UTICA, NY – The nationally ranked No. 8/10 Utica College men's hockey team returns to action for a pair of United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) games this weekend. The Pioneers are set to defend their home ice as they host Chatham University Saturday (7 p.m.) for CABVI Night, before welcoming Lebanon Valley College on Super Bowl Sunday (4 p.m.) Both games will be played in the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.
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 for select games is provided by Utica College's student radio, WPNR 90.7 FM.
Tickets: Individual home game tickets are on sale at the AUD ticket office or online at http://empirestatetix.com/. Individual game tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for non-Utica College students. Online ticket purchases will incur a $3.50 processing fee per ticket.
Protect Our House: Utica is 9-1-1 at home this season headed into the weekend. The Pioneers have outscored opponents 56-21 at the Aud this year. They rank third nationally in scoring average, outscoring their opponents by a margin of 2.47 goals per game.
Looking to Get Back on Track: Entering the week with a record of 14-4-1, the Pioneers are coming off a one game bump in the road where they lost to conference foe Elmira College who has handed the Pioneers two of their four total losses this season. The Pioneers are unbeaten in 13 of their last 15 contests.
Previous Meetings: Earlier this season the Pioneers cruised to a 13-1 victory on the road at Chatham. Freshman
Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) led the way with five points (three goals, two assists) as 18 of 19 Pioneers finished with at least one point in the mid-November contest. Utica lost a tight 3-2 contest on the road at Lebanon Valley earlier this season. The Pioneers were then able to win their next seven games after the conference loss to the Dutchmen.
Conference Standings: Utica heads into the weekend in third place with 14 points in the UCHC conference standings through ten games. The Pioneers trail Stevenson, who has 17 points through 12 games, and Lebanon Valley who sits in second place with 16 points through 11 games.
National Polls: Utica dropped one spot to No.8 in the most recent D3hockey.com national poll released Monday. The Pioneers also fell three spots to No. 10 in the most recent USCHO.com national poll.
High Scoring Duo: Senior
Roman Ammirato (Williamstown, NJ/Union College (ECAC)) has been among the national leaders in scoring all season long and he currently ranks third in goals per game (0.84) and is tied for first in the nation with his school-record nine power play goals. Senior defender
Dalton Carter (Toledo, OH/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) continues his All-American campaign and is currently ranked second in the nation in points per game among defensemen (1.33).
Solid Between The Pipes: Appearing in four games, sophomore
Gianluca Baggetta (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL)) has a record of 4-0 with three goals allowed and a save percentage of .947. Classmate
Patrik Virtanen (Vantaa, Finland/Lincoln (USHL)) has played in 13 games with a record of 9-3-1. He is averaging 2.24 goals allowed per game to go along with a save percentage of .922.
Record Books: Utica senior's
Dalton Carter (Toledo, OH/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) and
Kevin Valenti (Queensbury, NY/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) continue to climb the program's all-time scoring list. Valenti is currently tied for seventh all-time with 71 career points and he is the Pioneers' career active leading scorer in 100 career games played. Carter currently has 67 points and needs just two more points to move into a tie for ninth on the all-time scoring list.
All-Time vs. Lebanon Valley: Utica and Lebanon Valley played each other 23 times between 2001 and 2010 before LVC took a hiatus from Division III hockey prior to returning last season. Utica currently holds a 22-2-0 lead in the all-time series between the Pioneers and the Dutchmen.
Meet Lebanon Valley College: Entering this weekend with a record of 8-7-2, the Dutchmen are riding the highs of a three game win streak. They currently hold a 7-2-2 ledger in the UCHC. The Dutchmen are set to face Nazareth College in Rochester on Saturday before heading to Utica.
Meet Chatham University: Entering this weekend with record of 1-15-3, the Cougars are currently in eighth in the conference standings. Their last game was a loss against Lebanon Valley in the Dutchmen Outdoor Classic on January 27th.
