The Utica College men’s hockey team returns to the ice on Saturday night as the Pioneers open up regular season play against Castleton State College at the Utica Memorial Auditorium at 7 p.m.
BROADCAST INFO: Saturday’s game will be broadcast on the radio locally on WTLB 99.1 FM/1310 AM (ESPN Radio) by play-by-play man Dave Peroni and color analyst Fred Miller … Live streaming audio can also be accessed on WTLB’s website,www.espnur.com … Utica College home games are also broadcasted by WPNR 90.7 FM, the College’s own student radio station, over the air and online.
PIONEERS ALL-ACCESS: If you can’t make it out to Utica to watch the game in person, Pioneers All-Access is the place to be on game day, providing live video, audio (WPNR 90.7 FM) and stats for all UC home games at the Aud …. Pioneers All-Access is a completely FREE service provided for those members of the Pioneer nation that might not be able to make it out to the game … Recent stories and social media are fully integrated into the Pioneers All-Access site for the most comprehensive viewing experience … Make sure to check out Pioneers All-Access atwww.ucpioneers.com/watch.
DOWNLOAD THE APP: All UC hockey radio broadcasts on WTLB 99.1 FM can be heard on the My Hometown Sports Application available in the Google Play store and on Apple ITunes… After you download the application make sure to select the ESPN Radio coverage … It’s a free application so download today!
SOCIAL MEDIA: If you can’t make it out to the game make sure to follow live updates on the Pioneers official Twitter feed: @UCPioneers… If you are at the game on Twitter, or talking about the game on Twitter, make sure to use #UCMoose… You can also “Like” the Pioneers on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/UCpioneers … Fans can also follow the Pioneers on Instagram: UCPioneers.
RECEIVING VOTES: The Utica College men’s hockey team is receiving votes in the first edition of the USCHO.com National Poll released on Tuesday afternoon … The Pioneers are second in the receiving votes category with 13 total votes … Castleton State also received one vote in the same poll … Elmira College is the top-ranked ECAC West Conference team, coming in at No. 15, while Neumann also landed in the receiving votes category with five votes.
FAMILIAR FACES: Utica returns 13 players from last year’s squad, including eight forwards, four defensemen and one goalie … UC welcomes back eight forwards in senior’s Louie Educate(Chicago, IL/Aberdeen (NAHL)), Peter LaFosse (Merrimack, NH/Kimball Union Academy) and Justin Hogan (Val Therese, Ontario/Brooks Bandits (AJHL)), juniors Joel Wetmore(Horseheads, NY/Lindsay (OJHL)) and Nick Miglio (San Antonio, TX/Bismarck (NAHL)), as well as sophomores Luc Boby (Chicago, IL/Kalamazoo (NAHL)), Easton Powers (South Lyon, MI/Port Huron (NAHL)) and Mikhail Bushinski (Woodbury, MN/Kenai River (NAHL)) … The four returning defensemen include senior Mike Baird (Oakville, Ontario/Huntsville (OJHL)) and the sophomore trio of Kevin Kirisits (Buffalo, NY/Brockville (CCHL)), Jide Idowu(Copper City, FL/Carleton Place (CCHL)) and Jordan Hanth(Chester Springs, PA/NH Monarchs (EJHL)) … Senior Mike Taffe(Maple Grove, MN/Amarillo (NAHL)) is the lone returning goalie on the 2014 roster.
CAPTAINS: Senior defender Mike Baird (Oakville, Ontario/Huntsville (OJHL)) will wear the “C” on his sweater this season for the Pioneers … Senior Justin Hogan (Val Therese, Ontario/Brooks Bandits (AJHL)) and junior Joel Wetmore(Horseheads, NY/Lindsay (OJHL)) will assume the roles of assistant captains for the 2014-15 campaign.
FRESHMAN CLASS: The freshman class includes 14 student-athletes comprised of nine forwards, three defense and two goalies … The forwards include Anthony McVeigh (Kemptville, Ontario/Carleton Place (CCHL)), Max Bartell (Rome, NY/Walpole (EHL)), Alex Brissette (Danbury, CT/Hampton Roads (USPHL)),Kevin Valenti (Queensbury, NY/Northern Cyclones (EHL)), Brent Wold (Lac Du Bonnet, Manitoba/Dauphin (MJHL)), Dalton Carter(Toledo, OH/Northern Cyclones (EHL)), Adam Moody (Aurora, Ontario/Cowichan Valley (BCHL)), Riley Egan (Lakewood, OH/Philadelphia (EHL)), and Kyle Lajeunesse (South Berwick, ME/New Hampshire (EHL)) … The defensemen include Kollin Schultz (Buffalo, NY/Bay State (USPHL)), Brett Szajner (Novi, MI/Amarillo (NAHL)) and Vinny Stefan (Pittsburgh, PA/Kenai River (NAHL)) … The Pioneers also welcome goalies Ben Eddolls(Peekskill, NY/Kents Hill School) and Cory Simic (Whitby, Ontario/Smith Falls (CCHL)).
NEWCOMERS: Sophomore Trent Samuels-Thomas (West Hartford, CT/Omaha (USHL)) joins the team after spending the 2012-13 season with the Omaha Lancers of the USHL, where he played in 33 games and netted ten points on five goals and five assists … Junior goalie Dylan Wells (Nashville, TN/Bonnyville (AJHL)) transferred to Utica from the University of Southern Maine where he played in 14 games and recorded a 3.23 goals against average and a .902 save %.
TWO IN A ROW: The Pioneers are coming off their second straight ECAC West regular season title and they advanced as far as the Conference Tournament Championship game, where they hosted Elmira College as the top seed in the tournament … The Pioneers posted a 16-7-4 overall record last season, including a 10-4-1 mark in the ECAC West … UC averaged 3.37 goals per game last year, which ranked 17th nationally.
HOME SWEET HOME: The Pioneers play in arguably the top barn in all of Division III hockey as they share their home ice at the Utica Memorial Auditorium with the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League … UC led the nation in home attendance for the eighth consecutive season last year … In 15 home dates, 54,464 fans came through the turnstiles at the Aud … Utica’s average home attendance of 3,631 fans per game ranks second all-time for home attendance in division III history, just one spot behind the single season record average of 3,754 set by the 2012-13 edition of the Pioneers … The Aud will play host to the 2017 NCAA Division III Men’s Hockey National Championship.
SNIPER: Former All-American Louie Educate (Chicago, IL/Aberdeen (NAHL)) returns for his senior campaign for the Pioneers after finishing last season ranked fifth on the team with 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) … Educate, a transfer from Nichols College after his freshman year, has played in 82 career games at the Division III level and has 96 career points (51 goals, 45 assists) … As a sophomore at Utica in 2012-13 he was named the ECAC West Player of the Year and earned All-American honors after leading the team with 36 points on 18 goals and 18 assists, while guiding the Pioneers to the Frozen Four of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
BOBY’S BACK: Utica sophomore forward Luc Boby (Chicago, IL/Kalamazoo (NAHL)) returns to the lineup after posting 15 points on seven goals and eight assists in his freshman campaign … Boby had three game-winning goals last season and eight of his 15 points came in ECAC West Conference play.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP: Captain Mike Baird (Oakville, Ontario/Huntsville (OJHL)) returns with the second most career games played on the current roster … Over the course of 66 appearances, Baird has tallied 26 points on four goals and 22 assists … Senior Justin Hogan (Val Therese, Ontario/Brooks Bandits (AJHL)) has played in 62 career games and boasts a resume of 10 goals and 19 assists, while classmate Peter LaFosse(Merrimack, NH/Kimball Union Academy) has 29 career points (11 goals, 18 assists).
THE BEAR: Sophomore defender Kevin Kirisits (Buffalo, NY/Brockville (CCHL)) returns to the blue line and is one of just three players to see action in all 27 games last season … He totaled four goals and five assists last season, including a team-best three goals on the power-play … He helped guide a Pioneer defense that allowed 2.41 goals per game (18th nationally) last year.
MIGLIO COMING ON STRONG: Junior forward Nick Miglio (San Antonio, TX/Bismarck (NAHL)) looks to have a banner season after playing in 25 games and totaling nine points in his first two years in the blue and orange.
GOALIE SITUATION: The Pioneers currently have four goalies on the roster and the competition will be fierce to see who surfaces as the everyday starter … Senior Mike Taffe (Maple Grove, MN/Amarillo (NAHL)) has experience and familiarity on his side, while transfer Dylan Wells (Nashville, TN/Bonnyville (AJHL)) will also push for time in the crease after playing in 14 games at Division III Southern Maine last year … Wells spent his freshman year at Division I Providence … Freshman Cory Simic (Whitby, Ontario/Smith Falls (CCHL)) and Ben Eddolls (Peekskill, NY/Kents Hill School) will also work for time in net after successful careers in junior hockey and prep school, respectively … Simic finished last year with the Smith Falls Bears (CCHL) and posted a 2.12 goals against average and a .916 save %.
LOCAL FLAVOR: Freshman Max Bartell (Rome, NY/Walpole (EHL)) is the lone local player on the roster, having grown up in nearby Rome, NY … Last season he played in 38 games for the Walpole Express of the EHL where he recorded 24 points on 14 goals and ten assists … He also scored 122 points (68 goals) between 2007-2011 at nearby Rome Free Academy.
SCOUTING CASTLETON: Last year Castleton went 13-11-2 and advanced to the ECAC East Semifinals for the fourth straight season before falling to top seed Norwich, 4-3 … The Spartans lost just two of their top seven scorers from last year and return a pair of goalies.
