UTICA, NY – The Utica College men’s hockey team returns home on Saturday night for Adirondack Bank Bobble Head Night as the Pioneers host Manhattanville College for an ECAC West Conference contest at 7 p.m. The first 2,000 fans through the gates will receive a free UC Head Coach Gary Heenan bobble head courtesy of Adirondack Bank.
HELP US FIND THE NEXT BOBBLE HEAD?: Two years ago the Pioneers hosted their inaugural Adirondack Bank Bobble Head Night which featured the UC mascot “Trax” wearing a UC Hockey uniform as the bobble head give away … This year Coach Heenan’s likeness is featured on the bobble head … We want to know who the fans want next? Fans can now vote online at www.ucpioneers.com/bobblehead or fans can vote on social media by tweeting to @UCPioneers and using the #UCBobblehead along with your vote … Fans have four choices: Utica College President Todd Hutton, senior forward Louie Educate (Chicago, IL/Aberdeen (NAHL)), former UC All-American Jimmy Sokol ’05 or former UC goaltender Adam Dekker ’08.
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: If you can’t make it out to the “aud” 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 in the rink… 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 at www.ucpioneers.com/watch.
RADIO BROADCAST INFO: Utica College hockey games will be broadcast on the radio locally at 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 … The College’s student radio WPNR 90.7 FM will also be broadcasting Saturday night’s game.
DOWNLOAD THE APP: All UC men’s 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!
UNBEATEN STREAK: Utica (7-5-3) is now unbeaten in eight of its last nine games headed into a key stretch of ten straight ECAC West Conference contests.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK: Junior goalie Dylan Wells (Nashville, TN/Bonnyville (AJHL)) was named the ECAC West Conference Goalie of the Week, Monday, for his performance over the weekend … Wells stopped 37 shots and helped hold host Castleton to a 0-for-6 effort on the power-play as the Pioneers earned a 3-1 victory on Saturday night … Castleton outshot Utica 38-25 on the evening but Wells stood strong in net as he held the Spartans to just one goal … Wells made 15 third period saves to preserve the win for UC … He currently ranks second in the ECAC West with a goals against average of 2.22 and a save percentage of .926.
EDUCATE LEADS THE WAY: Senior forward Louie Educate (Chicago, IL/Aberdeen (NAHL)) is tied for fourth nationally in power-play goals with five this season … He is also tied for first nationally with four game winning goals … He currently ranks third in the ECAC West with an average of 1.07 points per game.
FIRST YEAR STAND OUTS: Four of the Pioneers top eight scorers are in their first year at Utica … Freshman defender Dalton Carter (Toledo, OH/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) is tied for fourth on the team with 11 points (three goals, eight assists), sophomore first-year man Trent Samuels-Thomas (West Hartford, CT/Omaha (USHL)) ranks second on the team with 10 assists, freshman Kevin Valenti (Queensbury, NY/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) ranks second on the team with five goals and freshman Kyle Lajeunesse (South Berwick, ME/New Hampshire (EHL)) ranks eighth on the team with seven points.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Utica’s power-play unit ranks tenth nationally as the Pioneers have scored 19 goals in 69 power-play chances this season (27.5%) … Utica has the 13th ranked combined special teams in the country (74-for-134) … Utica has scored at least one power-play goal in 12 of its 15 contests this year.
LEND A HELPING HAND: Senior forward Justin Hogan (Val Therese, Ontario/Brooks Bandits (AJHL)) and sophomore forward Easton Powers (South Lyon, MI/Port Huron (NAHL)) are tied for the team-lead and rank third in the conference with 11 assists.
UC vs. MANHATTANVILLE: The Pioneers and the Valiants will play each other three times in the next five games … Manhattanville owns a 21-11-5 all-time series advantage over UC dating back to 2002 … The Pioneers have won nine of the last 12 meetings against M’Ville … Utica has played Manhattanville five times in post season action, posting a 2-3 record in those meetings … The last time UC beat the Valiants was in the semifinals of the ECAC West Conference Tournament at the Aud last season as then-senior Jordan Hobaica (Clinton, NY/Northwood School) netted a third period goal to lift the Pioneers to a 1-0 victory.
LOOKING AHEAD: After this weekend’s match up, the Pioneers will travel to ECAC West rival, Neumann University on Friday and Saturday… Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m.
