UTICA, NY – The third seeded Utica College men’s hockey team is set to host sixth seeded Elmira College in the quarterfinals of the ECAC West Conference Tournament on Wednesday at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. The contest is set to begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $8/Adults, $4/ Students (Any College Student w/ ID) or children 18 and under and can be purchased at the Auditorium Box Office or online (Click Here).
Conference Tournament History: The Pioneers have played in 15 ECAC Men’s Conference Tournament games dating back to 2004… UC is 1-3 all-time against Elmira in playoff games … Utica last defeated the Soaring Eagles in the semifinals of the conference tournament back on March 4, 2005 by the score of 4-3 in double overtime at the Aud … Wednesday’s contest marks the fourth time these two teams have met in the playoffs at the Aud … The Pioneers have advanced to the finals of the conference tournament three times (2005, 2006, and 2014) in program-history.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers defeated Nazareth 5-2 in conference play on Friday night to secure third place in the ECAC West… UC had five different players score goals and tallied the last three goals of the contest, all in the third period, to break a 2-2 tie and lock up hosting rights for the conference tournament.
ECAC West Tournament Picture: Hobart (24 points) and Manhattanville (16 points) sit atop the ECAC West and will receive a first round bye in the conference tournament … Utica (15 points) finished in third place overall and will host sixth place Elmira (10 points) … Neumann (14 points) finished the regular season in fourth place and will host fifth seeded Nazareth (11 points) … The top ranked team remaining will face Manhattanville in the semifinals while the lowest ranked team remaining will face Hobart on Saturday, February 27 … If the Pioneers beat Elmira on Wednesday in the quarterfinals they will travel to Manhattanville on Saturday for semifinal action (7 p.m.).
10th In The East: UC is currently in a tie for 10th in the first release of the NCAA Division III East Regional Rankings last week … These rankings are compiled by the NCAA National Committee for DIII Men’s Hockey and are used develop the NCAA Tournament … The Pioneers are currently tied with Norwich for the tenth spot in the East.
Between The Pipes: Freshman Michael Fredrick (Lethbridge, Alberta/Brooks Bandits (AJHL)) has started in 24 of the 25 games this year for the Pioneers and holds a 12-8-4 record … Fredrick is 18th nationally in save percentage (711 saves, .933), and 24th in goals against average (2.11) … Fredrick stopped 32 shots and held Naz to a 0-for-3 effort on the power-play as he earned his league leading 12th victory on Friday night … Naz outshot UC 34-31 overall and 12-8 in the third period, but Fredrick did not allow a goal in the final 23:14 of play to help the Pioneers outscore the Golden Flyers 3-0 in the third period for the 5-2 win … Fredrick is now the first goalie in program-history to record over 700 saves in a single season (711) … His .933 save percentage ranks second all-time in a single season at UC and his 12 wins are tied for fourth all-time in the College’s single season record book.
Young Point Production: Four of the top five scorers for Utica are freshmen and sophomores while seven of the top 10 scorers are freshmen or sophomores … Freshman Hayden Dawes (Stony Plain, Alberta/Drayton Valley (AJHL)) leads the team in points with 17 off of a team high nine goals and eight assists … Sophomore Anthony McVeigh (Kemptville, Ontario/Carleton Place (CCHL)) is second on the team with 16 points off of five goals and 11 assists while fellow sophomore Kevin Valenti (Queensbury, NY/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) is third on the team with 15 points off of three goals and 12 assists … Senior Joel Wetmore (Horseheads, NY/Lindsay (OJHL)) is the only upper classman in the top five and is fourth on the team with 13 points off of six goals and seven assists … Freshman Alex Roberts (Burnaby, British Columbia/Brooks Bandits (AJHL)) rounds out the top five with 13 points off of five goals and eight assists.
Strong Defense: As a team, the Pioneers are ranked second in the nation in the penalty kill only allowing nine goals in 94 chances (90.4%) … The team is also tied for 23rd in Division III in scoring defense (2.40 goals per game, 60 goals allowed all season), only Hobart is ahead of UC in the ECAC West Conference … Brett Szajner (Novi, MI/Amarillo (NAHL)) leads the defense with nine points off of two goals and seven assists while junior captain Kevin Kirisits (Buffalo, NY/Brockville (CCHL)) has eight points off of one goal and seven assists … The Pioneers’ team goals against average of 2.35 this season ranks third on the College’s all-time single season list.
Third Times the Charm: Elmira College has knocked UC out of the conference tournament in each of the last two years … Last season, Utica lost 5-2 in the quarterfinals at Elmira … In 2013-14 Elmira topped Utica in the conference tournament championship game at the Aud … UC is 4-4-1, excluding the post season, against Elmira over in the last three years … Every regular season game in in the last three years has been decided by one goal, except for the tie … Four of the last nine regular season games between Elmira and Utica have gone into overtime.
Scouting Elmira: The Soaring Eagles ended the regular season 11-11-3 overall with a 4-9-2 ECAC West Conference record … Elmira is coming off losses to the second ranked team in the conference, Manhattanville (5-2), and the first ranked team in the conference, Hobart (5-2) … The Soaring Eagles are led by Carter Shinkaruk (26 points off of 19 goals and seven assists) and Brian Depp (24 points off of 12 goals and 12 assists) … In the net for Elmira is the committee of Sal Magliocco (294 saves, .907 save percentage, and a 3.19 goals against average) and Sandro Aeschlimann (511 saves, .924 save percentage, and a 2.82 goals against average).
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.
