Utica, NY- The Utica College women's hockey team gets back in action this weekend as it takes on ECAC West Conference rival, and nationally ranked No. 4/5 Elmira College in a home-and-home series. The teams will face off in Utica on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. before traveling to Elmira on Sunday for a 3 p.m. contest.

LAST TIME OUT: Utica is coming off two losses at No. 1 Plattsburgh State last weekend… UC fell 6-2 on Saturday and 3-1 on Sunday… In the second game, the Pioneers were tied with the Cardinals going into the third period… Plattsburgh scored the go-ahead goal after a Utica shot hit the cross bar and bounced out giving the Cardinals a breakaway… Emily Coope (Phoenix, AZ/Colorado Tigers), Jane Pagano (Erie, PA/Tabor Academy), and Taylor Osowski (Highlands Ranch, CO/Colorado Selects) each scored on the weekend… Goalie Amanda Lupo (Auburn, NY/Skaneateles) had 37 saves on Saturday while Keira Goin (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Hotchkiss School) had 36 saves on Sunday.

HOME COOKING: On the season, the Pioneers are undefeated with a 4-0 record at the Utica Memorial Auditorium, including a 3-0 mark at home in league play… The team's last home loss came on February 20 last year as it fell 2-1 to Buffalo State.

FINISHING STRONG: The third period has routinely been Utica's best period this year… UC is outshooting opponents 195-118 in the third period and the Pioneers have scored 17 goals in the final frame, while allowing just seven goals against in the last 20 minutes. 

LEADING THE WAY: Senior Gabrielle Schnepp (Northville, MI/Belle Tire) has a team-high 14 points (two goals, 12 assists) on the season… She recently became just the fifth player in program history to record 100 points in her career… Classmate Emily Coope (Phoenix, AZ/Colorado Tigers) and junior Meghan Power (Windsor, Ontario/Southwest Wildcats) are right behind Schnepp with 13 points each this season… Coope has totaled a career-high 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in her final campaign… She needs just two more goals to match her highest output of eight goals, which she accomplished last season… Power is second on the squad with 11 assists… This is her best season as a Pioneer… She needs just one more point to match her career-high of 14, which she accomplished as a freshman at Neumann University.
 
STRONG D: Blue liners Kayla Dion (Colchester, VT/Boston Shamrocks ) and Jane Pagano (Erie, PA/Tabor Academy) rank third and fourth on the team with 11 and 10 points, respectively… Dion has recorded three goals and four assists in the last nine games… Pagano had three goals and one assist last week, and helped set up another Utica goal against Plattsburgh State on Sunday. 

SCOUTING ELMIRA: The Soaring Eagles enter the game ranked No. 4/5 in the latest national polls… They hold a 13-2-2 overall record (10-0 ECAC West), and they are coming off a 4-0 win over #8/10 Amherst College on Tuesday… Nine players have scored at least 10 points on the season, led by sophomore Maddie Evangelous, who has 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists)… Classmate Katie Granato has a team-best 10 goals on the year. 

AGAINST ELMIRA: UC went 1-2 against the Soaring Eagles last year… The Pioneers fell 4-1 and 2-1 in the regular season, before defeating Elmira 5-1 in the ECAC West tournament semifinals… Emily Coope (Phoenix, AZ/Colorado Tigers) led the way with two goals on the day, while Samantha Husak (Jackson, MI/Grass Lake) tallied three assists to help give Utica its second trip to the finals in program history… Keira Goin (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Hotchkiss School) had 29 saves in the victory.

LOOKING AHEAD: The Pioneers will host Chatham University in ECAC West action next weekend…  UC will take on the Cougars Friday and Saturday, with the puck drop scheduled for 3 p.m. both days.