Utica, NY (2/26/15)- The No. 4 seed Utica College women’s hockey team opens up post season play Saturday evening as it hosts fifth seeded Buffalo State in the ECAC West Conference Tournament Quarterfinals. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
TICKET INFO: Ticket prices are $5 for adults and $3 for students/children… Children ages two and under are FREE… All seating is General Admission for our women’s games… The Utica Memorial Auditorium box office will be selling tickets beginning Wednesday February 25th up until game time on Saturday February 28th.
LAST TIME OUT: Utica clinched the No. 4 seed and a first round home game as it took three out of four possible points at Buff State last weekend… The teams skated to a 3-3 tie on Friday evening… Senior Kelsey Dowdall (Smiths Falls, ONT/Nepean) had two goals, while classmates Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) and Nicole Schwartz (Danville, CA/San Jose Sharks) had two assists… Captain Nikki Kieffer (Rome, NY/Lysander Lightning) had the other Pioneer goal… Three different players scored in Saturday’s 3-2 overtime victory over the Bengals, led by sophomore Gabrielle Schnepp (Northville, MI/Belle Tire)’s thrilling winner with just 37 seconds left in the extra frame… Freshman Carlie Smith (Grimsby, Ontario/St. Catharine’s Chaos) and sophomore Victoria Pelton (Sterling Heights, MI/Belle Tire) also scored in the win… Keira Goin (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Hotchkiss School) backstopped Utica with 63 saves on the weekend.
BACK AGAIN: The Pioneers are making their 13th ECAC West Tournament appearance in the program’s 14-year history… Utica is 5-1 in ECAC West Quarterfinal games, including a 5-0 mark at “The Aud”… Last year, Utica topped SUNY Potsdam 6-4 in the first round, behind a hat trick from Gabrielle Schnepp (Northville, MI/Belle Tire) and a three-assist outing from Kelsey Dowdall (Smiths Falls, ONT/Nepean).
LEADING THE WAY: Junior Morgan Reed (Fort Myers, FL/Cushing Academy) leads the team in goals (12), assists (11), and points (23)… 12 goals in a season is a career-best for Reed, who has played in every game since her freshman year.
DOUBLE DIGITS: Eight players have tallied at least ten points on the season… Senior Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) is second on the squad with 16 points (eight goals, eight assists), followed by Gabrielle Schnepp (Northville, MI/Belle Tire) (six goals, nine assists), and Emily Coope (Phoenix, AZ/Colorado Tigers) and Nicole Schwartz (Danville, CA/San Jose Sharks), who each have 12 points.
GOIN NAMED ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Sophomore Keira Goin (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Hotchkiss School) was named the College’s Female Athlete of the Week, Monday for her performance last weekend… In the two-game series, Goin totaled 63 saves to lead Utica to a 1-0-1 outing… On Friday, she had 35 saves in a 3-3… She followed that up with 28 saves to lift Utica to a 3-2 overtime victory over the Bengals… On the season, she has a 2.04 goals against average and .924 save percentage.
200 CLUB: With the win over Buffalo State, Head Coach Dave Clausen picked up his 200th career win… Clausen, who is the only coach in UC history, has collected all 200 wins with the Pioneers… He now has an overall record of 200-141-26 in 14 seasons.
SCOUTING BUFF STATE: The Bengals concluded the regular season with a 10-12-3 overall record and an 8-9-1 mark in the conference… Senior Kara Goodwin leads the team with 26 points (20 goals, six assists), while freshman Erin Gehen is second with seven goals and a team-high 14 assists.
LOOKING AHEAD: Saturday’s winners (#3 Oswego State vs. #6 SUNY Cortland/#4 Utica vs. #5 Buff State) will travel to the ECAC West final four, hosted by top-seeded Elmira College… Elmira will take on the lowest remaining seed next Saturday, with Plattsburgh State facing the highest remaining seed… The winners of the semifinal will meet on Sunday, March 8 with the winner earning an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
