UTICA, NY - The No. 10 Utica University women's hockey team hits the road this weekend to take on Stevenson University for a pair of games. The teams will meet at 3 p.m. on Friday as well as at 3 p.m. on Saturday. 
 
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Last Time Out: The then-No. 9 Utica University women's hockey team downed the Alvernia University Golden Wolves 4-1 last Saturday afternoon to complete the regular series sweep. Carolyn Whitney (Raleigh, NC/Millbrook School) provided the Pioneers with a pair of goals on the day, one of which coming short-handed, while Erica Sloan (Potsdam, NY/St. Lawrence Steel) and Madison Novotny (Wesley Chapel, FL/Northwood School) accounted for the other two. Six different players had an assist in the game as well in Whitney, Abby Lillis (West Seneca, NY/Buffalo Bisons), Emma Corbett (Rochester, NY/Adrian College (NCAA DIII)) , Tess Barrett (Tewksbury, MA/St. Mark's) , Maggie Rylott (Cobourg, Ontario/West Northumberland) (Cobourg, Ontario/West Northumberland) and newcomer Autumn Mish (Long Lake, NY/University of New Hampshire (NCAA DI)). Angela Hawthorne (Santa Clara, CA/Meijer) registered 13 saves in the contest en route to her 11th victory of her senior campaign. Hawthorne adds to her stretch in which she has only let up three goals since the team's matchup against Worcester State University on November 21. Utica posted a 50 to 14 shot advantage in three periods of play. Utica got out to another hot start in the matchup with the Golden Wolves, firing four shots in the first two minutes of regulation. Just 7:38 into the first period, Utica's Autumn Mish (Long Lake, NY/University of New Hampshire (NCAA DI)) was charged with a roughing penalty to give Alvernia its first power play on the day. The Pioneers' penalty kill unit got the job done and got back to even strength with no goals allowed. Goaltender Angela Hawthorne (Santa Clara, CA/Meijer) was there to register two saves during the two minute roughing call to keep the score at zero a piece. Later with 7:40 remaining in the first period, captain Erica Sloan (Potsdam, NY/St. Lawrence Steel) capitalized on a feed from Carolyn Whitney (Raleigh, NC/Millbrook School), giving Utica a 1-0 advantage heading into the second period. Utica outshot Alvernia 20-4 in the first period as the faceoff department was gridlocked with Utica winning 12 and Alvernia taking 11. Alvernia goaltender, Julia Beaven had another great first period in today's game collecting 19 saves while Hawthorne recorded four. The Pioneers didn't need much time to get shots fired off in the fresh frame as they had six in the first three minutes of play. Just under six minutes into the second, Utica's Madison Novotny (Wesley Chapel, FL/Northwood School) was charged with a two minute minor for interference. Soon later, Utica went two players down as Nicole Flak (Middleton, MA/Boston Shamrocks) committed a hooking penalty seven minutes into the second period. The Pioneers put pressure on the Golden Wolves' power play as Whitney scored a short-handed, three-on-five goal with a dish from Abby Lillis (West Seneca, NY/Buffalo Bisons) to give Utica a 2-0 lead. With 9:44 left in the period, Utica went on its first power play of the day after an elbowing penalty was assessed to Alvernia's Carolyn Burton. Soon later, the Pioneers took advantage as Mish found Novotny who scored, extending Utica's lead to 3-0. Four minutes left in the second, Tess Barret was given a roughing penalty sending her to the box. Alvernia only needed 25 seconds to get on the board as Kathryn Palmer scored, cutting the lead to 3-1 heading to the third period. Both teams combined for 21 shots in the frame, Utica was responsible for 14 and Alvernia shot seven. Utica didn't let up in the third period as the team put pressure on Alvernia early and often. The lone goal in the third period came with just under 50 seconds left in the game as Tess Barrett (Tewksbury, MA/St. Mark's) and Emma Corbett (Rochester, NY/Adrian College (NCAA DIII)) assisted Whitney on her second goal of the afternoon, this time in the form of an empty netter, to cap off the win and series sweep. 
 
In the Polls: The team fell one spot to No. 10 in this week's US College Hockey Online Women's Top 15. The poll was released Monday by the national college hockey website. The Pioneers received 126 points this week to remain inside of the top 10. Utica went on the road this weekend and swept UCHC foe Alvernia University by scores of 3-1 on Friday and 4-1 on Saturday. The entire Division III women's poll can be found at https://www.uscho.com/rankings/d-iii-womens-poll/. 
 
Where We Stand: Utica enters the weekend series first in the UCHC standings with an 8-0-2 record and 27 points, six points ahead of Nazareth, who is 7-0-1 in conference play. The Pioneers have 10 UCHC games left until the conference tournament on Wednesday, February 21- Saturday, March 2. 
 
Put Her in the Books: Forward Carolyn Whitney (Raleigh, NC/Millbrook School) collected her 100th career point against Alvernia College on January 6, as she and Erica Sloan (Potsdam, NY/St. Lawrence Steel) stand alone as the only two players on Utica's current roster with over 100 points in their careers. She cracked Utica's all-time career record book with 40 goals, with her most coming in the 2021-22 season, scoring 14. Whitney sits third, tied with four other players in the UCHC with 15 points, and sits ninth in the conference with 1.07 points per game. She ranks second on Utica with five goals, 10 assists and is second on the team with a +15 plus/minus. Whitney has the most shorthanded goals and overtime goals on Utica, with three shorthanded and one overtime goal. Her most recent short-handed goal came against Alvernia on January 6. 
 
Point Producers: The Pioneers sit atop the UCHC with 39 goals scored, 440 faceoffs won, 7.57 assists per game, 4.21 goals per game, 11.79 points per game, five short-handed goals and second in goals allowed with 12. Hailey Modlin (Phoenix, AZ/Boston Shamrocks) keeps her impressive season rolling, ranking fifth in the NCAA DIII and first in the UCHC with 12 goals. Prior to Utica's game against No. 8 Hamilton College, Modlin had a six-game point streak, racking up eight goals and six assists. Four players rank in the top 10 in assists: Tess Barrett (Tewksbury, MA/St. Mark's) (11a), Jordan Kowalski (Chicopee, MA/Plattsburgh State (NCAA DIII)) (9a), Whitney (10a) and Modlin (9a).
 
Mish Mash: Newcomer Autumn Mish (Long Lake, NY/University of New Hampshire (NCAA DI)) made an immediate impact for the Pioneers as she collected two assists and 10 shots in two games. Her play on the blue line was enough to help the team allow only two goals and 36 shots against Alvernia on January 5 and 6. 
 
About Stevenson: Stevenson University is 3-12-0 overall and 3-7-0 in the UCHC. The team is currently on a two-game winning streak against conference opponent King's College. The Mustangs won on Friday, January 5 (4-3) and Saturday, January 6 (4-2). Stevenson is led by Carleigh Barwick (4g, 2a) and Franki Cappello (3g, 3a), who each have six points. Against King's College, Barwick and Cappello each had dominant games. Barwick had four goals and two assists as she collected three points, seven shots and went 11 for 16 at the faceoff dot. Cappello collected two points and eight shots. The team has four goaltenders who each see significant time in net: Maggie Sehnert, Mallory Hunt, Ainsley King and Olivia DeGuire. DeGuire got the most recent start against King's College on January 5, allowing two goals while collecting 30 saves. King started on January 5 against King's, where she let up three goals and grabbed 23 saves. 
 
Series History: Utica is 8-2-2 overall against Stevenson University and is currently on an eight-game point streak that includes four straight wins. The Pioneers' only two losses against the Mustangs came in the 2014-15 (2-1) and 2017-18 (2-1) season. Utica won both games last season by a score of 13-1 while letting off 80 shots compared to Stevenson's 33. 

Up Next: The Pioneers will travel to (RV) Oswego State at 3 p.m. on Friday, January 19.