UTICA, NY – The Utica College women's hockey team opens its home portion of the regular season this weekend as it hosts Chatham University for a UCHC Conference series.  Game times are scheduled for 2 p.m. on Friday at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium, while Saturday's faceoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the nearby Whitestown Community Center.
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers are 4-0 (2-0 UCHC) to start the season... They are coming off two wins in their UCHC opener against King's College (Pa.) last weekend… UC took the first game 4-0 thanks to a pair of goals by senior Taylor Dion (Colchester, VT/Boston Shamrocks), and one tally each by Elizabeth Dohner (Highlands Ranch, CO/Colorado Selects) and Rebecca Brown (Steamboat Springs, CO/Norwich University)… Sophomore Katrina Cornick (Mason City, IA/Rocky Mountain Roughriders) had two assists in the game as well, and junior goalie Bria Reilly (Hamden, CT/Brewster Academy) had a 12-save shutout… On Sunday, the Pioneers skated to a 6-0 win behind goals from Ricki Haab (Stowe, VT/Stowe) (two), Brown, Nicole Johnson (North Easton, MA/Holderness), and freshmen Maddie Paydos (Simsbury, CT/Vermont Academy) and Georgiana Santullo (Woburn, MA/Boston Shamrocks/Woburn High School)… Sophomore Gabrielle Igo (Phoenix, AZ/Northern Cyclones) had 19 saves in the shutout win.
 
Bet on Brown: Rebecca Brown (Steamboat Springs, CO/Norwich University) currently leads the team in goals (five) and points (six)… She has scored at least one goal in each game so far… She is currently tied for 11^th nationally with 1.25 goals per game… Brown, who led the Pioneers in points (23) and assists (17) last season, needs just one more goal to match her output from one year ago.
 
Five Alive: Three players are tied for second on the team with five points… Freshman Georgiana Santullo (Woburn, MA/Boston Shamrocks/Woburn High School), senior Taylor Dion (Colchester, VT/Boston Shamrocks), and sophomore Lexi Stanisewski (Lawrence, MA/Boston Shamrocks) each have contributed five points so far… Santullo had three goals and two assists and she is tied for 12^th nationally amongst rookies with 1.25 points per game… Dion is having the best start of her career as she has totaled two goals and three assists through four games, and Stanisewski leads the squad with four assists so far.
 
Balanced Attack: Eleven players have scored at least one goal so far and 19 players have contributed at least one assist… The Pioneers have outscored opponents 20-3 this season.
 
Home Sweet Home: Friday's contest marks the first regular season home game for the Pioneers this year… Utica has been particularly hard to beat at home the past two seasons... Last year's Pioneers were 11-4-0 at home, and UC was undefeated on home ice the season before… Utica is 19-4-1 over the last two years inside the confines of the Aud.
 
Guarding the Goal: Three different players have seen time between the pipes to start the season… Junior Bria Reilly (Hamden, CT/Brewster Academy) is tied for sixth in the country with a .50 goals against average as she has allowed just one goal in two games played… Reilly is also ninth nationally with a .967 save percentage… Sophomore Gabrielle Igo (Phoenix, AZ/Northern Cyclones) picked up a shutout by stopping all 19 shots she faced in her lone start of the year, while classmate Ryann Stripp (Holland Patent, NY/Clinton Warriors) has a .895 save percentage and a 2.00 goals against average. 
 
Scouting Chatham University: The Cougars are currently 1-3 overall and 1-1 in the UCHC this season… They are coming of a split against Lebanon Valley last weekend… The Cougars are currently led by Kirajean Frost, Michelle Jones, Sydney Collins and Madison Black, who have two points each this season.
 
Against Chatham: The Pioneers are 10-0 against the Cougars in the last five years… Last year, the Pioneers swept Chatham with 5-2 and 5-4 wins…  Rebecca Brown (Steamboat Springs, CO/Norwich University) had two goals and three assists on the weekend, while Katrina Cornick (Mason City, IA/Rocky Mountain Roughriders) had three goals and one assist. 
 
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers will head to Aston, PA to take on Neumann University in a two game series next weekend... Friday's game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and Saturday's game will start at 2 p.m.