UTICA, NY- The Utica College women's hockey team returns to United Collegiate Hockey Conference play this weekend as it hosts Chatham University for a two-game series.  Friday's game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. while Saturday's faceoff is slated for 1 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Pioneers defeated Worcester State 6-1 on Monday thanks in part to a four-goal third period for Utica… Six different players found the back of the net, including Rebecca Brown (Steamboat Springs, CO/Norwich University), Carolyn Whitney (Raleigh, NC/Milbrook School), Georgiana Santullo (Woburn, MA/Boston Shamrocks/Woburn High School), Cortney Staniszewski (Buffalo, NY/Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles), Hannah Keating (North Andover, MA/HPNA), and Molly Pedone (Trinity, FL/Robert Morris)… Senior Savannah Gutierrez (Huntington Beach, CA/Anaheim Lady Ducks) made 25 saves in net… The Pioneers were three-for-five on the powerplay in the win. 
 
A LOOK AT THE CONFERENCE: The Pioneers are currently second in the UCHC with 24 points thank to an 8-0 mark in league play… Nazareth College (10-0 UCHC) hold the top spot with 30 points… Manhattanville is third with 21 points and a 7-1 record, followed by Chatham (6-4) and Stevenson (4-4) to round out the top five.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS CLICKING: Utica's powerplay is among the nation's best as the Pioneers rank 12^th in the country with a 27.5 percent success rate with the man-advantage… UC ranks fifth nationally with 14 powerplay goals… UC has killed 89 percent of its penalties so far this season.
 
FIRE AT WILL: The Pioneers rank second nationally with an average of 5.46 goals per game… Senior Georgiana Santullo (Woburn, MA/Boston Shamrocks/Woburn High School) leads the country with 1.31 goals per game and she is third nationally in points per game (2.08)… Santullo also leads the UCHC and ranks second in the country with four game-winning goals so far.
 
SUPER SLOAN: Junior Erica Sloan (Potsdam, NY/St. Lawrence Steel) is second in the UCHC and sixth nationally with 1.85 points per game… She sits atop the conference and ranks ninth in the country in assists per game (1.08) and her two shorthanded goals are good enough for fourth in the nation.
 
ALL THE SMALL THINGS: Part of Utica's success can be attributed to taking care of the little things… As a team, the Pioneers rank fourth nationally in faceoff percentage, winning 58.9 percent of their draws… UC has also blocked 72 shots this season… Junior Carolyn Whitney (Raleigh, NC/Milbrook School) leads the team with 13 shot blocks on the year… Whitney has also contributed 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) on the year.
 
IT KEEPS GETTING BETTER: Sophomore Carly Stefanini (Framingham, MA/Brooks School) and junior Maggie Rylott (Cobourg, Ontario/West Northumberland) have each set new career marks just halfway through the season… Stefanini is third on the squad with 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists), while Rylott is tied for fourth with 16 points (three goals, 13 assists)… Stefanini has reached a new career-best in goals, assists, and points, while Rylott has set a new career-high in both goals and assists in a single-season.
 
SHUTTING THE DOOR: The Pioneers lead the country with seven total shutouts on the season… Utica is also eighth nationally allowing just 1.15 goals per game… Sophomore Angela Hawthorne (Santa Clara, CA/Meijer) is sixth nationally with a .98 goals against average and she is eighth in save percentage (.948).  Hawthorne also leads the UCHC and rans third in the country with three shutouts… Senior Savannah Gutierrez (Huntington Beach, CA/Anaheim Lady Ducks) is in the top 20 in both save percentage (.939) and goals against average (1.57), and she has also compiled two shutouts.
 
SCOUTING CHATHAM: The Cougars are 7-6 overall (6-4 UCHC) and they are coming off a sweep over Wilkes University last weekend, winning 5-2 and 7-0… Chatham is led by sophomore Ally Nolan, who has 16 points (nine goals, seven assists) in 12 games...  Utica is 28-0-1 all-time against Chatham... The last time the two teams played was on Jan. 19, 2020 when Utica came away with a 5-1 win. 

LOOKING AHEAD: The Pioneers hit the road next weekend for a conference series at Manhattanville… Friday's game is scheduled for 7 p.m. while Saturday's is set for a 3 p.m. puck drop.