UTICA, NY -- The Utica College men's hockey hits the road Friday and Saturday to take on two ECAC West Conference opponents. The Pioneers will first travel to Aston, Pa. on Friday to take on nationally-ranked No. 15 Neumann University at 7 p.m. The Pioneers will head to Rye, NY on Saturday to play Manhattanville College, also a 7 p.m. start time.
 
Last Time Out:  The Pioneers scored three goals in the third period to erase a one-goal deficit in the second and defeat the visiting SUNY Potsdam Bears 5-3 at the Aud on Saturday … Sophomore Justin Derlago (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Selkirk (MJHL)) scored his first goal of the year in the first period… He also added his second of the evening in the third period to tie the game at 3-3… Junior Roman Ammirato (Williamstown, NJ/Union College (ECAC)) scored one goal and tallied his team-leading 14th assist of the season… Junior's Vince Stefan (Pittsburgh, PA/Kenai River (NAHL)) and Kevin Valenti (Queensbury, NY/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) each scored one goal in the Pioneers' victory, while junior Kollin Schultz (Buffalo, NY/Bay State (USPHL)) tallied his first assist of the year… Junior goaltender Henry Dill (Columbus, OH/UMASS (Hockey East)) picked up his fifth win of the season after stopping 25 shots against the Bears. 
 
Pioneers' Record: Utica is now 11-7 overall and is still 6-1 in the ECAC West… The Pioneers suffered their first conference loss last Friday on the road against Nazareth (4-2), but the team moved forward from that loss and beat non-conference rival SUNY Potsdam… Utica now looks to beat both Neumann and Manhattanville to take a stronghold in the ECAC West standings … The Pioneers still hold a one game advantage in the ECAC West standings as they sit in first place ahead of Manhattanville and Nazareth.

Strength of Schedule: Six of the Pioneers opponents this season are either ranked or receiving votes in the latest USCHO.com and D3hockey.com National Polls.

Accolades Roll in for Derlago: Sophomore Justin Derlago (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Selkirk (MJHL)) was named the ECAC West Conference Player of the Week and the Utica College Male Athlete of the Week after his impressive play in the Pioneers two games last weekend … Derlago totaled two goals and two assists in games against Nazareth College Friday, and SUNY Potsdam on Saturday … Saturday was his first career multi-goal game in his two seasons with the Pioneers … The honor also marks the first time in his career he has been named the ECAC West Player of the Week.

Successful On and Off the Ice: The Utica College men's hockey team led the department once again with a 3.59 grade point average for the Fall 2016 semester … 16 men's hockey players earned a GPA of 3.75 or better and eight of those student-athletes recorded a perfect 4.0 … The men's hockey and women's basketball programs have now earned a team GPA of 3.0 or better in 10 consecutive semesters … The athletic department has now compiled a combined GPA of 3.0 or better in six consecutive semesters.
 
Ammirato Heating Up Again: Ammirato's strong start the season has earned him the team lead with ten goals this season … He is ranked fourth in the ECAC West with an average of 1.39 points per game… Ammirato is also tied for fifth in the ECAC West in assists (15).  

Valenti Getting it Done: Utica junior forward Kevin Valenti (Queensbury, NY/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) ranks eighth in the ECAC West with an average of 1.06 points per game … He has eight goals and 11 assists this season … His 19 points this season are a new career-high … He is the College's active leading scorer with 49 career points.

Bushinski Chipping In: Utica junior forward Mikhail Bushinski (Woodbury, MN/Kenai River (NAHL)) has a career-high 15 points this season on five goals and ten assists … He now has 30 points over the course of 54 games as a Pioneer.

Stefan Stepping Up: Junior defender Vince Stefan (Pittsburgh, PA/Kenai River (NAHL)) is the top scoring defender on the Pioneers' roster as he has posted a career-best 14 points this season … He has five goals and nine assists through 18 games.

Power-Play Scoring: Senior transfer Connor Schmidt (Monroe, MI/Arizona State (D1-Ind.)) ranks sixth in the ECAC West with nine power-play points this season… He has recorded two goals and seven assists with a man advantage.    
 
Short-Handed Points: Junior's Vince Stefan (Pittsburgh, PA/Kenai River (NAHL)) and Kevin Valenti (Queensbury, NY/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) are tied for first in the ECAC West in short-handed points… They each have three points when the Pioneers are short-handed. 
 
Goaltending: After recording 25 saves against SUNY Potsdam, Henry Dill (Columbus, OH/UMASS (Hockey East)) now has 199 saves in the seven games he has played this season… Although freshman goalie Patrik Virtanen (Vantaa, Finland/Lincoln (USHL)) did not play last Saturday, he still has a team-high 240 saves. 
 
Strong on Both Ends of the Ice: Utica is still ranked second in the ECAC West in offense (3.89 goals per game) and defense (3.06 goals per game).  
 
NCAA DIII Championships Come to Utica: Utica College, the Utica Memorial Auditorium and the City of Utica will host the 2017 NCAA Division III Men's Hockey Championships on March 24th and 25^th … The honor marks the first time in over 50 years that the Utica Memorial Auditorium will host an NCAA Championship final … It also marks the first time in school-history that an NCAA Division III Championship final will be hosted by Utica College … Championship weekend consists of the final four teams in the NCAA Division III Men's Hockey Tournament … The UC men's hockey team participated in championship weekend in 2013 in Lake Placid, NY after earning a first round bye and defeating Bowdoin in the second round to earn a spot in the national semifinals.

Scouting Neumann: The Neumann University Knights are 11-5-2 overall and 3-4 in the ECAC West… Neumann lost to Manhattanville 3-1 on the road last Friday… Neumann senior Ryan Luiten scored the Knights' only goal while junior goalie Matt Gibney made 27 saves in the loss… Neumann leads the ECAC West in scoring offense (4.72 goals per game)… The Knights are ranked 15 in both the USCHO.com polls (21 points) and the D3hockey.com polls (19 points)… Senior Jory Mullin is ranked first on the team and in the ECAC West in goals scored (19)… He also leads the conference in short-handed goals (3)… Junior Liam Board and senior Shayne Morrissey are 1-2 in the ECAC West in assists… Board has 20 assists this season while Morrissey has 17… After recording 27 saves against the Valiants, Gibney now has made a team-high 233 saves this season… He is also 4-5-1… Although Neumann's other goalie Anthony Puppio has so far not lost a game while out on the ice… He is 6-0-1 and has made 229 saves this year. 

Most Recent Match Against Neumann: The Pioneers beat the Knights 5-2 at home early in the season (Nov. 4, 2016) to improve to 3-0… Utica junior's Anthony McVeigh (Kemptville, Ontario/Carleton Place (CCHL)), Alex Brissette (Atlanta, GA/Hampton Roads (USPHL)), Roman Ammirato (Williamstown, NJ/Union College (ECAC)), Vince Stefan (Pittsburgh, PA/Kenai River (NAHL)), and freshman Jarrod Fitzpatrick (Wakefield, MA/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) each scored one goal … Patrik Virtanen (Vantaa, Finland/Lincoln (USHL)) recorded 23 saves in the victory. 
 
Scouting Manhattanville: Manhattanville is 9-8-1 overall and 5-2 in the ECAC West… The Valiants just beat Neumann 3-1 at home Friday … Senior Nolan Marshall and sophomore's Bryan Platt and Nigel Slade all scored one goal for Manhattanville… Sophomore goalie Tyler Feaver also stopped 22 of 23 shots… The Valiants still have to play Nazareth at home this Friday before taking on the Pioneers… Sophomore Matt Lippa did not score against Neumann, but he still leads the team this season with 10 goals… Senior Tanner Hicks leads the team in assists (10), and Valiants' goalie Tyler Feaver is 7-6-1 and has made a team-high 352 saves. 
 
Recent Matchup Against Manhattanville: Utica also faced-off against the Valiants at home just one day after beating the Knights (Nov. 5, 2016)… The Pioneers beat Manhattanville 5-1 to stay unbeaten (4-0) through four games for the third time in program history… Fitzpatrick scored two goals in that game, while Ammirato, senior Luc Boby (Chicago, IL/Kalamazoo (NAHL)), and junior Mikhail Bushinski (Woodbury, MN/Kenai River (NAHL)) each scored one… Junior goalie Henry Dill (Columbus, OH/UMASS (Hockey East)) also recorded 30 saves. 
 
Social Media: Make sure to follow live updates of the game on the Pioneers official Twitter feed: @UCPioneers… You can also "Like" the Pioneers on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UCpioneers ... Fans can also follow the Pioneers on Instagram: UCPioneers.
 
Looking Ahead:  After the two-game conference road trip, the Pioneers will return to the Utica Auditorium the following Friday (Feb. 3) to take on Elmira College in ECAC West action … Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.