UTICA, NY - The No. 12 Utica University women's hockey team is set to host Lebanon Valley College for a two game homestand this weekend. The first game is on Friday, February 3 at 4 p.m. with the series concluding on Saturday, February 4 at 2 p.m. for senior day.
 
Follow Along: Those unable to attend either of the games can tune in for live video and/or stats via https://bit.ly/2wtxUV5. 
 
Last Time Out: The then-No. 13 Utica University women's hockey team completed its series sweep of Neumann University following a 5-1 victory over the Knights last Saturday afternoon. Georgiana Santullo (Woburn, MA/Boston Shamrocks/Woburn High School) became the all-time leader in games played in the contest, playing in her 110^th career game. Santullo has had an illustrious career for the Pioneers as she currently ranks third in career goals with 64, tied for fourth in careers assists with 69, and fourth all-time in career points with 133. Hailey Modlin (Phoenix, AZ/Boston Shamrocks) led the way for Pioneers, providing two goals in the win. Holly Silva (Boston, MA/Worcester Academy), Erica Sloan (Potsdam, NY/St. Lawrence Steel), and Cortney Staniszewski (Buffalo, NY/Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles) would also find the back of the net in the matchup. Ava Suda (Cheektowaga, NY/Buffalo Bisons), Nicole Fitzgerald (Mechanicsburg, PA/The Hill School), Carolyn Whitney (Raleigh, NC/Milbrook School), Erica Sheaffer (New Hartford, NY/Wilkes University), Molly Pedone (Trinity, FL/Robert Morris), Carly Stefanini (Framingham, MA/Brooks School), and Santullo each had assists as well. The Pioneers came out in the first period with a similar intensity as they had in Friday's win but ultimately couldn't find the back of the net in the first despite outshooting the Knights 24-3. Utica has excelled during power play opportunities thus far with a .259 conversion percentage but couldn't take advantage of their three power play opportunities in the period. Georgiana Santullo (Woburn, MA/Boston Shamrocks/Woburn High School), Erica Sloan (Potsdam, NY/St. Lawrence Steel), and Maggie Rylott (Cobourg, Ontario/West Northumberland) led the Utica attack in the first as they each registered four shots on goal. Just 22 seconds into the second, Neumann scored for the first time against Utica after being held scoreless on Friday as the hosts took a 1-0 lead. The Knights lead was short-lived though as Holly Silva (Boston, MA/Worcester Academy) netted an unassisted goal less than four minutes later to knot the score up at one a piece. The score would remain even for the next 10 minutes until Cortney Staniszewski (Buffalo, NY/Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles) found the back of the net on a Utica power play at 14:20. The Pioneers went on to carry its one goal lead into the third period. Utica came out firing early into the third period with nine shots on goal in the first 5 minutes before Erica Sloan (Potsdam, NY/St. Lawrence Steel) would rifle a shot that found the back of the net to extend Utica's lead to 3-1. Hailey Modlin (Phoenix, AZ/Boston Shamrocks) proceeded to take over for the Pioneers as she scored twice in the period at 10:03 and 15:42. Modlin has now scored in three consecutive games and has 10 goals on the season. The Pioneers outshot Neumann 69-18 in the contest and continued their undefeated play against UCHC opponents. 
 
Where we Stand: Thanks to a Nazareth loss to Manhattanville last week, the Pioneers find themselves in sole possession of first place in the UCHC with 41 points. With Utica having favorable matchups over the next two weeks against seventh place Lebanon Valley and ninth place Wilkes, the Pioneers' quest for their first-ever regular season UCHC title may very well come down to the final weekend of the regular season at Nazareth from February 17-18. The team is also well on pace to break its single-season program wins record of 21 games which was set last season. 
 
In the Polls: The Pioneers team moved to No. 12 in this week's US College Hockey Women's Top 15. The poll was released Monday by the national college hockey website. Utica moves to the No. 12 spot after receiving 85 points this week, pushing them forward from the 75 points that held them at No. 13 last week. The Pioneers improved to 16-2-1 overall this season after defeating Neumann University 13-0 on Friday and 5-1 on Saturday. 
 
It's Been an Honor: With her final home series as a Pioneer approaching, Georgiana Santullo (Woburn, MA/Boston Shamrocks/Woburn High School) ends her career as one of seven players in program history with 100 points, one of six with more than 60 assists and one of three with over 60 goals. All of this has come while having played in more games than anyone in program history. Santullo has etched her name all over the Pioneer record books and this season has been no exception to her remarkable career. 
 
Senior Send Off: Prior to Saturday's game the team will honor its seniors Abby Lillis (West Seneca, NY/Buffalo Bisons), Erica Sloan (Potsdam, NY/St. Lawrence Steel), Ava Suda (Cheektowaga, NY/Buffalo Bisons), Holly Silva (Boston, MA/Worcester Academy), Carolyn Whitney (Raleigh, NC/Milbrook School), Erica Sheaffer (New Hartford, NY/Wilkes University), Maya Bennett (Belleville, ON/West Northumberland), Georgiana Santullo (Woburn, MA/Boston Shamrocks/Woburn High School), Maggie Rylott (Cobourg, Ontario/West Northumberland), and Hannah Beckman.
 
Sloan's World: Erica Sloan (Potsdam, NY/St. Lawrence Steel) turned in a fabulous week that featured four goals over Neumann University. The senior recorded a season-high three goals against Neumann on Friday, January 27 on just seven shots. She followed up the hat trick with a goal on Saturday to give her four over the weekend and add to her team leading 15 goals this season which is tied for second in the UCHC. Sloan's ability to score goals and set up her teammates has been a major reason for the Pioneers success.
 
Lights Out: Maddie Esposito (Ashburn, VA/Boston Shamrocks) was lights out on Friday, January 27 and notched her first career shutout. Esposito turned away 18 shots from Neumann University and was terrific the entire game, especially defending during power plays as she saved six shots on three power play opportunities for the Knights. Esposito is now 2-0 this season and has not allowed a goal over her three appearances this season totaling over 90 minutes of time between the pipes.
 
About Lebanon Valley: The Flying Dutchmen are 8-10-1 this season and sport a 5-8-1 conference record which has them seventh in the UCHC standings. The team beat Stevenson University in its last outing on Saturday, January 28 in a shootout victory. The team is led by Katrina Strauts who has fifteen points this season which is five more than anyone else on the team. Strauts is the team's top goalscorer with eight and Erin Yorke leads the team with nine assists this season and has been a phenomenal playmaker. Ioanna Christou, Alexa Spiers, and Mallory Burdick are all viable scoring options as each have netted at least five goals. The team plays two goalies as Olivia Magneson and Shelby Guinard have each started at least eight games with over 220 saves. Guinard sports a 3-8 record with 366 saves and a .917 save percentage. 

Up Next: The team will begin