UTICA, NY - The No. 13 Utica University women's hockey team returns home for a UCHC series against Manhattanville College. The teams will play first on Friday, January 20 at 4 p.m. before concluding the series on Saturday, January 21 at 2:30 p.m. Both games will take place at the Nexus Center.
 
Follow Along: Fans unable to attend either game can keep up with live video and/or stats through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. 
 
Last Time Out: Utica beat Chatham University 5-2 on Saturday night to collect its ninth UCHC victory. The win also extends the team's win streak to a scorching eleven games. The first period featured an abundance of shots for both teams yet Utica outshot Chatham 23-14. The Pioneers started aggressive as Holly Silva (Boston, MA/Worcester Academy), Erica Sloan (Potsdam, NY/St. Lawrence Steel), and Georgiana Santullo (Woburn, MA/Boston Shamrocks/Woburn High School) all registered shots within the first two minutes of the game. The Pioneers were able to score at the 10:30 mark as Abby Lillis (West Seneca, NY/Buffalo Bisons) rifled a goal and was assisted by Ava Suda (Cheektowaga, NY/Buffalo Bisons). At the 13:24 mark just as its power play was expiring, Georigana Santullo fired one into the back of the net to give Utica a 2-0 edge. Hailey Modlin (Phoenix, AZ/Boston Shamrocks) and Carly Stefanini (Framingham, MA/Brooks School) assisted the goal. The teams kept exchanging shots, yet Utica took its 2-0 edge into the first intermission. The Pioneer dominance continued into the second frame as the team outshot Chatham 28-8. The teams each had multiple power plays, yet neither could convert as the defense was superb, especially in net. Yet, Chatham was able to convert on its final power play of the period as Brooke Almond found the back of the net at the 19:03 mark in the period. The Pioneers took a 2-1 edge into the final period of play. Utica continued to play fast as Maggie Rylott (Cobourg, Ontario/West Northumberland) scored just 1:23 into the third period to push the Pioneer lead to 3-1. Rylott's goal was assisted by Holly Silva (Boston, MA/Worcester Academy). The Pioneers kept the pressure on and kept rifling in shots and found the back of the net again at the 4:09 mark of the third frame. The power play goal was scored by Santullo and was assisted by Carolyn Whitney (Raleigh, NC/Milbrook School) and Madison Novotny (Wesley Chapel, FL/Northwood School). Chatham scored again at the 16:03 mark as Cameron Carmody found the back of the net on the power play. Santullo scored an empty netter at the 19:40 mark to seal a 5-2 victory for the Pioneers and record her first hat trick of the season. The Pioneers dominated as they outshot Chatham 46-19. Angela Hawthorne (Santa Clara, CA/Meijer) collected her eleventh win of the season and made seventeen saves. Santullo led the team with three points while Lillis, Rylott, Modlin, Suda, Silva, Whitney, Novotny, and Stefanini all collected one. Utica played phenomenal on both sides of the puck and was able to get the entire team involved while earning another UCHC victory. 
 
In the Polls: Utica moved up two spots to No. 13 in the latest US College Hockey Online Women's Top 15. The poll was released on Monday by the national college hockey website. The team received 48 points this week to move up two spots after receiving 29 points last week. No. 13 Utica extended its point streak to 13 games and its winning streak to 11 games after going 3-0 last week. The Pioneers shutout Oswego State 5-0 on January 10 before sweeping Chatham University on the road over the weekend by a combined score of 9-2 over two games. 
 
Good Luck Trying: Goaltender Angela Hawthorne (Santa Clara, CA/Meijer) was named UCHC Co-Goaltender of the week as announced by the league on Monday. The junior stopped 56 of 58 shots on goal and recorded two shutouts in a 3-0 week for the Pioneers. Hawthorne made 24 saves in a shutout win against Oswego State on Tuesday and 15 in a clean sheet versus Chatham on Friday before winning her third game of the week with 17 stops versus Chatham on Saturday. For the week, Hawthorne recorded a .965 save percentage and 0.67 goals against average. It is Hawthorne's third UCHC weekly honor of the season. The Santa Clara, CA native is 11-1-1 this season with four shutouts, a .958 save percentage, 253 saves this season. She holds the best save percentage in the UCHC and has the top goals allowed against with more than eight games played.
 
One-Two Punch: The dynamic duo of Georgiana Santullo (Woburn, MA/Boston Shamrocks/Woburn High School) and Erica Sloan (Potsdam, NY/St. Lawrence Steel) has been unstoppable this season. Santullo has 10 goals and 10 assists this season while Sloan has 10 goals and nine assists. The duo ranks top-ten in the UCHC in goals, assists, and points and is one of the best tandems this season. Santullo is approaching the career games played and will break the record in her 110th career game in just five more games against Neumann University on January 28. She has also been on a hot streak with a five-game point streak including a hat trick in her last outing against Chatham. Sloan recorded her 100th career point against Oswego State and is just the seventh player in program history to do so. The Potsdam, NY native has been phenomenal this season and recorded a point in twelve of fourteen games. The duo both sport an incredible .179 or higher shooting percentage and look to continue leading the offense for No. 13 Utica.
 
About Manhattanville: The Valiants are 9-6-1 this season and 9-2-1 in UCHC play this season, ranking them third in the conference. In its last outing the team beat Wilkes University 5-2 on January 14. Manhattanville is led by Gabrielle Cox who has a whopping 19 goals this season which leads the UCHC and is five ahead of second place. Cox is one of the best players in the conference and leads the team with six assists and 111 shots. Brysa Schmidt and Morgan Miller are two other weapons who have collected at least eight points and fired over 49 shots this season. In net Franny Gerardi sees the bulk of the playing time and sports a 5-6-1 record with 342 saves and a .942 save percentage this season. Yet, Jewells Austin has also seen time in net and is 4-0 with 69 saves and a .908 save percentage.

Up Next: After this week, No. 13 Utica will begin its busy week against No. 7 Hamilton College on Tuesday, January 24 at 7 p.m. at the Nexus Center.