UTICA, NY - The Utica University women's hockey team is set to complete its 2025-26 regular-season schedule this coming weekend with a two-game road set against the Chatham University Cougars. Puck drop for game one is set for Friday, the 20th, at 4:00 pm. The following day, action at the Alpha Ice Complex is scheduled for 1:00 pm.

Follow Along: The video stream for both events can be found HERE, with live stats located HERE.

Manhattanville Series Summary: The Pioneers split their two-game home series against Manhattanville last weekend. On Friday, February 13th, they took a 2-1 loss despite outshooting the Valiants 39-18. Manhattanville struck for two goals in 19 seconds, and despite scoring a power-play goal a few minutes later, the Pioneers would come up short. Freshman Samantha Dobrzynski (Garnet Valley, PA/) scored the lone goal for the Pioneers, and she was assisted on the goal by Kelsey Elliott (Attleboro, MA/) and Angelina Garganese (Winter Springs, FL).

The Pioneers came out the next day and defeated Manhattanville by a score of 1-0. In her first action in over a month, freshman goalie Katherine Sheahan made a difference for the Pioneers, making 19 saves in the second shutout of her collegiate career, with 11 saves of those saves in the final frame. Following the shutout, Sheahan was named UCHC and Empire 8 Rookie & Goalie of the week. Offensively, the game's only goal was scored by Garganese. Kendall Best (Troy, MI/Troy High School) and Nora Pollestad (Stavanger, Norway/) added assists on the early third-period strike.

UCHC Tournament Update: As we enter the final weekend of UCHC play, here is how things shake up for the Pioneers. Utica (18 points, max 24) has clinched a UCHC Tournament postseason berth. The Pioneers can finish as high as No. 3 with two regulation wins and two Albertus Magnus regulation losses, and as low as No. 6. While Albertus Magnus is five points ahead of Utica currently, the Falcons have to go on the road for games against the undefeated, and #5-ranked Nazareth Golden Flyers.

Utica holds the head-to-head tiebreaker on Fisher, and if they end up tied with Manhattanville, it would come down to the number of league wins or points versus opponents from top down (as teams were 3-3 in head-to-head points). Utica would lose the tiebreaker to Albertus if both teams finish with 24 points (3-3 in head-to-head points), league wins would be 8-8, but in this scenario, Albertus would have earned one point against Nazareth, Utica would have zero. In the event that all three teams tie for the No. 4 seed, Utica would take the overall tiebreaker.

Chatham Check In: The Cougars have been eliminated from UCHC Tournament contention, but they can play spoiler against the Pioneers this weekend. They come into the matchup against Utica with a record of 2-2 in their last four games, where they swept two games against Hilbert before losing two tough matchups against Elmira on the road. 

The Cougars are led offensively by Klara Miuller. The sophomore from Lithuania has 14 goals and five assists for 19 points in 16 games played this season. Miuller also has six goals in her last three games, including two separate hat tricks against Hilbert and Elmira. Isabella Allsopp leads the Cougars with 12 assists in 21 games played. In net for Chatham is the duo of Samantha Brophy and Morgan Miller. Brophy has started the majority of the time in net, where in 14 games played, she has put up a .907 save percentage. Miller has started eight games and posted a .931 save percentage in those games.

Up Next: Chatham will be Utica's final opponent in the 2025-26 regular season. The team will then prepare for UCHC Tournament play, with the first game being played on Wednesday, February 25th, with their opponent and game time to be determined. Be sure to check our website and follow Utica Athletics for the most up-to-date information on the postseason!