UTICA, NY – The nationally-ranked No. 10/13 Utica College men's hockey team returns to play this weekend as the Pioneers travel to Pennsylvania for a pair of United College Hockey Conference games against Lebanon Valley College Friday (7 p.m.) and Chatham University (7:20 p.m.) on Saturday.

Follow the Action Live: Live video and stats will be available for both contests courtesy of the hosts Athletic Communications Department … Visit http://ucpioneers.com/schedule.aspx?path=mhockey for live links for the entire weekend. 

Nationally-Ranked:  The Pioneers are ranked in the top 15 nationally in both of the latest NCAA Div. III men's hockey online national polls … Utica fell three spots to No. 10 in the USCHO.com poll and also fell two spots to No. 13 in the latest D3hockey.com poll. 

Getting Back on Track: UC recently dropped its first contest of the season on Saturday night in a 5-1 loss against visiting Elmira College …  Utica opened the season with three consecutive victories and holds a 3-1 overall record and a 1-1 ledger in United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) action.

Point Production: Senior forward Roman Ammirato (Williamstown, NJ/Union College (ECAC)) leads the team with five points as he has five assists through four games … Senior defender Dalton Carter (Toledo, OH/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) and senior forward Kevin Valenti (Queensbury, NY/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) are tied for second on the team with four points each … Carter is tied with freshman Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) and junior Justin Derlago (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Selkirk (MJHL)) for the team lead with two goals … Senior Mikhail Bushinski (St. Paul, MN/Kenai River (NAHL)) ranks fourth on the team with three points on one goal and two assists … 19 different players have at least one point for the Pioneers this season. 

Third Period Success: Seven of the Pioneers 13 goals this season have come in the third period of play.

Sharing Time in Goal: Sophomore goalies Patrik Virtanen (Vantaa, Finland/Lincoln (USHL)) and Gianluca Baggetta (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL)) each got a start the last time the Pioneers played two consecutive contests … Virtanen is now 2-1 to start the season with a 3.00 goals against average and a .907 save percentage … Baggetta earned his first collegiate victory in the Pioneers 3-2 win over Cortland on Oct. 28^th … He has a 2.00 GAA and a .917 save percentage. 

Scouting Lebanon Valley: Lebanon Valley returned to the ECAC West Conference last season after a six year hiatus … The Dutchmen disbanded its Division III men's hockey program following the 2009-2010 season and are now back for their second year of NCAA hockey … LVC is currently 0-3-1 overall this season … The Dutchmen lost a pair of games on the road last weekend against Fredonia (5-3) and Buffalo State (3-0) … Their lone tie of the season came at Neumann, 3-3, on November 4^th …. Cole Hepler, Brett Johnson and TJ Sneath lead the way with three points each. 

All-Time vs. Lebanon Valley: Utica and Lebanon Valley played each other 23 times between 2001 and 2010 … Utica currently holds a 22-1-0 lead in the all-time series … Lebanon Valley's lone win over Utica came in the Pioneers first season of varsity hockey back in 2001-02 … UC swept the Dutchmen convincingly last season in a pair of games.

Scouting Chatham: Chatham enters its first season of NCAA Div. III men's hockey and currently holds a 0-3-1 overall record … The Cougars picked up their first point in a 2-2 tie on the road at Fredonia on Saturday … Chris Lutz, Clay Plyler and Jace Burton lead the team with two points each. 

Welcome to the UCHC: The Pioneers enter their first season as a member of the newly formed United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) this season … The United Collegiate Hockey Conference is a collaborative effort between eleven institutions to provide a competitive environment and structure for NCAA Division III men's and women's ice hockey in the Eastern United States … The membership encompasses a wide geographic area spanning from Central and Western New York, to the greater Pittsburgh and Baltimore areas … In its inaugural season, the UCHC will incorporate the efforts of ice hockey student-athletes from Chatham University, Elmira College, King's College, Lebanon Valley College, Manhattanville College, Nazareth College, Neumann University, Stevenson University, Utica College, and William Smith College into their strong, but evolving membership that strives for on-ice excellence while also preparing student athletes for their off-ice futures … In addition, Wilkes University is set to begin men's and women's play in the fall of 2018.

Mark Your Calendar:  The 13th annual New York Sash Teddy Bear Toss will take place on December 9, 2017 at the Utica Memorial Auditorium as the Pioneers hosts Neumann University in UCHC action at 7 p.m. … Fans are asked to bring a new stuffed animal to the game … When Utica scores its first goal, fans throw their teddy bears onto the ice … All toys will be collected by New York Sash and donated to local children this coming holiday season … The annual event is a partnership between New York Sash and Utica College to raise toys for local children in need … Through this event over 30,000 stuffed animals have been donated and distributed to local children in need throughout the holiday season … The annual event has sold out for six consecutive seasons and this year WKTV's affiliate station CBS Utica will televise the contest throughout the Mohawk Valley.