UTICA, NY – The nationally-ranked No. 15 Utica College men’s hockey team returns to the Utica Memorial Auditorium this weekend for a two-game set against central New York rival Oswego State on Friday (7 p.m.) and Buffalo State on Saturday (7 p.m.). Friday night is the Pioneers annual Adirondack Bank Bobblehead Night, while Saturday night is Boyscout Night at the Aud.
ADK Bank Bobblehead Night: Friday night against Oswego, UC will host its annual Adirondack Bank Bobblehead Night and the first 2,000 fans through the turnstiles will receive an Adam Dekker ’08 bobblehead … Dekker was a four year stand out goaltender for the Pioneers from 2004-2008 … He is the College’s all-time leader with 47 career victories and 2,262 career saves … His seven career shut outs are also a school-record … In three previous bobblehead nights Adirondack Bank has given away bobbleheads of the UC mascot Trax and UC Head Coach Gary Heenan.
200 Win Club: UC Head Coach Gary Heenan earned his 200th career victory as the Pioneers defeated Morrisville State on Sunday, 6-1 … Heenan, who is in the midst of his 15th season and is the only head coach in program-history, now has an overall record of 200-139-39 … He headed into the 2015-16 season in the top 20 in Division III in winning percentage among active coaches and he is also in the top 30 in winning percentage all-time at the Division III level … Heenan joins Michele Davis (women’s basketball), Pat Mineo (softball) and Dave Clausen (women’s hockey) as the only active coaches at UC with 200 career victories.
Nationally-Ranked: The Pioneers moved into the No. 15 spot of the D3hockey.com National Rankings released Monday afternoon … The Pioneers enter the top 15 for the first time this season after spending five of the last six weeks in the receiving vote’s category … UC is also receiving votes in the latest USCHO.com National Poll.
Five in a Row: The Pioneers are in the midst of a five game winning streak and their record is currently 8-3-1 overall on the year … UC’s five straight wins is the fifth longest active unbeaten streak in the country … The Pioneers five game win streak includes a Radisson Thanksgiving Showcase Championship, an overtime win over Castleton, and consecutive victories over Salve Regina and Morrisville State … The last time Utica won five straight games was back in the 2013-14 season.
ECAC West Strong As Usual: Nationally-ranked No. 5/9 Hobart sits atop the ECAC West standings with an 8-2-2 overall record and a 5-1-0 mark in the conference … Utica, Neumann, Manhattanville and Elmira are all either ranked or receiving votes in the D3hockey.com and USCHO.com National Polls … Utica, Hobart, Manhattanville and Neumann all have eight wins this season.
Rookie of the Week: Freshman forward Hayden Dawes (Stony Plain, Alberta/Drayton Valley (AJHL)) was named the ECAC Men’s West Conference Rookie of the Week after his performance in the Pioneers’ 6-1 win over Morrisville on Sunday … Dawes netted two goals and added one assist in the Pioneers win over Morrisville on Sunday afternoon … His three points on Sunday are a new career-high … He currently leads all freshmen and is tied for seventh in the ECAC West with an average of 1.08 points per game this season … He is also tied for 12th in the country in rookie scoring … Dawes has at least one point in 9-of-12 games this season and he has three multi-point outings.
Secure in Net: Goalie Michael Fredrick (Lethbridge, Alberta/Brooks Bandits (AJHL)) stopped 29 shots in his eighth victory of the season against Morrisville Sunday … Fredrick has allowed one goal or less in each of his last four starts.
Penalty Kill is Strong: The Pioneers’ currently hold the fifth ranked penalty kill unit in the country, holding opponents scoreless on the power-play 92.5% of the time … UC has held opponents scoreless in 38-of-41 power-play chances this year and the Pioneers also have three short-handed goals.
Sophomore Standouts: Utica sophomore Anthony McVeigh (Kemptville, Ontario/Carleton Place (CCHL)), Kevin Valenti (Queensbury, NY/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) and Alex Brisstte have combined for 26 of the Pioneers’ 109 points this season … McVeigh and Valenti are tied for second on the team with nine points each while Brissette has eight … McVeigh has two goals and seven assists, Valenti has one goal and a team-best eight assists, and Brissette ranks second on the team with six goals and he also has two assists.
Game-Winner: Senior Nick Miglio (San Antonio, TX/Bismarck (NAHL)) leads the team with three game-winning goals … His latest came in a 2-1 overtime victory over Castleton when he netted the game-winner, short-handed, with 3:09 to go in the overtime period.
Series Against Oswego: The Pioneers are currently 6-12-2 all-time against Oswego … UC tied the Lakers 4-4 last season in the Frozen Dome Classic as Syracuse University’s Carrier Dome … Utica’s last win against Oswego came in the 2012-13 season when the Pioneers swept the two game series, 3-2 and 6-0.
All-Time Against Buffalo State: The Pioneers own a 5-2 all-time series advantage against the Bengals of Buffalo State … UC has outscored Buffalo State 21-10 over the course of their last four meetings … The last time Buffalo State beat Utica was back in 2002 … Utica’s first game in program-history was played against Buffalo State – The Pioneers lost 7-2 on Oct. 26th, 2001.
Social Media: Make sure to follow live updates of the game on the Pioneers official Twitter feed: @UCPioneers… If you are at the game and on Twitter, or talking about the game on Twitter, make sure to use #UCMoose… You can also “Like” the Pioneers on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UCpioneers … Fans can also follow the Pioneers on Instagram: UCPioneers.
Pioneers All-Access: Make sure to catch live video, audio and stats on Pioneers All-Access: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/ … Audio is provided by WPNR 90.7 FM.
ESPN Broadcast Information: Several Utica College men’s hockey home games will be broadcast on the radio locally at WTLB 99.1 FM/1310 AM (ESPN Radio) by Dave Peroni and UC alum Ray Biggs … Live streaming audio can also be accessed on WTLB’s website, www.espnur.com… Fans can also download the free ESPNUR app on their Iphone or Droid device by searching “ESPNUR” in their respective app store.
WPNR Broadcast Information: Utica College home games are also broadcast over the air and online by Utica College’s student radio station, WPNR 90.7 FM … Fans can also download the free WPNR 90.7 FM app on their Iphone or Droid device by searching “WPNR” in their respective app store.
