UTICA, NY – The Utica College women's ice hockey team returns to action for a pair of UCHC contests this weekend, taking on Neumann University Friday at 2:30 p.m. and Manhattanville College Saturday at 2 p.m.
Follow Along: Live video and stats for the game will be available at portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/.
Going Gold: UC has teamed up with the "13thirty" Foundation for this year's Gold Ribbon Game on Feb.5. During the game, the Pioneers will wear special edition gold ribbon uniforms to raise awareness for childhood cancer. The jerseys are currently being auctioned off and you can bid on them by sending an e-mail to: jcsolomi@utica.edu with your name, address and amount you would like to bid. Online bidding will end at 5 p.m. on February 4th and will resume in the arena at 6 p.m. on the 5th. All proceeds from the event will be donated to support local adolescent and young adult cancer patients and survivors.
Last Time Out: Utica fell to local rival Hamilton College 6-0 in non-conference action Tuesday evening. The Continentals excelled behind a pair of goals in the first period goals, capped off with three scores in the final frame to pick up their ninth win of the year. Senior Bria Reilly (Hamden, CT/Brewster Academy) finished with 42 saves on the evening.
Stacking Up in Conference: The Pioneers currently have the second-best in conference record in the UCHC North, tying with William Smith at 5-2, trailing only Nazareth and Elmira with their records of 6-1.
Scouting Neumann: The Knights are currently 9-7 this season. Helen Cooney was named the UCHC South Division Goalie of the Week, for the week ending January 19th. Cooney was outstanding the squads two conference wins over King's and Wilkes this past weekend. In Friday's 5-1 victory over King's, the senior stalwart stopped 19 of 20 shots, while in Saturday's 4-0 win over Wilkes she picked up the shutout with 26 saves. For the weekend in total, Cooney stopped 45-of-46 shots for a 0.50 goals against average and a .978 save percentage. For the season, Cooney now sports a 2.11 goals against average with a .936 save percentage and four shutouts.
All-Time Series Neumann: UC beat Neuman on Nov. 28, 2018, 3-1 to extend its all-time series lead24-8-1. Scoring in the victory was Sirena Fitzery (Hamburg, NY/Buffalo Bisons) and Caley Susitti (Hartland, WI/Milwaukee Jr. Admirals), while Rebecca Brown (Steamboat Springs, CO/Norwich University) recorded an assist. Reilly earned the win, making 19 saves in the process.
Scouting Manhattanville: The Valiants are currently 8-5-2 this season, remaining undefeated in the UCHC South, 7-0. They defeated Wilkes and King's College last weekend. In their 4-0 win over Wilkes the squad went 3-for-9 on the power play. Taylor Ham led the way in scoring, picking up a team-best two goals, one of which came on the power play. Freshman goalie Lena Flores picked up her first-career shutout in the win. On Saturday Manhattanville downed King's 8-1, as Tiana Lopes picked up a hat trick, pairing her three goals with a couple of assists. Lopes finished the day was a team-best 5 points. In goal, Taylor Elias picked up her seventh win of the season behind eight stops.
All-Time with Manhattanville: The Pioneers hold an edge in the all-time series with the Valiants, 7-4. In the pairs last match up on February 23, 2019 Manhattanville bested UC 3-2 on the road. Ricki Haab (Stowe, VT/Stowe) was able to pick up a goal in the loss.
Up Next: Utica will return home for a weekend of UCHC contests, taking on Alvernia University Saturday at 2 p.m. and Stevenson Sunday at 1 p.m.
