UTICA, NY- The Utica College women's ice hockey team will be in action this weekend against Elmira in a home-and-home series. On Friday, March 5th, the Pioneers will battle Elmira in a game that begins at 6 p.m. at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. On Saturday, March 6th, the Pioneers will be on the road for a 4 p.m. start time at Elmira's Murray Athletic Center. 

Live Friday: 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/. Owners of devices such as Roku, Amazon Fire, and AppleTV can download the Empire 8 app to watch home games, along with Saturday's road game at Elmira. 

Follow Along Saturday:  For fans looking to watch the Pioneers in action this weekend while they are on the road, Elmira's athletic department will have a live stream of the event at portal.stretchinternet.com/elmira/. Coverage of Saturday's game will be provided by Elmira Athletic Communications.

Last Time Out: Last weekend the Pioneers faced Nazareth in a home-to-home series, but unfortunately fell in both contests. Nazareth took an early lead in Friday's game en route to a 2-0 win at the Bill Gray's Iceplex in Rochester, and the Golden Flyers doubled down on their first win by scoring a goal in all three periods in a 3-0 Saturday win at the Aud. The Utica goaltending performed well in both contests, with Savannah Gutierrez (Huntington Beach, CA/Anaheim Lady Ducks) making 52 saves in Friday's game, and Angela Hawthorne (Santa Clara, CA/Meijer) fending off 33 Nazareth shots on Saturday. 

Keeping Her Whits About Her: Sophomore forward Carolyn Whitney (Raleigh, NC/Milbrook School) finds herself nationally ranked in multiple stats so far this season. She is tied for 37th in the nation in points per game with a 1.17 points per game average. Whitney has been sharing the puck nicely, as she has the 38th highest average in the country in assists per game at 0.83. Whitney has a team-high seven points and five assists, and also has two goals. 

Always A Stef Ahead: Freshman forward Carly Stefanini (Framingham, MA/Brooks School) continues to climb the national ranks as a freshman. She ranks 14th in the nation and leads the team with five goals, and sits 18th in goals per game at an average of 0.83 per contest. Stefanini has been surgical on power plays with two power play goals. 

Goalies From The Left Coast: Angela Hawthorne (Santa Clara, CA/Meijer) has been a brick wall in the net this season, and has earned several high ranking spots nationally in various statistical categories. She is one of a handful of players nationally with a shutout this season, and is ranked 17th nationally in save percentage at 94.1 percent. Hawthorne also holds the 19th spot nationally in goals against average. Junior Savannah Gutierrez (Huntington Beach, CA/Anaheim Lady Ducks) is also off to a stellar start, as the third year Pioneer is ranked 29th nationally in goals against average at 2.02 goals against per game, and is fifteenth nationally with a 94.6 percent save percentage. 

By The Numbers: Utica currently ranks 20th in scoring offense nationally at 2.33 goals per game. Defensively, the Pioneers are twelfth nationally at an average of 1.67 goals allowed per contest. When it comes to special teams, UC has the 24th best success rate in the country on both the power play and penalty kill.

Early Leverage: Gaining the upper hand as soon as possible has been vitally important to determining Utica's outcomes this season. The Pioneers are 3-0 when scoring first, and 0-3 when conceding the first goal. 

History with Elmira: Last season Utica and Elmira met on three different occasions in which Elmira managed to come out victorious. During the season Elmira won by scores of 7-0 and 2-0. The Soaring Eagles and Pioneers would meet one last time in the UCHC tournament. Carolyn Whitney (Raleigh, NC/Milbrook School) was able to find the back of the net with her first career postseason tally, but Elmira erupted for five goals in a 5-1 win on their way to the conference title. The two sides have met every year since the Utica program began in the 2001-02 season. 

About Elmira: Elmira has been off to an impressive start in 2021. Despite the long layoff, they have showed little to no rust and have started the season off at 3-0. They have a win over Nazareth, and two wins over Manhattanville to their credit. Forward Jess Adams is the current UCHC Player of the Week and has nine points on two goals and seven assists. 

Up Next: Next weekend the Pioneers will go on a road trip to the Keystone State to take on Wilkes University on Friday, March 12th at 5 PM. The teams will meet again the following day at the Aud. Puck drop is slated for 7 PM.