UTICA, NY - The fourth-seeded Utica College women's hockey team is set to compete with fifth-seeded Nazareth College on Thursday, April 1, in a United Collegiate Hockey Conference quarterfinal. Utica has qualified for the playoffs for the 19th time in the program's 20-year history. The contest will be at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium, and will have a 7 p.m. puck drop. 

Live Thursday: Due to pre-existing COVID-19 restrictions, spectators are not allowed at Utica College sporting events until further notice. Live video and stats will be provided for all home games at portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. Sports Information Assistant Ray Biggs '13 will have the call. Owners of devices such as Roku, Amazon Fire, and AppleTV can download the Empire 8 app to watch home games.

Where We're At: The Pioneers closed the regular season with a 6-6 overall record, and a 4-4 record to finish with a .500 points percentage in league play. Utica finished fifth in the standings, but was promoted to the fourth seed because of the games played requirement in tournament seeding. A team had to complete six of its twelve league games to earn home ice in the quarterfinals. 

Last Time Out: The Pioneers last played 10 days ago when they fell to host Connecticut College 5-2 in a non-conference matchup, The Camels opened the game by scoring in the first two minutes of the first period. Utica responded in the 14th minute with an equalizer, with freshman forward Hailey Modlin (Phoenix, AZ/Boston Shamrocks) scoring the first goal of the night, assisted by sophomore forward Morgan Leib (Farmington Hills, MI/Little Caesars). The Camels managed to score a few more times before Modlin found her second goal of the night to bring the score to 4-2.

A Leg Up: The Pioneers are the only team in the conference, or anywhere this season to record a win against top-seeded Elmira. UC defeated the Soaring Eagles 2-1 on March 17th. Alexa Carlon (Lakewood, NY/Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles) and Carolyn Whitney (Raleigh, NC/Milbrook School) scored the goals, while Savannah Gutierrez (Huntington Beach, CA/Anaheim Lady Ducks) stopped 37 of 38 shots.  

Golden Gutierrez: Junior goalie Savannah Gutierrez (Huntington Beach, CA/Anaheim Lady Ducks) found a rare chance to record an assist on the second goal of the night against Connecticut College. She became just the third goalie in the program's history to notch a point for the Pioneers. Gutierrez ended the night with 30 saves for Utica, and is currently 17th in the nation for save percentage (.932). She was named the UCHC Goalie of the Week for her role in defeating UCHC Champion Elmira College.

She's Not Sloan Down: Sophomore forward Erica Sloan (Potsdam, NY/St. Lawrence Steel) sits in the team co-lead for points presently. She has five goals to go with eight assists for thirteen points. The second year skater has played in every possible game in her career so far. She also has quite the history with Nazareth, as her multi-goal effort hoisted UC to a 4-1 win early in the 2019-20 season. 

Modlin Makes It: Freshman forward Hailey Modlin (Phoenix, AZ/Boston Shamrocks) was the star of Utica's last game after scoring both goals for the Pioneers against Connecticut College. Modlin scored the equalizer in the first period to mark her second career goal. Her second goal of the night came off a power play early in the third period. Modlin currently has three goals this season. 

Moves like Maggie: Sophomore forward Maggie Rylott (Cobourg, Ontario/West Northumberland) has been a force for the team, recording four goals and nine assists, for 13 points in 12 games. She is currently second on the team for points, tied for 24th in the nation for assists(nine), and is tied for 28th in the nation for assists per game(0.75). 

Look out for Santullo: Junior forward Georgiana Santullo (Woburn, MA/Boston Shamrocks/Woburn High School) has been on the move lately, recording three goals and six assists for nine points this season. Santullo's next point will mark her 50th career point, and she is two goals away from netting 25 career goals.

Sharp Whits: Sophomore forward Carolyn Whitney (Raleigh, NC/Milbrook School) currently stands 34th nationally with an average of 1.20 points per game. She has twelve points on four goals and eight assists, and was chosen as the Conference's Player of the Week earlier this season.

On The Numbers: This season, the Pioneers are averaging 3.00 goals per game, and are conceding 2.17 against.

Solid Special Teams: The Pioneers have had a decently successful run on special teams this season. The Power Play is hovering at 20 percent with a 10-of-50 clip. Sloan leads the unit with three power play strikes. The penalty kill is at a serviceable 82.4 percent. Rylott has the only shorthanded goal of the season for UC. 

About Naz: Fifth-seeded Nazareth College finished the regular season at 4-1 in conference play. The Golden Flyers had the third highest points percentage in the conference at 80 percent, but were relegated to the fifth seed after completing under 50 percent of their twelve league games. The Golden Flyers have been tough for opposing offenses to solve, with a shutout streak spanning their last six games since a 4-1 season opening loss to Elmira. They shut out Utica by scores of 2-0 and 3-0 this season. Junior forward Hailey Redders has ten points on two goals and eight assists, and Abbey Luth has five goals. 

What's Next: The winner advances to the UCHC semifinal round. That game will be hosted by one of the two highest remaining seeds in the tournament.