UTICA, NY - The Utica College men's hockey team returns home from its five game road trip and a two game trip to the Badger State as it wraps up its Fall 2018 home schedule with a pair of games this weekend at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. On Friday, Nov. 30 the Pioneers will host Stevenson University in a UCHC matchup on Ride For Missing Children Night. The conference weekend continues on Saturday, Dec. 1 with the 14th annual New York SASH Teddy Bear Toss in a sold-out game against Chatham University. Both games are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

Smile For The Cameras: Saturday's sold-out Teddy Bear Toss game against Chatham will be televised by WKTV NewsChannel 2 for a second straight year. The telecast will also stream live online via https://www.wktv.com/about-us/livestream/ and the new WKTV NewsChannel 2 Roku App. UC Sports Information assistant Ray Biggs '13 will have the call alongside WKTV Sports Director Spencer Davidson.

Follow Along Online: Live video and stats for both contests will be available at portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/ and on the Empire 8 digital applications this weekend with live audio from WPNR 90.7 FM, Utica College Pioneer Radio. Full over-the-air radio coverage returns this weekend as made possible by WPNR-FM's newly installed state-of-the-art equipment, and that can be heard on local airwaves or online at pioneerradio.org. Biggs teams with station advisor Doug Croft on Friday night, and Croft will call Saturday's game on WPNR-FM with UC Student Ryan Van Leare.

Ride Night On Tap:  The Utica College men's hockey team is joining forces with The Ride for Missing Children through their inaugural Ride Jersey Auction. The Pioneers are currently auctioning off their collector's edition "The Ride for Missing Children" game jerseys from now until November 30th when they host Stevenson. You can bid on a jersey by sending an e-mail to men's hockey Assistant Coach Nick Therrien (nitherri@utica.edu), with your name, address and amount you would like to bid. Fans can also bid on the jerseys on the day of the game at the rink beginning at 6 p.m. All proceeds will benefit the The Ride for Missing Children and The National Center For Missing & Exploited Children - NCMEC-NY/MV.

Time To Warm Up The Arms: At Saturday's New York SASH Teddy Bear Toss, fans will throw their teddy bears onto the ice after Utica's first goal for collection and distribution to local children through the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program and Operation Sunshine, among others. The game is sold out for an eighth consecutive season. Over 30,000 toys have been collected and distributed over the last 13 years of the event, which has become one of the largest of its kind in the United States. The efforts of Pioneer fans have inspired others regionally to take up the cause as the AHL's Syracuse Crunch and UC rivals Elmira and Oswego have all started Teddy Bear Tosses of their own. Utica shut out Elmira in their teddy bear toss game 6-0 earlier this season.

Teddy Bear Toss Reminders: In the spirit of getting the toys to area children as efficiently as possible, teddy bears should be new and clean. You can bring as many as you'd like, and even the occasional giant teddy bear has been known to show up. Arrive early, as Utica has scored the teddy bear goal as early as 1:25 into the game, which Josh Haskin (Troy, NY/P.A.L. Jr. Islanders (USPHL)) accomplished last year. Please remove any plastic tag hangers from your bear if you are sitting behind safety netting, as the bears may get caught easily in that netting and become more difficult to retrieve. Above all, have fun!

Behind The Bench: Friday's win over St. Thomas was the 249th win of Gary Heenan's 18 year career at Utica, which ties him for 40th all-time among Division III coaches with former UW-Superior head coach Steve Nelson, who went to multiple Frozen Fours with the 'Jackets. After a Saturday loss to UW-Stevens Point, the only head coach the program has ever known continues to chase his 250th career win this weekend.

It Can Happen Even Faster: While Haskin scored rather quickly in last year's teddy bear toss, the goal could easily happen faster than that. Utica has scored as quickly as eight seconds into a period this season, a feat Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) accomplished earlier this season in the third period of an October 27th meeting against Adrian. The University of New England's Brady Fleurent set a new NCAA Division III record this year for the fastest goal to start a game at just five seconds. It can happen quicker than you may think, so arrive early and be in your seat when the game starts so you don't miss out.

Special Puck Drop Friday: In conjunction with Friday's Ride for Missing Children night will be a special ceremonial puck drop. Whitesboro native Otto Isenberg has been a longtime participant and volunteer in the Ride for Missing Children, and a fixture in the local hockey community since his youth. He was a member of Whitesboro High School's 2003 New York State Division II Championship team, a team that also featured UC Hockey alumnus Steve Nutty. He is also a youth hockey coach locally with the Whitestown Wolfpack organization and spends much of his free time cheering on his Pioneers. Recently, Isenberg has been in the midst of a battle with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and has been undergoing constant treatment in an effort to defeat the disease, and he can't wait to get back on the bike and on the ice on a regular basis.

Where We Stand: Utica has been on a roller coaster ride against a tough early season schedule, and currently holds a record of 4-5-0, and 3-2 in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference headed into this weekend's games. The Pioneers sit in a massive third place logjam in the UCHC standings, where five teams sit tied with nine standings points each. Wilkes, Lebanon Valley, Nazareth, and Stevenson are Utica's companions in the third place spot. Elmira sits in first with twelve standings points, and Manhattanville has eleven, but both of those teams have played an extra game and a regulation league win now counts for three points, which could make it easy for UC to close the gap with wins. Utica has won four of its last seven games, highlighted by a 6-0 drilling of Elmira and a 6-3 come-from-behind win against St. Thomas, along with wins over league foes Neumann and Manhattanville. Utica's schedule has featured three games against squads ranked in the Top 5 nationally, and four others against teams who have received votes in either national poll at some point this year.

In The Ballot Box Still: Utica received two votes in this week's D3hockey.com Men's Top 15.

Hanging With Number One: Utica had a close game within reach after two periods against the nation's top-ranked team with a 2-1 score, but host UW-Stevens Point brought a bit more firepower in the third period as they broke away with two more goals to send Utica to a 4-1 loss in the championship game of the Stevens Point holiday tournament. Zach Borsoi (Brossard, Quebec/Gloucester (CCHL)) scored the lone goal of the game for Utica on a well-executed power play faceoff won by fellow defenseman Justin Allen (Rochester, NY/Rochester Monarchs (USPHL-NCDC)), who stepped in for Gregg Burmaster (Clinton, NY/Colorado College (NCHC)). The puck was slipped to the weak side by Burmaster from the wing, and Borsoi took care of the rest with a one-timer that cut an early Pointer lead in half at 2-1. A third period power play goal by Steven Quagliata restored the original length of the Pointers' lead, and an empty net goal by Austin Kelly put a bow on the win for the hosts. Gianluca Baggetta (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL)) made 23 saves. Utica was outshot 27-20.


A Gouda Third Period Friday: The Pioneers started the weekend with their second all-time meeting against the University of St. Thomas in the semifinals of the Stevens Point holiday tournament. The Tommies built a 3-1 lead after two periods of play, but an explosive Pioneer effort offensively turned the game around in a hurry in the third period. The Pioneers erupted for a season-best five goals in the period as they stormed past the Tommies to go on to win 6-3. An early goal by freshman Tyler Dill (South Lake Tahoe, CA/Charlotte Rush (USPHL-Premier)) created by a brilliant diving play at the blue line by longtime teammate Nick Yzaguirre (Chicago, IL/Charlotte Rush (USPHL-Premier)) appeared to set the wind at the backs of the Pioneers, but a pair of Tommie goals scored on odd-man rushes by Luke Radetic and Johnny Panvica pulled UST ahead after one period. A power play goal by UST's John Peterson expanded the lead through the second period. In the third, Utica came out firing as Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) ripped a shot from the wing that caromed off a defender and in to pull Utica within one. Defenseman Zach Borsoi (Brossard, Quebec/Gloucester (CCHL)) tied the game with his second goal of the season just past the five minute mark, and Brett Everson's (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)) first goal of the year put Utica ahead for good. Regen Cavanagh (Chesapeake, VA/Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)) added a power play goal, and Devin Warfield (Cary, NC/Carolina Eagles (USPHL)) scored on an empty net to put the game away. Utica outshot the Tommies 27-19, and Gianluca Baggetta (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL)) made 16 saves in the Pioneer net for his second victory of the season. Gregg Burmaster (Clinton, NY/Colorado College (NCHC)) was credited with three assists, and Everson and Warfield each had a goal and assist.

Last Year's Teddy Bear Toss: Then-freshman Josh Haskin (Troy, NY/P.A.L. Jr. Islanders (USPHL)) set a new record for the earliest teddy bear goal scored in the event by three seconds as Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)) slipped a beautiful pass to the front of the net, and Haskin handled the rest at 1:25 of the first period to unleash the waterfall of stuffed surprises onto the Aud ice. The Pioneers would keep things rolling forward from there, largely aided by their special teams in the second and third periods. Gregg Burmaster (Clinton, NY/Colorado College (NCHC)) doubled the lead at even strength just 1:40 into the second. From there the special teams onslaught began. Brett Szajner (Novi, MI/Amarillo (NAHL)) scored a shorthanded goal, Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) scored on the power play, and Utica's man advantage unit struck three more times on the same five minute major to pull away as they went on to win 9-1. Everson finished the night with five assists, and 16 of 18 Utica skaters had at least one point. Haskin is the only player on the active roster to have scored the Teddy Bear Goal.

In Teddy Bear Tosses: Utica holds a 10-2-1 record all-time in Teddy Bear Toss games, and have won their last three editions since a 2014 1-0 loss to eventual national champion Trinity, which marks the only time Utica has ever been shut out in the event. As with Trinity, the game has had a tendency to bring in some of the best rising programs nationally for the event in recent years. 2015 participant Salve Regina went on to an NCAA Championship Game appearance last year. The lone tie in the event occured in 2009's edition against Castleton. The 2016, 2012, and 2009 games all went to overtime with Utica nabbing the winner in the 2016 and 2012 games with Kevin Valenti (Queensbury, NY/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) and Adam Graff scoring the deciding goals in those two games respectively. Utica went on to play in a conference championship game or the NCAA tournament in both of those seasons.

Repeating Itself: The Teddy Bear Toss game will be a conference game for just the second time ever this year. The first league game in the event's history happened last year against Neumann.

Get One Before They Do: Scoring first could be impactful not only in the context of Saturday's event, but in the context of having the best chance to win possible. Utica has scored the first goal in 11 of 13 teddy bear toss games. They have gone on to win nine times when scoring first, and the two times they did not made for uneasy evenings in 2014 and 2016. Utica lost the 2014 game 1-0, and needed overtime to rally out of an 0-2 hole and win in 2016. This season, Utica is 4-1 when scoring first, and 0-4 when they do not grab the initial lead.

Seeing Double: Three different players have scored the Teddy Bear Toss goal twice. Colin Kingston (2005, 2006), Tim Coffman (2008, 2009) and Ridge Garbutt (2011, 2013) have all done the job for Utica multiple times during their four year careers.

Showing Up For This One: Junior forward Jarrod Fitzpatrick (Wakefield, MA/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) has a point in both Teddy Bear Toss games he has appeared in in his career. He had an assist in the 2016 win over Morrisville, and a goal in last year's win over Neumann.

The Series Against Stevenson: This will be the fifth all-time meeting between Utica and Stevenson, with Utica outscoring the Mustangs 17-7 through the first four meetings against the third year program. Jacob Gerson (Colorado Springs, CO/Hampton Roads (USPHL)) scored the game-winning goal in overtime for a 2-1 win at home in last year's first meeting, and Roman Ammirato (Williamstown, NJ/Union College (ECAC)) went off for a hat trick with two short handed goals in a 6-4 road win against the Mustangs in last year's second meeting at the Reisterstown Sportsplex in Owings Mills, Maryland.

The Series Against Chatham: This will be the third all-time meeting between the Pioneers and Cougars, with Utica dousing the opposition by a 21-1 margin across two meetings last season in Chatham's first year. The first meeting against Chatham was one for the record books as Utica outshot the Cougars 65-15 and walloped their hosts by a 13-1 score. The Pioneer total of thirteen goals marked a new school record for goals in a game, and the Utica offensive explosion was led by Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)), who had three goals and two assists for five points. A school-record 18 skaters had points in the game. In the second meeting of the season at home, Landrigan again put on a show for Utica as his two goals and an assist led the way in an 8-0 win over the Cougars at the Aud. Nine players had a multi-point night, as Kevin Valenti (Queensbury, NY/Northern Cyclones (EHL)), Kyle Lajeunesse (South Berwick, ME/New Hampshire (EHL)), and Dalton Carter (Toledo, OH/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) all joined Landrigan with three total points each. Gregg Burmaster (Clinton, NY/Colorado College (NCHC)), Justin Derlago (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Selkirk (MJHL)), and Jacob Gerson (Colorado Springs, CO/Hampton Roads (USPHL)) were the other active Pioneers to have a goal in the game. Defenseman Vaden McManus (Fayetteville, NC/Hampton Roads (USPHL)) had the first point of his career with an assist.

For Those Keeping Score At Home: Utica is fifteenth in the nation in total offense at 3.67 goals per game, and 43rd in scoring defense at 2.78 goals allowed per game.

Top of the Heap: Utica is paced by three players with nine points each to start the campaign as Gregg Burmaster (Clinton, NY/Colorado College (NCHC)), Regen Cavanagh (Chesapeake, VA/Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)), and Josh Haskin (Troy, NY/P.A.L. Jr. Islanders (USPHL)) all hold that point total through the team's first nine games. Cavanagh has a team-best six goals to go with three assists, while Haskin has a team-high eight assists to go with one goal. Burmaster's stat line has been the most balanced of the three at four goals and five assists.

The Wunderkinds: Freshmen Eric Holland (Whitby, ON/Brockville Braves (CCHL)) and Tyler Dill (South Lake Tahoe, CA/Charlotte Rush (USPHL-Premier)) have fit right in during their rookie seasons. Neither has missed a game to start their career, as Holland has three goals and four assists for seven points, and Dill has four goals and two assists for six points so far this season. In total, ten of the team's 33 goals have come from freshmen.

Shoot it and They Will Come: Sophomore Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) could catch fire at any moment. While the 2018 UCHC Rookie of the Year has just three goals to start the season, he leads the Pioneers with a team-high 33 shots and could be on his way to a strong rest of the season very quickly after netting a goal in the Lebanon Valley and St. Thomas games.

Doing it By Committee: After losing multiple All-Americans to graduation off a team that won 21 games and the UCHC title last year, the expectation was that the scoring would be done by committee this season. So far, that has been the case as 22 different players have recorded at least one point so far this year, and the team's 33 goals have come from fifteen different players.

A Power Play Awakening?: Utica's power play struck in both games over the weekend in Wisconsin, as the Pioneers went 1-for-4 with a Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)) goal in the win over St. Thomas, and a first period goal by Borsoi placed UC at 1-for-5 in the loss to UW-Stevens Point. The goals in back-to-back games broke up a spell of 19 straight power play opportunities without a goal heading into the weekend. The weekend carried Utica over the ten percent mark for the season, and they are 5-of-46 in total.

Second Period Success: Utica's best statistical period this season has been the second, where they are outscoring opponents 11-4.

In Goal: The Pioneers have utilized the services of two goaltenders so far this season between Sean Dickson's (Millbrae, CA/Hampton Roads Whalers (USPHL-Premier)) six appearances and Gianluca Baggetta's (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL)) five. Dickson is 2-2 in his four starts with a goals against average of 2.55 and a save percentage of 91.4 percent. Baggetta is 2-3 with a 2.63 goals against average and a 91.2 percent save percentage. Dickson's four starts came following an opening night injury to Baggetta, and Baggetta has returned to make four consecutive starts beginning with the 6-0 win over Elmira on Nov. 16.

About Stevenson: The Mustangs are 5-3-0, and 3-2-0 in the UCHC where they sit in third place under the direction of Utica native and former UC assistant Dominick Dawes, who once played for Thomas R. Proctor high school and has won a Division III national title as a player for Norwich, and as a coach with Neumann University. His brother Alex was once Utica's Director of Hockey Operations, and father Tom once owned a barbershop on Varick Street. The Mustangs joined Utica in America's Dairyland this past weekend where they ventured to Green Bay and Appleton to meet defending national champion St. Norbert College, and Lawrence University. The Mustangs were blanked 3-0 by St. Norbert on Friday, and rallied back with a 1-0 win over Lawrence on Saturday. Nick Gray scored his second goal of the year less than a minute into the second period, and UCHC Goalie of the Week Riley McVeigh made 26 saves for his first career shutout in the win over the Vikings. Three players have eight points apiece to lead Stevenson. Sophomore forward Carl Lyden has six of his eleven career goals as a sophomore to go with two assists, sophomore defenseman Aaron Murray has a goal and seven assists, and Dominic Brenza has eight assists at forward. McVeigh has started seven of eight games in goal with a goals against average of 2.27.

About Chatham: Chatham is 1-5-0 in its second season of existence under head coach Mike Callan. Their lone win of the season came on November 9th by a 6-5 margin over King's College. Sophomore Daniel Cangelosi has five goals and two assists to lead the Cougars, and dynamic forward Chris Lutz has three goals and three assists. Sophomore Brian Baker has gotten the majority of the time in goal with four starts entering this weekend. He is 1-4-0 with a goals against average of 5.02. The Cougar power play has been quite dangerous this season at 28.2 percent, which stands ninth in the nation. The Cougars will play Nazareth on Friday before coming to Utica on Saturday.

What's Next: Utica will close out the fall semester on December 7th and 8th as they visit Wilkes University and King's College for UCHC games. Friday will mark the first-ever meeting with Wilkes for Utica, and the Pioneers lead the series against King's College two games to zero. Utica's next home game will be on Friday, January 4th against Skidmore.