UTICA, NY - Utica University's women's hockey team is set to continue its stretch of home games by welcoming the Williams College Ephs to town tomorrow, January 6th. The matchup with the Ephs, a team receiving votes in both major polls, is set for 4:00 pm at the Utica University Nexus Center. Utica continues its week with two neutral-site matchups against SUNY Canton in Lake Placid, NY over the weekend.

Follow Along: For all Pioneer home games, the video stream can be found HERE, with live stats available HERE. Links for the SUNY Canton games are not yet available, but will be posted ahead of game times.

Kick Off Tournament Takeaways: Utica began its 2026 calendar year schedule by hosting the Utica University Kick Off Tournament on January 3rd and 4th, which featured the Pioneers, as well as Colby College, SUNY Cortland, and Wilkes University. The home squad got the worst of the weekend, falling in both the semi-finals and consolation game. SUNY Cortland won the tournament in two thrilling games that required play beyond regulation. The Red Dragons defeated the #13-ranked Colby Mules with a goal in the final 40 seconds, followed by an overtime winner. The championship game, which featured Wilkes, had late scores by the Colonels, forcing an overtime period that ended scoreless. Cortland's first shooter scored the only goal of the shootout to secure the win.

Utica began the tournament with a matchup against Wilkes University. The Colonels struck early, scoring just 4:33 into the game. The visitors extended their lead with a second-period power play goal. The Pioneers' Grace Joscelyn (Loudon, NH/) struck with a power play goal of her own, her first wearing the orange and blue and second overall in college, nearly halfway through the third period, but a Wilkes tally 5:10 later sealed the win for the Colonels.

After the results of day one, the Pioneers were slated to face Colby in the consolation game. Following their crushing defeat the day before, the highest-ranked team in the tournament responded strongly over the hosts. The Mules jumped out to a 3-0 lead before Utica's Camryn Behonick (Vestal, NY/) responded with her first collegiate goal with 1:26 left in the second period. Around five minutes into the third period, Colby responded with two goals in 42 seconds to finish the game with a 5-1 lead. In the end, the visitors outshot Utica 42-16.

Searching for a Spark: Following the results of the Kick Off Tournament games, the Pioneers have now slid into a six-game losing streak, dropping their overall record to 3-8-0. The orange and blue last won a game on November 15th, the final of a three-game win streak that saw a win against then-#11-ranked Oswego State, followed by two big wins over Hilbert College. 

Two major trends have emerged in alignment with Utica's record: scoring the first goal, and scoring multiple goals. Of the team's 11 games, they have scored first in four of them, and scored more than one goal in just three of them. Of the four games with the first goal, Utica is 3-1, with all three victories by shutout. In the three games with multiple goals, the Pioneers are 2-1, with wins by scores of 8-0 and 6-0 over Hilbert, and a 6-3 loss to #15-ranked Hamilton College.

Eph Evaluation: The Williams College Ephs enter the contest with a 5-1-2 overall record, 0-1-1 in the NESCAC. The team began its season without a win in its first two games, but with two impressive performances. In back-to-back home games against #2-ranked Amherst College, the Ephs pushed to a 1-1 tie that ended with Amherst taking the shootout 1-0. The following day, the teams again played a tight game, with Amherst taking the win 1-0. Williams is undefeated since as the team's only non-win came in a 2-2 tie with Wesleyan University that ended in a 2-0 Wesleyan shootout win. Their biggest wins have come in their last two games as they ended their fall semester slate with a 2-1 win over #9-ranked Plattsburgh State, and then began the new year with a 5-0 win over Lake Forest College, Williams' first shutout.

The Ephs lineup has featured balanced scoring, as 11 players have scored between three and five points. Annie Gallagher and Jaelyn Keiver lead the team with three goals on the season. Junior defender Celine Mayer leads the team with five assists, tying Gallagher and Savana Littlewood (two goals, three assists) with a team-leading five points. Eph goaltender Erin Pye has been nothing short of elite between the pipes, sitting inside the top-10 best goals allowed averages in the country (0.98) and holding the best save percentage (.973) in all of the NCAA, crossing both Division I and III, and men's and women's hockey.

Roo Report: The SUNY Canton Kangaroos have jumped out to a 7-4-0 overall record in the 2025-26 season. Across the team's seven wins, they have outscored their opponents 30-4. The Roos have struggled against high-level opponents however, as of their four losses, three of them featured teams receiving votes in at least one of the major polls at the time the game was played. This has paired with a 1-3-0 record within the SUNYAC.

Canton has had several heavy point scorers in the early season. Seniors Lucy Beal and Danika Lalonde lead the team with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Each has scored just one goal, but assisted on nine or 10 others. Chamonix leads the Kangaroos with five goals scored, followed closely by Riley Andzel and Kylah Small, who each have netted four. Canton has consistently revolved between netminders, as Molly Lenihan, the goalie with the most minutes logged, has still only seen the ice for roughly 45% of her team's total ice time. All have played consistently however, as the three goalies that have appeared more than once all sit within .925 and .930 save percentages. Lenihan's .929 is the second highest of those three, and her 1.81 goals allowed average is the highest on the team, and only one of two that is 1.00 or higher.

Up Next: Utica will travel to The Olympic Center in Lake Placid, NY, to take on SUNY Canton in two games on January 10th and 11th. On Saturday, the 10th, puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 pm. The following day, the teams will take the ice in a contest set for 3:00 pm. The Pioneers return to home ice just a few days later, in a 4:00 pm scheduled contest with Worcester State University on January 14th.

*note - this preview was released ahead of the 1/5/2026 rankings updates. Current rankings mentioned in the preview may adjust following the USCHO and DIII Hockey News releases.