way to their third straight National Championship… During the regular season, Utica defeated the Cardinals 4-2 on Feb. 13… Kayla Dion (Colchester, VT/Boston Shamrocks ) had two goals, while Lauren Patterson (Burlington, Ontario/Oakville) had two assists, and Gabrielle Schnepp (Northville, MI/Belle Tire) had the game-winner and added one assist… Keira Goin (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Hotchkiss School) made 55 saves in the win… The Cardinals rebounded to salvage the split, and then went on to defeat Utica in the ECAC West title game. 
 
LOOKING AHEAD: Next up for the Pioneers is a home-and-home weekend matchup against ECAC West rival, Elmira College. Puck drop on Saturday is at 2:30 p.m. at the Utica Memorial Auditorium while Sunday's faceoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Elmira.