UTICA, NY – The nationally-ranked No. 7/9 Utica College men's hockey team is back at home on Friday and Saturday for a pair of games at the Adirondack Bank Center.  Utica hosts Nazareth College on Friday at 7 p.m. for Dunkin' Donuts Make-A-Wish Night. The Pioneers return to the ice on Saturday when they host central New York rival and nationally-ranked No. 5/5 Oswego State for a rare day game at 2 p.m.

Dunkin' Make-A-Wish Night: On Friday night be sure to visit the Make-A-Wish tables in the concourse and get your blue-frosted specialty Dunkin' Donut in exchange for a $1 donation to Make-A-Wish. Make-A-Wish grants wishes to kids with critical illnesses. Fans can help make wishes come true by purchasing tickets to "Hockey For Wishes" – a January 28th fundraiser featuring the Utica College men's hockey team. Tickets are just $35 but must be purchased in advance. Visit the Make-A-Wish table at the Aud on Friday night for details!

Indium Day: Saturday afternoon's day game (2 p.m. start) is sponsored by Indium Corporation at the Aud as the Pioneers welcome to the game several employees, families and friends of Indium Corporation. Indium is a premier materials manufacturer and supplier to the global electronics, semiconductor, thin-film, and thermal management markets. Founded in 1934, Indium has global technical support and factories located in China, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the USA. For more information about Indium Corporation, visit www.indium.com.

In the National Spotlight: Utica is ranked in the top ten nationally in both of the latest national polls released on Monday.  The Pioneers moved up one spot and are ranked No. 7 in the latest D3hockey.com National Poll and they also moved up to No. 9 in Monday's release of the USCHO.com National Poll. Utica has made an appearance in the top 15 of the USCHO.com Poll in all 11 weeks this season, including 13 consecutive polls dating back to February 27th of last season.  As a team the Pioneers rank fourth nationally with an average of 4.60 goals per game. Utica's defense ranks seventh nationally allowing just 1.80 goals per game. Utica has outscored its opponents by an average margin of 2.80 goals per game, which ranks second in the country.

Hot Streak: Utica is currently 12-3 overall and has won nine of its last 10 contests. UC has the third-best winning percentage in Division III men's hockey at .800. The Pioneers sit on top of the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) standings with 12 points and a 6-2 record in league play. The last time Utica started the season 12-3 was back in 2012-13 when it went on to advance as far as the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Men's Hockey Championships. Back in 2013, they finished the year with a program-best 21 victories.

On the Docket: Utica has one more non-conference game at home next weekend before closing out the regular season with seven straight UCHC contests. Three of the Pioneers' final seven conference games will be at home.

Everson Named UCHC Rookie of the Week: Freshman forward Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)) was named the UCHC Rookie of the Week for the second time this season on Tuesday. Everson finished the weekend with two goals and one assist as the Pioneers swept Morrisville and Potsdam. He netted a third period insurance goal in a 4-1 win at Morrisville on Friday. He added what proved to be the game-winner in a 5-4 win over Potsdam on Saturday. Everson now has eight points in his last four games. He is currently tied for 15th nationally in points per game among freshman (0.93 ppg).  He has three goals and 11 assists in 15 games played. He ranks second on the team with 11 assists and he is just one of three players on the team with 10+ assists this year. Seven of his 11 assists this season have come in conference play.

Strong on the Power-Play: Utica boasts one of the top power-play units in the country and the Pioneers currently rank second nationally having scored 22 goals in 81 PP chances for a percentage of 27.2.

Leading Scorer: Roman Ammirato (Williamstown, NJ/Union College (ECAC)) ranks in the top 25 nationally in points per game. He now has 21 points on 12 goals and nine assists for an average of 1.40 points per contest. His .80 goals per game are tied for ninth in DIII hockey and he leads the country with eight power-play goals.

Scoring From the Blue Line: Utica senior defender Dalton Carter (Toledo, OH/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) is tied for third in the nation with among defenseman with an average of 1.29 points per game (six goals, 12 assists). 

Freshman Phenom: Freshman forward Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) ranks ninth in the country among rookies with an average of 1.07 points per game.  He has scored seven goals and added eight assists in his first 14 collegiate contests.

Protecting the Net: Sophomore goalie Patrik Virtanen (Vantaa, Finland/Lincoln (USHL)) ranks 14^th nationally with a .934 save percentage. He ranks 20^th nationally with a 2.00 goals against average and 12^th nationally with a .800 winning percentage (8-2).