UTICA, NY- The Utica College women's hockey team is set to open the inaugural UCHC Conference Tournament Sunday as it hosts Neumann University in the quarterfinals.  Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
TICKET INFORMATION: Admission will be free of charge.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers are coming off a sweep over King's College last weekend, winning 8-0 and 6-0… Senior Carlie Smith (Grimsby, Ontario/St. Catharine's Chaos) had two goals and one assist in the first game, while Olivia Hirschy (Fort Wayne, IN/Culver Academies) scored a natural hat trick in the second game… Danielle Haasbeek (Grand Forks, ND/Balmoral Hall), Elizabeth Dohner (Highlands Ranch, CO/Colorado Selects), Lexi Stanisewski (Lawrence, MA/Boston Shamrocks), Meghan Power (Windsor, Ontario/Southwest Wildcats), and Veronique Lortie (Chambly, Quebec/Berkshire School) also found the back of the net and Emily Holtshouser (Manchester, NH/Middlesex Islanders) and Nicole Johnson (North Easton, MA/Holderness) each netted the first goals of their careers… Bria Reilly (Hamden, CT/Brewster Academy) and Amanda Lupo (Auburn, NY/Skaneateles) picked up the wins in net.
 
TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Utica is making its 16th post-season appearance in the program's 17-year history… The Pioneers have made it to the championship game twice, in 2005-06 after beating Elmira 4-1 in the semifinal, and in 2015-16 after a 5-1 win over the Soaring Eagles in the semifinal once again… UC is 7-0 all-time in home playoff games and the Pioneers have outscored opponents 30-8 at home in the playoffs.
 
HOW THEY GOT HERE: The Pioneers picked up the fourth seed in the tournament after finishing the regular season with a 9-5-2 mark in UCHC play and a 14-9-2 record overall… UC heads into the conference tournament with an eight-game unbeaten streak and Utica is 7-1-2 in its last ten games… Neumann wrapped up the season with a 12-10-2 overall record and the Knights went 9-6-1 in the UCHC… The teams split the regular season series with Neumann winning 3-1 in the first game before UC responded with a 4-1 win in the series finale.
 
CLAUSEN REACHES MILESTONE: Head Coach Dave Clausen, who is the only coach in program history, won his 250^th game on Friday as Utica defeated King's… Clausen has won at least 10 games in all 17 seasons at the helm… He also has just two seasons below .500, and has led Utica to 16 playoff appearances during his tenure.
 
FINISHING STRONG: The third period has been UC's best period this year… The Pioneers are outshooting opponents 328-167 in the final 20 minutes, and they have out scored opponents 33-16 in the third period this year.
 
LEADING THE WAY: Sophomore transfer Rebecca Brown (Steamboat Springs, CO/Norwich University) leads the team with 22 points (six goals, 16 assists)… She has one goal and seven assists in her last four games… Classmate Olivia Hirschy (Fort Wayne, IN/Culver Academies) has a team-high 11 goals and she has also tallied eight points in the last four games (six goals, two assists).
 
HELPING OUT: Junior Elizabeth Dohner (Highlands Ranch, CO/Colorado Selects) ranks second on the team in scoring for the second straight year… Dohner has seven goals and 12 assists for 19 points on the year… She needs one more goal and one more assist to match her career highs from last season. 
 
REACHING NEW HEIGHTS: Seniors Carlie Smith (Grimsby, Ontario/St. Catharine's Chaos), Veronique Lortie (Chambly, Quebec/Berkshire School), and Jennifer Arts (Lakeside, Ontario/London Devilettes), as well as junior Danielle Haasbeek (Grand Forks, ND/Balmoral Hall) have put up the best numbers of their careers this year… Smith is tied for third on the team with 18 points, which is double her scoring output from last season… She has also set a career-high for goals (eight) and assists (10)… Lortie has netted a career-best six goals and ten assists for 16 points, while Arts has had a breakout season with four goals and 11 assists… Haasbeek is also in the midst of her best year as she has four goals and 14 assists to tie her with Smith for third on the team in scoring (18 points).
 
HEATING UP: Freshman Lexi Stanisewski (Lawrence, MA/Boston Shamrocks) has totaled seven points (three goals, four assists) in her last four games… On the season, she has five goals and eight assists for 13 points… She is just the second freshman to score over 10 points since the 2012-13 season.  
 
SCOUTING NEUMANN: The Knights finished the regular season with a 12-10-2 mark overall and a 9-6-1 ledger in the conference… Senior Bek Lucas leads the nation with 1.18 goals per game… Lucas has a team-high 39 points on 26 goals and 13 assists.
 
AGAINST THE KNIGHTS: Utica is 9-2-1 against Neumann in the last five years… The teams split their season series this year with Neumann taking the first game 3-1 before the Pioneers were able to respond with a 4-1 victory in the second game… Danielle Haasbeek (Grand Forks, ND/Balmoral Hall), Taylor Osowski (Highlands Ranch, CO/Colorado Selects), Jennifer Arts (Lakeside, Ontario/London Devilettes), and Olivia Hirschy (Fort Wayne, IN/Culver Academies) each scored on the weekend… The last time Utica and Neumann faced each other in the playoffs was during the 2009-2010 season, when the Pioneers came away with a 4-1 win at home… Utica is 2-1 all-time against Neumann in the playoffs.    
 
LOOKING AHEAD: Sunday's winner will travel to Elmira next weekend for the UCHC final four… As the top seed in the tournament, Elmira will face the lowest remaining seed in the semifinals, while William Smith will take on the highest remaining seed.