Utica, NY – The Utica College men’s hockey team is set to host Morrisville State College on Saturday for the 12th annual New York Sash Teddy Bear Toss at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
New York Sash Teddy Bear Toss: Saturday’s Teddy Bear Toss is sold out for the sixth consecutive year, but will be televised live across New York State on the Time Warner Cable Sports Channel (Coverage Map) … The game will also be streamed live online via Pioneers All-Access … Live audio for the game will be provided by UC alum Ray Biggs, on ESPN Radio (1310 AM) … Fans are reminded to come to the game early so they don’t miss out on the Teddy Bear Toss … Remember to bring your bears and to wait for Utica to score its first goal before throwing them out onto the ice … The stuffed animals should be new and clean … New York Sash will collect all the toys and donate them to a collaborative toy drive with partners the Utica Observer Dispatch, Operation Sunshine, Marine Corp Toys for Tots, First News with Keeler in the Morning and WIBX, Time Warner Cable and Utica Mack … The stuffed animals will be donated to local kids this holiday season.
Teddy Bear Toss Fun Facts: The program’s first Teddy Bear Toss game was held on December 6th, 2005 and UC defeated Hamilton College 4-2 in front of 1,713 fans … The event has grown significantly and now for the sixth straight year, the Pioneers will play in front of a sold out crowd of 3,815 fans … In last year’s TBT game recent graduate Joel Wetmore (Horseheads, NY/Lindsay (OJHL)) made history as it marked the first ever Teddy Bear Toss goal scored on a penalty shot … The Pioneers went on to defeat Salve Regina, 4-1 … In 2009, former Pioneer captain and current professional hockey player Tim Coffman recorded the fastest TBT goal in the event’s history by scoring just 1:28 into the first period … The Pioneers are 8-2-1 all-time in TBT games since the event began back in 2005 … The highest scoring TBT game was in 2011, as UC defeated Salve Regina 12-0 after scoring eight goals in the third period … This Saturday a new Utica College athlete will put his stamp on this event, as no player on the current roster has scored the extraordinary Teddy Bear Toss goal that can only happen once a year … This event has generated more than 25,000 stuffed animals in the last 11 years.
Looking to Bounce Back: The Pioneers started the season as one of the hottest teams in the country, jumping out to a program-best 8-0 record, and a national ranking as high as No. 4 according to USCHO.com … Utica has hit a bump in the road with four consecutive losses and will look to get back on track against Morrisville Saturday night … Utica is currently 8-4 overall … The Pioneers are 6-0 in ECAC West play and hold a four point lead over Hobart, Manhattanville and Nazareth, who are all tied for second with 4-2 conference ledgers.
Receiving Votes: Although the Pioneers have dropped out of the top 15 in the national polls, UC is still receiving votes … In the d3hockey.com rankings, Utica received 11 votes and is on the outside looking in, after dropping from the No. 12 spot … The USCHO.com poll has Utica only four votes shy of the No. 15 spot after previously being ranked No. 10 in last week’s poll.
Scoring Leaders: Although Roman Ammirato (Williamstown, NJ/Union College (ECAC))’s 11-game point streak ended in the team’s last contest, he still ranks second in the ECAC West in goals (nine), assists (11), and total points (20) … He is tied for eighth in the country with an average of 1.67 points per contest … Ammirato and teammate Connor Schmidt (Monroe, MI/Arizona State (D1-Ind.)) are both tied for the conference lead in total power play points with seven each … Vince Stefan (Pittsburgh, PA/Kenai River (NAHL)) ranks 25th nationally in points per game among defensemen (.83) … Utica is the tenth-ranked scoring offense in the country, averaging 4.33 goals per game.
Between the Pipes: With a record of 4-2 so far this season, goaltender Henry Dill (Columbus, OH/UMASS (Hockey East)) leads the team in total saves with 174 … Freshman Patrik Virtanen (Vantaa, Finland/Lincoln (USHL)) also has a record of 4-2 in net and has made 125 saves of his own … Virtanen has the second best goals against average in the conference (2.28) and is third in the ECAC West with a save percentage of .912.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers fell to 8-4 overall this season after the 5-2 loss to Morrisville this past Friday … Jarrod Fitzpatrick (Wakefield, MA/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) scored the first goal of the game in the second period before the Mustangs netted three unanswered goals of their own … Kevin Valenti (Queensbury, NY/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) was able to make the score 3-2 with a goal in the third period before Morrisville capped off the win with two more goals … UC out shot its opponent 54-28, but Morrisville goalie Jared Young made 52 saves in the victory.
Two-Time Rookie of the Week: Freshman forward Jarrod Fitzpatrick (Wakefield, MA/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) was named the ECAC Men’s West Conference Rookie of the Week for the second time this season on Monday … Fitzpatrick netted one goal on Friday night for Utica at Morrisville … He is the top scoring freshman on the team with seven points on five goals and two assists … Six of his seven points this season have come in ECAC West Conference play … He currently ranks ninth in the ECAC West in freshman scoring with an average of .78 points per contest.
Scouting Morrisville: Morrisville currently holds a record of 2-9-2 overall … In their last contest, the Mustangs lost to SUNY Canton, 5-3, on Saturday … Freshman Nick DeVito scored two goals for Morrisville in the game … The team’s leading goal scorer is senior Joseph Santino, as he has netted eight goals this year … Jordan Carvalho leads the team with 12 assists so far this year … Jared Young is the top goaltender on the team with 303 saves.
Against Morrisville: Utica is 3-2 all-time against Morrisville … The Pioneers last victory over the Mustangs came last season at home, by the score of 6-1 … Hayden Dawes (Stony Plain, Alberta/Drayton Valley (AJHL)) led the way as he recorded two goals and one assist in the game.
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers will return to the ice after the New Year when they travel to Oswego State to take on Curry College in the Pathfinder Classic … The puck is scheduled to drop at 4 p.m.
