UTICA, NY - The Utica College women's hockey team will play a home-and-home series this Saturday and Sunday against conference foe, William Smith College. Game times are set for 3 p.m. Saturday in Utica then at 4 p.m. on Sunday in Geneva.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers dropped a game to Nazareth College by a score of 3-1 this past Wednesday... The Golden Flyers used one goal in each period to top Utica… Junior Olivia Hirschy (Fort Wayne, IN/Culver Academies) scored the lone goal for UC, with Ricki Haab (Stowe, VT/Stowe) picking up the assist… Sophomore Ryan Stripp made 29 saves in the loss. 
 
JOCKEYING FOR POSITION: Although the Pioneers have clinched a postseason berth, they can still improve their seeding with some wins and a little help... As the UCHC stands now, Elmira is in first place with 24 points (12-0)… Nazareth, William Smith and Utica are all tied for second with 22 points (11-3)... With the Golden Flyers holding the tiebreaker over Utica, this weekend goes a long way in determining seeding for the playoffs. 
 
WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER: Olivia Hirschy (Fort Wayne, IN/Culver Academies) has lifted the Pioneers four times this season with game-winning goals... That mark ties her for fourth in the country and second in the conference… Hirschy is second on the team with nine goals this season.
 
LEAN ON ME: Bria Reilly (Hamden, CT/Brewster Academy) continues her impressive season protecting the net for the Pioneers... Reilly is fifth in the conference with a .930 save percentage and her 1.43 goals against average ranks third in the UCHC… Reilly is also tied for seventh nationally with four shutouts. 
 
THE ROOK HAS 'EM SHOOK: Freshman Georgiana Santullo (Woburn, MA/Boston Shamrocks/Woburn High School) received Rookie of the Week honors for the week of 1/29/19... She scored two goals and added an assist in the 4-2, 5-2 sweep of the Stevenson Mustangs last weekend at home... Santullo ranks fourth on the team with 17 points and she is third on the squad in both goals (eight) and assists (nine). 
 
STEPPING UP WHEN IT COUNTS: Junior Ricki Haab (Stowe, VT/Stowe) has totaled 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 17 games this season… All 11 of her points have come in UCHC Conference games. 
 
DON'T TURN YOUR BACK: The Pioneers lead the country with five shorthanded goals this season… UC has killed off 60-of-70 penalty kills… Sophomore Lexi Stanisewski (Lawrence, MA/Boston Shamrocks) leads the conference with three shorthanded points (one goal, two assists) this year.
 
SCOUTING WILLIAM SMITH: William Smith owns a 13-4 overall record and an 11-3 conference mark entering the weekend... Three of the top 10 goal scorers in the UCHC are on the Herons: Abbey Luth (17 goals), Gina Scibetta (15 goals), and Jules Kennedy (13 goals)... The team ranks third in the UCHC with 4.63 goals per game and fifth allowing 1.84 goals against per game.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Pioneers will wrap up conference play next weekend with another home-and-home set against Elmira… Friday's game is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Utica, while Saturday's contest will be at 3 p.m. in Elmira.