UTICA, NY – The Utica College women's ice hockey team travels to Rye, NY on Saturday to open the UCHC Conference Tournament against Manhattanville College. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers are coming off a sweep in a two game series against Wilkes University last weekend, winning 8-0 on Friday and 3-0 on Saturday... Senior Elizabeth Dohner (Highlands Ranch, CO/Colorado Selects) had four goals, while Junior Olivia Hirschy (Fort Wayne, IN/Culver Academies), sophomore Nicole Johnson (North Easton, MA/Holderness), Katrina Cornick (Mason City, IA/Rocky Mountain Roughriders) and freshman Georgiana Santullo (Woburn, MA/Boston Shamrocks/Woburn High School) each scored a goal in the first game... In the second game, Santullo, senior Noelle Capriglione (New Milford, CT/New Milford) and freshman Caley Susitti (Hartland, WI/Milwaukee Jr. Admirals) were UC's goal scorers to lead the Pioneers to victory… Bria Reilly (Hamden, CT/Brewster Academy) and Savannah Gutierrez (Huntington Beach, CA/Anaheim Lady Ducks) each recorded shutouts in the sweep.
 
Tournament History: This playoff appearance marks UC's 17^th post season appearance in the program's 18-year history... The Pioneers have made it to the conference championship game twice in 2006 and 2016, beating Elmira in the semi-finals both years.
 
How They Got Here: UC finished the season with a 16-8-1 overall record and the Pioneers ended up in fifth place in the UCHC standings with an 11-6-1 mark in league play… Manhattanville was right in front of Utica with a 12-5-1 record in conference and 16-7-2 overall.
 
Dominating Offense: Utica ranks 10^th nationally with 3.6 goals per game… UC has outscored its opponents 89-45 this season... The Pioneers have also outshot the opposing teams 931-544… The third period has typically been Utica's best period as the Pioneers are outscoring opponents 33-11 in the third period this season. 
 
100-Club: Senior Elizabeth Dohner (Highlands Ranch, CO/Colorado Selects) is the active leader with 99 career games played… Dohner needs to play in just one more game to become the 28^th player in program history to suit up for 100 career games for the Pioneers… She is tied for the team-lead this year with 25 points (12 goals, 13 assists).
 
No Sophomore Slump: Sophomore Lexi Stanisewski (Lawrence, MA/Boston Shamrocks), who was a UCHC All-Rookie team selection one year ago, is tied with Dohner for the team-lead with 25 points… Stanisewski also has a team-high 17 assists… She needs just one more point to reach the 40-point plateau for her career.
 
Freshman Phenom: Rookie Georgiana Santullo (Woburn, MA/Boston Shamrocks/Woburn High School) has made an instant impact for the Pioneers this season… Santullo is third on the squad with 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists)… She has nine points (five goals, four assists) in the last nine games. 
 
Three's a Crowd: Three players are tied for the scoring lead with 12 goals apiece… Juniors Rebecca Brown (Steamboat Springs, CO/Norwich University) and Olivia Hirschy (Fort Wayne, IN/Culver Academies) join Dohner with 12 goals on the year… Brown has now totaled 20 or more points in back-to-back seasons, while Hirschy leads the team with four game-winning goals. 
 
Guarding the Net: Junior Bria Reilly (Hamden, CT/Brewster Academy) has been the number one choice between the pipes this season… Reilly has compiled a .926 save percentage and a 1.56 goals against average in 17 games this season… She boasts five shutouts and a 12-4 record.   
 
Scouting Manhattanville: The Valiants picked up the number four seed in the conference tournament after going 16-7-2 (12-5-1 UCHC) in the regular season…. Manhattanville is coming off a pair of 1-0 victories over Chatham University last Friday and Saturday... Senior Nicole Mensi leads the Valiants with 17 goals and 30 points this season.
 
Against Manhattanville: Utica and Manhattanville have played each other very evenly over the last five games, compiling a 2-2-1 record in that span… The teams split their series earlier this season with Manhattanville taking a 2-1 win in Utica on Jan. 8, before the Pioneers rebounded to win 2-0 the next day… Maddie Paydos (Simsbury, CT/Vermont Academy), Nicole Johnson (North Easton, MA/Holderness), and Lexi Stanisewski (Lawrence, MA/Boston Shamrocks) were UC's goal scorers in the series.
 
Looking Ahead: The winner of Saturday's game will advance to the semifinals next weekend at top-seeded Elmira College… Elmira will face the lowest remaining seed, while second-seeded Nazareth College will take on the highest remaining seed in the other semifinal.