UTICA, NY – The nationally-ranked No. 10 Utica College men's hockey team heads into its final two games of the regular season on Friday and Saturday.  Utica will travel to King's College at 7 p.m. on Friday night, hoping to lock up a home playoff game with two more United Collegiate Hockey Conference points. The Pioneers return home on Saturday night to square off against Manhattanville College at 7 p.m. for Live United Night at the Aud.
 
Regular Season Titles: Three points this weekend (at least one win and one tie) will guarantee the Pioneers the regular season conference title. Utica is looking to secure a regular season conference title for the fourth time in the last six years.
 
Rankings: The Pioneers are currently ranked in the top ten in the D3hockey.com National Poll, USHCO.com National Poll and NCAA Division III East Region Rankings.  They are ranked No. 10 nationally in both the D3hockey.com and USCHO.com National Polls.  UC is also in a tie for ninth in the first public release of the NCAA Division III Men's Hockey East Region Rankings.

Protect Our Ice: The Pioneers are 11-1-1 at home heading into this weekend, outscoring opponents 69-23 in 13 games. They are averaging 5.3 goals per game at home in front of the largest fan base in Division III men's hockey.

Racking up the Wins: Utica currently stands at 17-5-1 overall and 10-4 in the UCHC.  If the Pioneers pick up two wins this weekend they will secure 19 wins in the regular season for just the second time in program history. 
 
Ammirato Making a Name for Himself: Utica senior forward Roman Ammirato (Williamstown, NJ/Union College (ECAC)) currently ranks third nationally with an average of .87 goals per contest through 23 games.  He also ranks third nationally with an average of .39 power-play goals. His five short-handed goals this season lead all of division III men's hockey. He currently has 36 total points and ranks ninth nationally with an average of 1.57 points per contest.
 
All-American Candidate: Utica senior defender Dalton Carter (Toledo, OH/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) ranks second nationally in points per game among defensemen (1.32). Carter is the top scoring defender in program-history and he currently ranks eighth on the College's all-time scoring list with 72 career points. 

Senior Leadership: Five of the Pioneers top six scorers are seniors.  Ammirato and Carter lead the way with 36 and 29 points, respectively.  Anthony McVeigh (Kemptville, Ontario/Carleton Place (CCHL)) ranks third on the team with 22 points and he is also tied for ninth on the program's all-time scoring list with 71 career points (27 goals, 44 assists).  Utica's Kevin Valenti (Queensbury, NY/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) is the active leading scorer with 75 career points and he currently ranks seventh on the College's all-time scoring list.
 
Instant Impact: Freshman forward Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) ranks 13th nationally in freshman scoring with an average of .95 points per contest. Freshman Brett Everson (Mississauga, Ontario/Hawkesbury (CCHL)) is in the top ten on the team in scoring with 17 points (four goals, 13 assists).
 
Scoring in Bunches: The Pioneers boast the third-best scoring offense in the country with an average of 4.57 goals per game. They also rank in the top ten nationally in goals allowed per game (2.00).

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.
 
Previous Meetings: Earlier in the year Utica was able to secure wins over both Manhattanville College and King's College. In a battle on the road, the Pioneers defeated the Valiant's by a score of 2-1. Roman Ammirato (Williamstown, NJ/Union College (ECAC)) and Jacob Gerson (Colorado Springs, CO/Hampton Roads (USPHL)) each recorded a goal to edge Utica over Manhattanville (12/01/17). Against King's College, Utica defeated the Monarchs by a score of 6-1. With ten different players scoring at least one point, senior Roman Ammirato (Williamstown, NJ/Union College (ECAC)) led the way recording his first hat trick as a Pioneer (12/02/17).
 
Conference Standings: Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, UC is is in a first place tie with 20 points. Utica is tied with Lebanon Valley (20) and Stevenson (20). Manhattanville College and Neumann are tied for fourth with 18 points each and Elmira is sixth with 17 points.
 
Between The Pipes: With a record of 9-3-1, sophomore Patrik Virtanen (Vantaa, Finland/Lincoln (USHL)) is averaging 2.38 goals allowed per game with a .918 save percentage. Virtanen has 358 total saves. Also in goal, sophomore Gianluca Baggetta (Maple, Ontario/North York (OJHL)) has a 6-1 record with a save percentage of .929 and nine goals allowed.
 
Meet Manhattanville College: Entering the weekend at 11-7-5, the Valiant's are on a three game win streak in UCHC conference play. The Valliant's finish off their regular season Friday at Nazareth (7 p.m.) and Saturday at Utica College (7 p.m.).
 
Meet King's College: Entering the weekend with a record of 0-23-0 the King's College Monarchs are in the midst of finishing up their first year as a NCAA Division III program. The Monarchs final two games will be against Utica College on Friday (7 p.m.) and Nazareth Saturday (4 p.m.).