UTICA, NY - The No. 13 Utica University women's hockey team battles UCHC foe Nazareth University on Feb. 7 at 6:30 p.m. at the Utica University Nexus Center. On Feb. 8 the Pioneers travel to Nazareth for a 6 p.m. puck drop at the Tim Horton's Iceplex.
 
Follow Along: Please click here to watch the live video. Live stats can be found here. Saturday's stream link and live stats can be found here.
 
Last Time Out: The No. 11 Utica University women's hockey team downed the Manhattanville Valiants 2-0 on February 1 at the ADK Bank Center. Autumn Mish (Long Lake, NY/University of New Hampshire (NCAA DI)) led Utica with one goal on four shots. She now has a four-game point streak with one goal and three assists. Kaci Ryder (Shrewsbury, MA/Shrewsburg (Lady Flames)) had one goal and three shots. Riley Calhoun (New Hartford, NY/Plattsburgh State University (NCAA DIII)) and Kendall Best (Troy, MI/Troy HS / Belle Tire) collected the Pioneer assists. Best and Jordan Kowalski (Chicopee, MA/Westfield) combined for 18 faceoff wins and five losses. Five players had at least four shots on goal. Angela Hawthorne (Santa Clara, CA/Meijer) picked up her 11th win and collected eight saves. Both teams got off to a slow start in the first period, combining for two shots in the first eight minutes of action. With 10:19 on the clock, Molly Pedone (Trinity, FL/Shattuck-St. Mary's) had a great chance but was denied by Elsa Haakonsen. Pedone returned to the lineup after not playing since November 22 against Nazareth. The Pioneers and Valiants completed the period 1-0. The Pioneers turned it up a notch in the second period, establishing the offensive zone and getting off four shots in the first three minutes. Utica's defense stayed calm and composed, allowing only two shots on goal the entire period. With 11:38 remaining in the period, Ryder scored her sixth goal of the season off an assist from Calhoun. That goal gave the Pioneers a 1-0 advantage heading into the third frame. Utica scored one more goal in the third period from Mish, extending the Pioneer lead to 2-0. No more goals were scored in the third as the Pioneers would hang out and take the two-game set.
 
In the Polls: The Pioneers went down two spots from No. 11 to No. 13. Nazareth stays at No. 15 after their pair of wins against Hilbert. For the full poll, please click here. In the NPI rankings (The NCAA Percentage Index to determine playoff seeding), Utica ranks 20th and Nazareth ranks 18th.
 
UCHC Standings:
1. Nazareth (13-5-1, 5-1-0 UCHC-16 points)
2. Utica (14-5-1, 5-1-0 UCHC- 14 points)
3. Manhattanville (4-13-2, 2-4-0 UCHC 6 points)
4. Chatham (2-14-2, 0-6-0 UCHC 0 points)
 
Mission Accomplished: Mish was all over the ice against Manhattanville in the two-game set, guiding Utica to two shutout victories (7-0 and 2-0). The defender totaled two assists, one goal, five shots and a plus-four rating. Mish controls the blue line for Utica, giving opposing offensive players minimal space to shoot the puck and skate freely.
 
Netminding: Angela Hawthorne (Santa Clara, CA/Meijer) had a historic weekend in goal for the Pioneers in their pair of UCHC wins over conference foe Manhattanville. The netminder put together her 19th and 20th career shutouts, also grabbing 36 total saves and passing the 1,827 save threshold to become the program's all-time career saves leader. Hawthorne was a dominant force in goal for the team in their 2-0 weekend, helping them stay in the race for the conference's top seed with a couple of huge matchups against Nazareth looming large this weekend.
 
From the Dot: The team looks to continue where they left off at the faceoff dot from a week ago, as they won 60 compared to the Valiant's 34. Kendall Best (Troy, MI/Troy HS / Belle Tire) and Hailey Modlin (Phoenix, AZ/Boston Shamrocks) have taken the majority of faceoffs for the Pioneers, combining for 280 wins. Over 19 games, Best has recorded 126 and Modlin has 154.
 
About Nazareth: The Golden Flyers are 13-5-1 overall and 5-1-0 in UCHC play. The team is on a seven-game winning streak, dating back to January 11. In the last four games, the team has outscored their opponents 40 to 1 against Hilbert and Chatham. Nazareth's biggest wins this season have come against Hamilton (2-1), Cortland (2-1 SO), William Smith (2-1) and Trinity (2-1). Newcomer Amy Laskowski leads the Golden Flyers with 16 points off nine goals and seven assists. Her 94 shots are 26 more than the next player. She has 10 points in the past five games (7g, 3a). Defender Allie Zack is second on Nazareth with four goals, 11 assists and a plus-22 rating. McKinley Hoff sports an 11-5-1 record between the pipes, along with six shutouts.
 
Last Time Against Naz: The Pioneers and Golden Flyers split the two games earlier in the season. Nazareth beat Utica 4-1 in the first game and Utica won the second game 2-1 (OT). That was Utica's second win over Nazareth in program history. The first came in the 2019-2020 season. Ryder scored the game-winner in the Pioneer's defeat over Nazareth on November 23. The Golden Flyer edged Utica in shots, 29 to 28 and in faceoffs 35 to 30.
 
Up Next: The Pioneers travel to Manhattanville on Feb. 14 and Feb. 15 for a pair of games. Friday is a 7 p.m. puck drop and Saturday is set for 4:30 p.m.