UTICA, NY – The Utica College women's ice hockey team hits the road for a quartet of road games, kicked off with a pair at No. 5 Adrian College. The first contest is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday, with the second set for 3 p.m. Sunday.
Follow Along: Live stats and video will be available for both contests. Statistics can be found on the Adrian College Bulldogs
website, while video will be provided free of charge by Adrian College Television on its YouTube
channel.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers were unable to overcome the SUNY Canton Kangaroos on Wednesday evening, ultimately dropping a 3-0 contest to move to 3-7 on the season. Senior
Olivia Hirschy (Fort Wayne, IN/Culver Academies) proved to be the most effective on both ends of the ice for UC, leading the squad in shots with four, tying with
Holly Silva (Boston, MA/Worcester Academy) in blocked shots with two. Nearly perfect at the face off circle was
Georgiana Santullo (Woburn, MA/Boston Shamrocks/Woburn High School) who went 11-for-14. Recording the start was
Bria Reilly (Hamden, CT/Brewster Academy) who posted 25 saves during her 59:49 in goal.
Strength in Numbers: Freshman
Erica Sloan (Potsdam, NY/St. Lawrence Steel) leads her team's offensive efforts, posting bests in points and goals, with tallies of nine and five, respectively. Sloan also ranks second in assists with four. Leading all skater's defensively is
Kyra Borsoi (Brossard, Quebec/Holderness) who has a team-leading 12 blocks, averaging 1.2 per game. Leading the Pioneer's goaltending corps is Reilly with 191 saves and a .914 save percentage. The senior has proved to be stout on the penalty kill, going 3-for-32.
Scouting No. 5 Adrian: The nationally-ranked Bulldogs boast a record of 9-2-2, taking on some of the countries' strongest programs. In its last timeout, AC fell 4-1 to No. 1 Plattsburgh State in the East-West Classic Championship, hosted by the Norwich Cadets. Rookie standout Une Bjelland owned the squad's lone goal, denying the Cardinals their fifth shutout of the season. The freshman was aided by three-time All-American Kelly O'Sullivan. In goal, sophomore Denisa Jandova posted 26 saves. Bjelland leads her team in assists (12), while tying with upperclassman Nicole Guagliardo for the top spot in points (17).
Against the Bulldogs: This is just the fifth meeting between UC and Adrian, with the Pioneers owning a 3-2 all-time series lead. The pair last met on Nov. 27, 2016 when the nationally-ranked Bulldogs were able to come away with a close 4-3 victory in the consolation round of the Panther/Cardinal Classic, hosted annually by Middlebury. Classmates Reilly and Hirschy are the only active members on Utica's roster that dressed for the contest, with the latter owning one shot.
Up Next: UC will remain on the road as it travels to Pennsylvania for meetings with Lebanon Valley College and Chatham University. The Pioneers will first take on the Dutchmen at 4 p.m. on Saturday the 18th, before returning to action at 3:40 p.m. on Sunday the 19th against the Cougars.
