UTICA, NY – The nationally-ranked No. 14 Utica College men's hockey team returns to the ice Friday night on the road and will be right back at home on Saturday for United Collegiate Hockey Conference action. The Pioneers will head to Manhattanville College at 7 p.m. on Friday before traveling back to central New York to take on King's College at 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Adirondack Bank Center.

Follow the Game Live: If you can't make it out to the Playland Ice Casino on Friday night make sure to follow live video courtesy of Manhattanville Athletic Communications at: https://www.youtube.com/user/GoValiants ... Live stats and video will be available for Saturday's matchup at home against King's College at: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/

Tickets for Saturday Night: Individual home game tickets are on sale at the AUD ticket office or online at http://empirestatetix.com/  … Individual game tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for non-Utica College students … Online ticket purchases will incur a $3.50 processing fee per ticket.

Scoring in Bunches: Utica (6-2, 2-2 UCHC) ranks third nationally with an average of 5.00 goals per game … UC has outscored opponents by an average of 3.00 goals per game and ranks fifth nationally in scoring margin.

Three in a Row: The Pioneers are winners of three in a row ad have outscored their opponents 25-2 in that stretch … Utica swept Johnson & Wales and nationally-ranked Salve Regina in a pair of games at home last weekend … The Pioneers dominated J&W 9-0 before defeating Salve 3-1 on Saturday.

Nationally-Ranked: The Pioneers are ranked No. 14 in the latest USCHO.com National Poll … They have made an appearance in the top 15 of the USCHO.com Poll in all six weeks this season, including nine consecutive polls dating back to February 27^th of last season.

National Team of the Week: Dalton Carter (Toledo, OH/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) was named to the D3hockey.com National Team of the Week on Tuesday … Carter was one of two defensemen selected to the six-man team … He posted a team-best five points in a 2-0 weekend for the Pioneers … He netted two goals and added two assists as UC rolled past Johnson & Wales 9-0 on Friday night at home … He also posted the first goal of the game in a 3-1 win over nationally-ranked Salve Regina on Saturday night … He went 5 for the weekend … His six goals this season lead all UCHC defenders … He is also tied for the team lead with 11 points … He ranks seventh nationally in defenseman scoring with an average of 1.38 points per game.

Second Straight Rookie of the Week: Freshman Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) was named the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) Rookie of the Week for the second straight week on Tuesday … Landrigan had another productive weekend posting one goal and one assist in two wins for the Pioneers … He netted his sixth goal of the season in the Pioneers win on Friday. … He added an assist in Utica's win on Saturday … He is the top rookie scorer in the league with an average of 1.29 points per contest … His nine total points are three more than any other rookie in the league … He ranks in the top ten nationally among rookie scorers with an average of 1.29 points per game.

Senior Leadership: The Pioneers top four scorers this season are seniors … Dalton Carter (Toledo, OH/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) and Mikhail Bushinski (St. Paul, MN/Kenai River (NAHL)) are tied for the team lead with 11 points each … Bushinski has three goals and a team-high eight assists … Roman Ammirato (Williamstown, NJ/Union College (ECAC)) and Anthony McVeigh (Kemptville, Ontario/Carleton Place (CCHL)) are tied for third on the team with 10 points each … Ammirato has four goals and six assists … McVeigh had five points last weekend and now has three goals and seven assists on the year.

Solid Goalie Play: The Pioneers have only surrendered two goals in their last three games … Sophomore goalie Gianluca Baggetta (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL)) is a perfect 3-0 between the pipes this season … He leads the league in both goals against average (1.00) and save percentage (.939) … His 1.00 GAA ranks fifth nationally … Classmate Patrik Virtanen (Vantaa, Finland/Lincoln (USHL)) is 3-1 on the season and has a 2.51 goals against average to go along with a .924 save percentage. 

Against Manhattanville: Utica has won five straight matchups against longtime rival Manhattanville College … The last time the Pioneers lost to the Valiants was back on Nov. 21^st on the road by the score of 4-3 … Three of the last four matchups between these two teams has resulted in an overtime victory for the Pioneers … The last time the Pioneers traveled to Manhattanville they came away with a 3-2 overtime win courtesy of a Justin Derlago (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Selkirk (MJHL)) goal with 22 seconds left in the overtime period on January 28^th.

Meet Manhattanville: The Valiants hold a 3-2-2 overall record and a 3-1 ledger in UCHC play this season … Matt Lippa leads the team with 11 points on five goals and six assists … Tyler Feaver has spent the majority of the time in goal and holds a 1.93 goals against average to go along with a .937 save percentage.

Meet King's College: King's College is in the midst of its first season as a Division III men's hockey program … The Monarchs are currently 0-8 overall and 0-4 in conference play … They will take on Nazareth College on Friday night before traveling to Utica on Saturday.