UTICA, NY - The No. 9 Utica University women's hockey team travels to Reading, PA for a two-game set against Alvernia University on Friday, January 5 and Saturday, January 3. Friday's game is at 7 p.m., followed by a 3 p.m. start on Saturday.
 
Last Time Out: On December 2, then-No. 7 Utica fell to then-No. 8 Hamilton College 1-0. The lone goal came via power play in the 2nd period off the stick of Claire McGennis at 4:34. As a team, Utica fired off 26 shots on goal to Hamilton's 8. Faceoffs were also tight with the Pioneers winning 27 of the 52. Carly Stefanini (Framingham, MA/Brooks School) led the team with four shots while Hailey Modlin (Phoenix, AZ/Boston Shamrocks) and Molly Pedone (Trinity, FL/Shattuck-St. Mary's) had three each. In goal, Angela Hawthorne (Santa Clara, CA/Meijer) made 27 saves in the losing effort. The Pioneers were held scoreless on each of their five power play opportunities while the Continentals cashed in on one of their three. The first period saw minimal offensive opportunities as neither team recorded double-digit shots. Hamilton put eight on goal, all of which saved by Hawthorne, while each of Utica's five were stopped by Teagan Brown as the game entered the second scoreless. Early in the new period at 2:36, a roughing penalty called on Cortney Staniszewski (Buffalo, NY/Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles) proved to be costly as it gave Hamilton a window to break the draw. With under five seconds left on the advantage, McGennis collected the puck off a blocked shot by Modlin and snuck it past Hawthorne for what proved to be the game-winner. Utica had three power play chances into the second as well as 18 total shots however, each were to no avail as Brown kept the visiting Pioneers off the board entering the third. Much like in the first, the Pioneers were limited to few shots on goal as the team came away with three. Unfortunately, none of them found their way into the net to help guide Hamilton to the non-conference win. 
 
Follow Along: Live video can be found here and live stats can be found here for both games this weekend. 
 
In the Polls: The Utica University women's hockey team dropped two spots to No. 9 in the latest US College Hockey Online Women's Top 15. The poll was released on December 11 by the national college hockey website. The Pioneers received 137 points this week which kept them inside of the top 10. Utica fell in its lone game of the week to then-No. 8 Hamilton College on Saturday, 1-0. The entire Division III women's poll can be found at https://www.uscho.com/rankings/d-iii-womens-poll/. 
 
Team Dominance: In 12 games played, Utica ranks first in the UCHC with 52 goals scored and is tied with three other teams in first, allowing only 12 goals. Utica has 96 assists, good for first in the conference, averaging 8.00 per game. The Pioneers have four short-handed goals and only two power-play goals allowed this season. 
 
Amongst the League: Four different members of Utica are ranked in the top-five in goals, assists, power play goals, plus/minus and points in the UCHC. Forward Hailey Modlin (Phoenix, AZ/Boston Shamrocks) continues her quest towards All-UCHC accolades with her dominant play, leading the conference in two major categories: goals (12) and points (21). The last time Utica played on December 1 and 2 against Neumann University, Modlin posted six points while going 16-for-6 at the faceoff dot and recording 13 shots on net. Modlin is two points away from tying her season total of 23 points from last season. Defender Tess Barrett (Tewksbury, MA/St. Mark's) ranks first in the UCHC in 12 games with a plus/minus of  +15, second in the conference with 10 assists, and posting one goal, coming against Neumann in the team's last game on December 2. Barrett leads all defenders on Utica with 11 points and 25 shots with a +15 plus/minus. 
 
Countin' On Hawthorne: Goalkeeper Angela Hawthorne (Santa Clara, CA/Meijer) is 9-1-2 overall after having started all 12 games in 2023. She ranks second in the UCHC with 12 goals allowed, fourth with a .951 save percentage and fourth with a 1.06 goals-against average. In the team's last outing against Hamilton College, Hawthorne surrendered only one goal on a power play early in the period. Last season against Alvernia, she let up only one goal in two games. 
 
Scouting Alvernia: The Alvernia Golden Wolves are 8-2-1 overall and 6-1-1 in the UCHC. The team's last game was against Morrisville State College, where they fell 5-0 on January 2. Freshman forward Khenzie Connick leads the Golden Wolves with eight goals and seven assists. Prior to Alvernia's game against Morrisville, Connick registered nine points in four games (five goals and four assists). Junior Forward ranks second on the team with 12 points off eight goals and four assists. Alvernia ranks fourth in the UCHC with 33 goals scored and fourth with 14 goals allowed. Goaltender Julia Beaven is having a fantastic season for Alvernia, sporting a 5-1-1 record. Beaven ranks third in the conference with a .957 save percentage. The team is having great success in the penalty-kill department, ranking first in the UCHC with a .950 penalty-kill percentage, allowing only two goals on 40 attempts in 11 games. 
 
Prior Matchups: The last time Utica and Alvernia played in the 2022-23 season, Utica won both matchups 3-1 and 4-0. In the first game, three different players found the back of the net for Utica: Courtney Staniszewski, Stefanini and Barrett. Stefanini recorded one assist as well as leading the team with two points on the evening. Alvernia's lone goal came from Abby Reisinger. In the second matchup, Utica won 4-0 behind four different goal scorers. Georgiana Santullo (Woburn, MA/Boston Shamrocks/Woburn High School), Carolyn Whitney (Raleigh, NC/Milbrook School), Pedone and Modlin. Hawthorne collected 34 saves over the two-game stretch. 
 
Up Next: The Pioneers travel to Stevenson, MD for a two-game set against UCHC opponent Stevenson University on Friday, January 12 and Saturday, January 13. Both games are set for a 3 p.m. puck drop.