UTICA, NY- The fourth seeded Utica College women's hockey team travels to top seeded Plattsburgh State Sunday for the ECAC West Conference semifinal.  Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers defeated No. 5 seed Oswego State 5-3 in the conference quarterfinal on Thursday… Junior Carlie Smith (Grimsby, Ontario/St. Catharine's Chaos) had two goals and one assist, while Lauren Patterson (Burlington, Ontario/Oakville) had one goal and two assists… Gabrielle Schnepp (Northville, MI/Belle Tire) had one goal and one assist and Elizabeth Dohner (Highlands Ranch, CO/Colorado Selects) also scored… Jennifer Liu (North Saanich, British Columbia/Shaftesbury Titans ), Kayla Dion (Colchester, VT/Boston Shamrocks ), Samantha Husak (Jackson, MI/Grass Lake), and Jane Pagano (Erie, PA/Tabor Academy) each had one assist… Senior Keira Goin (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Hotchkiss School) had 27 saves in the win.
 
TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets will be on sale at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena box office beginning at 1:30 p.m. Sunday... Adults are $5, while children 12 and under and non-Plattsburgh State college students are $3... Cash, check and credit card are all accepted at the Field House box office.
 
TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Utica is making its 15th appearance in the ECAC West Conference Tournament in the program's 16-year history… The Pioneers have made it to the championship game twice, in 2005-06 after beating Elmira 4-1 in the semifinal, and last season after a 5-1 win over the Soaring Eagles in the semifinal once again.
 
HOW THEY GOT HERE: The Pioneers (17-8-1) finished tied for third in the conference standings with Buffalo State with an 11-6-1 mark in league play… Utica lost the tiebreaker as it fell to the Bengals in the first two games of the season… UC heads into semifinal with an eight-game winning streak and the Pioneers are 8-1-1 in their last ten contests… This is the fifth straight semifinal appearance for Utica… Plattsburgh picked up the top seed in the tournament and a first round bye after finishing the regular season with a conference record of 16-1-1.
 
IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: Utica is receiving votes in the latest USCHO.com and d3hockey.com national polls, released Monday… UC picked up seven votes in this week's d3hockey.com poll, just six behind tenth-ranked Gustavus Adolphus.  The Pioneers were also awarded four votes in the uscho.com rankings, tying them with Buffalo State for third in the "receiving votes" category.
 
FINISHING STRONG: The third period has been UC's best period this year… The Pioneers are outshooting opponents 319-196 in the final 20 minutes, and they have out scored opponents 32-11 in the third period this year.
 
LEADING THE WAY: Senior Gabrielle Schnepp (Northville, MI/Belle Tire) leads the team with 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) this season…  She has scored six goals and nine assists in her last ten games… Schnepp ranks third all-time with 72 career assists, and she is fourth in the program's record books with 116 points.
 
HELPING OUT: Sophomore Elizabeth Dohner (Highlands Ranch, CO/Colorado Selects) is having a break out season… Dohner has registered career-highs in goals (eight), assists (13), and points (21)… She is second on the team in scoring and she has tallied 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in the last nine games.
 
ON CLOUD 9: Three players are tied for the team lead with nine goals apiece… Defenseman Jane Pagano (Erie, PA/Tabor Academy) and forwards Emily Coope (Phoenix, AZ/Colorado Tigers) and Taylor Osowski (Highlands Ranch, CO/Colorado Selects) have each found the back of the net nine times this season… Pagano is third on the squad with a career-high 20 points … She needs just one more goal to mark her highest goal total of her career… She ranks 12th nationally in scoring amongst defensemen with .77 points per game… Coope has reached career highs in goals, assists (10), and points (19)…  Osowski is also having her best year with a career-high nine goals and 15 points.
 
IN THE CREASE: Senior Keira Goin (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Hotchkiss School) holds a .938 save percentage and a 1.54 goals against average… She is the only goalie in program history to record 40 wins in her career… She needs just one more win to tie her career best of 16 wins, which she accomplished last season. 
 
SCOUTING PLATTSBURGH: The Cardinals are currently ranked No. 1 in the nation and are the defending conference champions…  They finished the regular season with a 23-1-1 overall record…  Plattsburgh is led by junior Kayla Meneghin and Melissa Sheeran, who have 38 and 37 points on the season, respectively… Plattsburgh leads the nation in team defense, allowing just 1.08 goals per game.
 
AGAINST THE CARDINALS: The Pioneers lost both meetings earlier this season… UC fell 6-2 in the first game and 3-1 in game two… 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 in the first outing while Keira Goin (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Hotchkiss School) had 36 saves on Sunday.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The winner of Sunday's game will face the winner of the Elmira/Buffalo State semifinal… The championship will be played at the highest remaining seed on Saturday, March 4.