UTICA, NY – The nationally-ranked No. 12/15 Utica College men's hockey team is set to host Nazareth College on "Live United Hockey Night" in the Pioneers regular season finale on Friday at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.  The puck is scheduled to drop at 7 p.m.
 
Radio Broadcast: Several Utica College hockey home games will be broadcast over the radio airwaves on ESPN Utica/Rome (1310 AM) by UC alum Ray Biggs … ESPN Radio will cover Friday's men's hockey game and live streaming audio can be accessed on ESPNUR's website, www.espnur.com ... Listeners can also download the ESPN Utica/Rome App available in the Google Play store and on Apple ITunes by searching "ESPNUR".
 
Pioneers All-Access: Make sure to catch live video, audio and stats for all home games on Pioneers All-Access: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/ … Audio is provided by Utica College's student radio, WPNR 90.7 FM.
 
Live United Night: Friday's regular season finale is sponsored by the United Way of the Valley and Greater Utica … LIVE UNITED t-shirts will be available in the concourse with a donation to United Way, and fans can also try to catch a shirt from the t-shirt shooter … If fans are spotted in a t-shirt by the LIVE UNITED Prize Patrol they will have a chance to win a prize … Before the first intermission, United Way will select three lucky fans spotted by the LIVE UNITED Prize Patrol in their LIVE UNITED t-shirts … The selected fans will be brought out onto the ice during the first intermission and race to become superheroes … The first to finish the challenge will win a Marvel prize pack!
 
Senior Night: Prior to starting lineups on Friday night the Pioneers will honor their five seniors who have helped the program compile 58 wins over the last four years … They have earned two ECAC West regular season titles and made two appearances in the Conference Championship game … Kevin Kirisits (Buffalo, NY/Brockville (CCHL)), Luc Boby (Chicago, IL/Kalamazoo (NAHL)), Easton Powers (South Lyon, MI/Port Huron (NAHL)), Mikhail Bushinski (Woodbury, MN/Kenai River (NAHL)) and Connor Schmidt (Monroe, MI/Arizona State (D1-Ind.)) are participating in their final regular season home game at the Aud. 

Two-year captain Kevin Kirisits (Buffalo, NY/Brockville (CCHL)) is the Pioneers active leader in career games played with 105 … For his career he has totaled 29 points on eight goals and 21 assists … Kirisits is an ECAC Men's West All-Academic Team selection ... He is pursuing a degree in Risk Management.

Two-year assistant captain Easton Powers (South Lyon, MI/Port Huron (NAHL)) has played in 85 career games for the Pioneers … For his career, he has tallied 42 points on 11 goals and 31 assists … His 31 career assists are currently second on the team … He is pursuing a degree in Risk Management.

Luc Boby (Chicago, IL/Kalamazoo (NAHL)) has played in 62 games throughout his career at UC ... He has 33 career points on 14 goals and 19 assists … In the 2013-14 season, Boby had three game-winning goals ... He is pursuing a degree in Health Studies.

Mikhail Bushinski (Woodbury, MN/Kenai River (NAHL)) has played in 60 career games at Utica and has 33 total points (10 goals, 23 assists) … He currently ranks fifth on the team with a career-best 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) this season … He will graduate with a degree in Government and Politics.

Connor Schmidt (Monroe, MI/Arizona State (D1-Ind.)) transferred to Utica this Fall from Division I Arizona State … He ranks third among Pioneer defenseman with 15 points this season … Over the course of his collegiate career he has played in 81 career games and has totaled 22 points on five goals and 17 assists … Schmidt is pursuing a degree in Communication Arts.
           
Regional Rankings: UC is ranked No. 8 in the first public release of the NCAA East Regional rankings published Tuesday by the NCAA Division III Men's Hockey National Committee … This week's rankings are the first of four regional rankings that will be released to the public and they will be used to determine both NCAA tournament bids and seeding … The final rankings will be determined on March 5, as the NCAA Committee will release its bracket for the 12 team NCAA Division III Tournament.

Media Polls: The Pioneers moved up one spot in the D3hockey.com national poll to No. 12 and also re-entered the top 15 in the 15^th spot in the USCHO.com national poll released Monday.

Getting Hot at the Right Time: The Pioneers (17-7, 12-1 ECAC West) are now unbeaten in their last seven games and won their program-best 12th ECAC West Conference game last weekend as they topped Lebanon Valley on the road … Utica's seven game unbeaten streak is the fifth longest active unbeaten streak in the country.

Regular Season Champs!: UC locked up its third regular season conference title in the last five years and has now clinched a quarterfinal bye and home ice advantage in the upcoming ECAC Men's West Tournament … The top-seeded Pioneers will host an ECAC West Semifinal contest on Saturday, February 25^th at 7 p.m.

Playoff Ticket Information: UC men's hockey season ticket holders can redeem their ECAC Men's West semifinal playoff ticket voucher, which is located in the season ticket booklet, beginning on Friday night at the Aud … The voucher reserves the designated seat for the season ticket holder and each ticket will cost $8/Adults, $4/Students or children 18 and under …  The season ticket voucher guarantees the season ticket holder the opportunity to purchase their respective seat until the box office closes on Wednesday, February 22^nd …  Tickets for the general public ($8/Adults, $4/Students or children 18 and under) will also go on sale online (www.empirestatetix.com) and at the Utica Memorial Auditorium Box Office on Friday.
 
Season Ticket Renewal: The season ticket renewal period for the 2017-2018 Utica College men's hockey season begins on Friday at the Aud … Ticket prices for the 2017-18 season are $70 per seat ($50 for Utica College faculty and staff and $35 for Utica College students with ID), with "Family Four Packs" available for the discounted total cost of $200 … Beginning on Friday, season ticket holders may renew their tickets in person at the Utica Memorial Auditorium, or by phone by calling (315) 790-9070 … The ticket office hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday … The deadline for season ticket renewals will be May 1, 2017. 

Ups and Downs: UC started the season off with a bang, winning eight straight games and rising as high as No. 4 in the USCHO.com National Poll … UC then lost seven of its next nine contests, before beginning their current seven game win streak.
 
Ammirato Continues Strong Play: Roman Ammirato (Williamstown, NJ/Union College (ECAC)) still leads the team with 11 goals this season… He is ranked second in the ECAC West with 33 points… He ranks 25th nationally with an average of 1.38 points per game … Ammirato is also tied for first in the league with 22 assists … He posted four assists in the Pioneers 7-2 win over Lebanon Valley last weekend. 
 
Pioneers' Top Performing Goalie: Patrik Virtanen (Vantaa, Finland/Lincoln (USHL)), who has earned league weekly honors in three straight weeks, is 12-4 this season and boasts a team-high 408 saves … The Finnish-born net minder has won six consecutive starts and in conference games this season he leads the league in goals against average (1.61), save percentage (.945%) and he is a perfect 9-0.
 
Scouting Nazareth: The Golden Flyers are 8-14-2 overall and 7-6 in the ECAC West… Nazareth easily defeated Stevenson 6-1 on the road last Saturday… Nazareth sophomore Austin Romzek and senior Dominik Gabaj each scored two goals in the victory while seniors Marcus Moles and Justin LaCorte each scored one… After his two-goal performance against the Mustangs, Gabaj now has a team-high 17 goals this season… Junior Oliver Janzen currently leads the team with 18 assists … Senior goalie Brandon Lane is 5-10-1 and has stopped 463 shots… The Golden Flyers are the only ECAC West team with a win over the Pioneers this season.
 
NCAA Div. III Championships: On March 24-25, Utica College and the City of Utica will proudly host the NCAA Division III Men's Hockey Championships at the Aud for the first time in program history … The four remaining teams in the NCAA Div. III Tournament will make their way to Utica, NY to participate in the semifinals and the finals at the Utica Memorial Auditorium … Tickets for the championship will go on sale on March 6^th at the Auditorium Box Office and online at empirestatetix.com … Exclusive in-person sales at the box office will take place from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. on Monday, March 6^th …  Online sales begin at 1 p.m. on March 6^th.
 
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.