UTICA, NY- The Utica College women's hockey team begins a four-game road trip this weekend as it travels to Annville, PA for a UCHC Conference series against Lebanon Valley College.  Friday's game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. while Saturday's faceoff will be at 2 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers are fresh off a split against Manhattanville College on Tuesday and Wednesday… Despite outshooting the visitors 33-19, UC dropped a 2-1 decision in the first game… Freshman Maddie Paydos (Simsbury, CT/Vermont Academy) scored the lone goal for Utica with Nicole Johnson (North Easton, MA/Holderness) and Caley Susitti (Hartland, WI/Milwaukee Jr. Admirals) picking up the assists… Bria Reilly (Hamden, CT/Brewster Academy) made 17 saves in the loss… The Pioneers responded with a 2-0 shutout win on Wednesday to pick up the split…  Sophomore Lexi Stanisewski (Lawrence, MA/Boston Shamrocks) opened the scoring in the first period and Johnson added an insurance tally in the third to seal the victory… Kayla Dion (Colchester, VT/Boston Shamrocks), Elizabeth Dohner (Highlands Ranch, CO/Colorado Selects), Kyra Borsoi (Brossard, Quebec/Holderness), and Sirena Fitzery (Hamburg, NY/Buffalo Bisons) each had one assist in the win and Reilly turned aside all 22 shots she faced for her third shutout of the season.
 
NO REST FOR THE WEARY: The Pioneers are in the middle of a five-day stretch in which they will play four games… Utica is also in the heart of its UCHC schedule with the next ten games being against conference opponents. 
 
WHERE WE SIT: The Pioneers are currently second in the UCHC Conference standings with a 7-1 record… Utica is one game back of frontrunner William Smith (8-0 UCHC) and the Pioneers are one point ahead of Manhattanville (6-1-1 UCHC) and two points ahead of both Elmira College (6-0 UCHC) and Nazareth College (6-2 UCHC).
 
FINISHING STRONG: The third period has statistically been Utica's best period this season… The Pioneers have outscored opponents 20-1 in the third period this year… The lone goal Utica gave up in the final stanza was in its season-opener against Becker College on Oct. 27. 
 
LEADING THE WAY: Sophomore Lexi Stanisewski (Lawrence, MA/Boston Shamrocks) leads the team in assists (nine) and points (15) and she shares the team-lead with six goals so far… Nine of her 15 points (4 goals, five assists) have come in conference play… Utica is 8-2 this season when Stanisewski  scores at least one point. 
 
COLORADO CONNECTION: Colorado natives Elizabeth Dohner (Highlands Ranch, CO/Colorado Selects) and Rebecca Brown (Steamboat Springs, CO/Norwich University) share in the team lead with six goals each… Dohner is second on the squad with 13 points on the season, while Brown is right behind her with 12 points… Dohner is also the active leader with 87 career games played.
 
FRESHMAN PHENOM: Freshman Georgiana Santullo (Woburn, MA/Boston Shamrocks/Woburn High School) has made an impact right off the bat for the Pioneers… Santullo is tied for third on the team with 12 points (four goals, eight assists) and she has also been impressive at the faceoff dot, winning 79.5 percent of her faceoffs this season (89-of-112). 
 
RELY ON REILLY: Junior Bria Reilly (Hamden, CT/Brewster Academy) has been a rock in net this year… Reilly ranks 15^th nationally with a 1.31 goals against average and she also boasts a .935 save percentage with three shutouts in 11 starts.
 
SCOUTING LEBANON VALLEY: The Flying Dutchmen are 2-10 overall (1-9 UCHC) and they are coming off a 4-3 loss to Neumann on Tuesday, in which the Knights scored four goals in the third period to earn the comeback win… Lebanon Valley is led by freshman Olivia Cindrich and sophomore Chloe Glass, who each have six points on the season… Cindrich has a team-high four goals and has added two assists, while Glass has three goals and three assists.
 
AGAINST THE DUTCHMEN: Utica is 4-0 all-time against Lebanon Valley… Last year, the Pioneers picked up a pair of shutout wins, 6-0 and 7-0… Rebecca Brown (Steamboat Springs, CO/Norwich University) had five points on the weekend (one goal, four assists), while Olivia Hirschy (Fort Wayne, IN/Culver Academies) had three goals and one assist and Lexi Stanisewski (Lawrence, MA/Boston Shamrocks) had a goal and three assists.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Pioneers will remain on the road next weekend as they travel to UCHC newcomer, Nazareth College… Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday.