UTICA, NY - The No. 14 Utica University women's hockey team is set to play its final three games of the calendar year this week, all of which will be at home. The Pioneers will host the Morrisville State Mustangs at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium before hosting Alvernia University for a pair of weekend UCHC games. Utica and Alvernia will meet at 4 p.m. on Friday at the Nexus Center before returning to the Adirondack Bank Center to finish the two-game set at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. 
 
Follow Along: For those who cannot attend the games this week can follow along with live video or live stats at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. 
 
Last Time Out: Led by Maggie Rylott's (Cobourg, Ontario/West Northumberland) hat-trick, the Pioneers shutout the Stevenson University Mustangs 8-0 on November 19. Utica opened its scoring spree just over five minutes into the contest. Madison Novotny (Wesley Chapel, FL/Northwood School) capitalized on a pass from Georgiana Santullo (Woburn, MA/Boston Shamrocks/Woburn High School) for her first goal of the year and a 1-0 lead. Roughly four minutes later, Molly Pedone (Trinity, FL/Robert Morris) found the back of the net on an unassisted goal as the Pioneers took a 2-0 lead midway through the first period. Stevenson recorded seven shots throughout the first, the most the team would have in a period on the afternoon, but Angela Hawthorne (Santa Clara, CA/Meijer) denied each one to preserve a 2-0 lead after one. The Pioneers lit off fireworks in the second period. Rylott scored the first two Utica goals of the second at 1:43 and 9:32 while Erica Sloan (Potsdam, NY/St. Lawrence Steel), Kelsey Elliott (Attleboro, MA/East Coast Wizards) and Hannah Keating (North Andover, MA/HPNA) added on following Rylott's pair to give Utica a convincing 7-0 lead entering the third. Rylott added one for good measure at the 8:47 mark in the third period for the hat-trick and 8-0 lead. Utica only allowed six shots on goal over the final 40 minutes of play as the team cruised to a weekend sweep of Stevenson. Rylott's three goals came on three attempts while for the game, Utica scored on nearly 19 percent of its shot attempts (8-for-44). The Pioneers also dominated on face-offs as the team took 33 of 50 led by Santullo's 16-for-19. In goal, Hawthorne totaled 10 saves over two periods while Breese Burlingame (Binghamton, NY/Northfield Mount Herman) took over in the third period and made three saves.  
 
Where We Stand: Currently in the UCHC, Utica sits third in standings with 17 points, one behind Nazareth and Manhattanville. Utica leads the conference in goals allowed and also leads with the most goals scored while also sitting first in goals per game with six. Utica is also second in save percentage while only allowing 18.6 shots per game. 
 
Leading the Way: Utica's offensive surge is led by Hailey Modlin (Phoenix, AZ/Boston Shamrocks) and Erica Sloan (Potsdam, NY/St. Lawrence Steel) who are second and third in total goals in the UCHC with eight and seven. The helping hand for the offense is Carly Stefanini (Framingham, MA/Brooks School) with nine assists. Angela Hawthorne (Santa Clara, CA/Meijer) has been lockdown in goal this year for the Pioneers also. While Utica's defense as a whole has been nothing less than impressive, only allowing 18.6 shots a game, when those shots come Hawthorne has been a wall. Currently, Hawthorne has a .958 save percentage which is third in UCHC rankings. Utica looks to continue this impressive play into this three-game stretch this week. 
 
Looking at Morrisville: Currently, Morrisville is 2-7-1 on the year with its recent game resulting in a 4-0 victory over Lebanon Valley. Morrisville's offense is led by Allie Davidson with five goals followed by Pippy Pritchard with three goals. In goal for the Mustangs has been a two-way committee. Emma Plett has accumulated 153 saves with an .869 save percentage during her time in goal while Maggie Jones has recorded 163 saves with a .942 save percentage. 
 
Looking at Alvernia: Alvernia is 4-2-2 on the year with their recent game resulting in a 2-1 loss to Neumann University. Alvernia's offense is led by Amber Steinhilpert, Julia Franklin, and Olivia Gilida. Steinhilpert has six goals which leads the Golden Wolves while Franklin and Gilida both have five. In goal for the Golden Wolves is Julia Beaven. Beaven has only allowed five goals so far this season while recording 158 saves and notching a .969 save percentage. Beaven is second in the UCHC in save percentage and is a key piece to Alvernia's success so far this season.

Up Next: After this week's three-game stretch, the Pioneers will be off until January 6 when they face off against Worcester State University at Worcester.