UTICA, NY- The fourth seeded Utica College women’s hockey team opens up the ECAC West Conference Tournament Thursday evening as it hosts fifth-seeded Oswego State. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
TICKET INFORMATION: Admission will be free of charge.
LAST TIME OUT: UC is coming off a pair of wins over SUNY Cortland in the final weekend of the regular season… The Pioneers used a five goal third period to top the Red Dragons 6-0 on Friday… They followed that up with a 4-2 win at Cortland on Saturday… Nine different players scored on the weekend for Utica, with Emily Coope (Phoenix, AZ/Colorado Tigers) putting in two goals and an assist on Saturday… Gabrielle Schnepp (Northville, MI/Belle Tire) and Elizabeth Dohner (Highlands Ranch, CO/Colorado Selects) each had a goal and two assists in the series… Senior Keira Goin (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Hotchkiss School) totaled 43 saves over the two games and picked up her fourth shutout of the season on Friday.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Utica is making its 15th appearance in the ECAC West Conference Tournament in the program’s 16-year history… The Pioneers have made it to the championship game twice, in 2005-06 after beating Elmira 4-1 in the semifinal, and last season after a 5-1 win over the Soaring Eagles in the semifinal once again… UC is 6-0 all-time in home playoff games and the Pioneers have outscored opponents 25-5 at home in the playoffs.
HOW THEY GOT HERE: The Pioneers (16-8-1) finished tied for third in the conference standings with Buffalo State with an 11-6-1 mark in league play… Utica lost the tiebreaker as it fell to the Bengals in the first two games of the season… UC heads into the tournament with a seven-game winning streak and the Pioneers are 7-1-1 in their last nine contests… Oswego wrapped up the season with a 16-7-2 overall record and a 10-6-2 mark in the conference, finishing just one point behind Buff State and Utica in the standings.
IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: Utica is receiving votes in the latest USCHO.com and d3hockey.com national polls, released Monday… UC picked up seven votes in this week’s d3hockey.com poll, just six behind tenth-ranked Gustavus Adolphus. The Pioneers were also awarded four votes in the uscho.com rankings, tying them with Buffalo State for third in the “receiving votes” category.
HOME ICE ADVANTAGE: The Pioneers are 7-0-1 at home this year… Utica has outscored opponents 29-9 at the Utica Memorial Auditorium this season… The team’s last home loss came on February 20 last year as it fell 2-1 to Buffalo State… UC has never finished a season undefeated at home… The best record the Pioneers have had at home was the 2006-07 team that went 11-1 at the Aud.
FINISHING STRONG: The third period has been UC’s best period this year… The Pioneers are outshooting opponents 315-182 in the final 20 minutes, and they have out scored opponents 31-11 in the third period this year.
LEADING THE WAY: Senior Gabrielle Schnepp (Northville, MI/Belle Tire) leads the team with 27 points (seven goals, 20 assists) this season… She has scored five goals and eight assists in her last nine games… Schnepp ranks third all-time with 71 career assists, and she is fourth in the program’s record books with 114 points.
HELPING OUT: Sophomore Elizabeth Dohner (Highlands Ranch, CO/Colorado Selects) is having a break out season… Dohner has registered career-highs in goals (seven), assists (13), and points (20)… She is second on the team in scoring and she has tallied 11 points (four goals, three assists) in the last nine games.
ON CLOUD 9: Three players are tied for the team lead with nine goals apiece… forwards Emily Coope (Phoenix, AZ/Colorado Tigers) and Taylor Osowski (Highlands Ranch, CO/Colorado Selects) and defenseman Jane Pagano (Erie, PA/Tabor Academy) have each found the back of the net nine times this season… Coope and Pagano are both tied for third on the squad with 19 points apiece… Coope has reached career highs in goals, assists (10), and points… 19 points in a season is also a new career best for Pagano, and she needs just one more goal to mark her highest goal total of her career… She ranks 12th nationally in scoring amongst defensemen with .76 points per game… Osowski is also having her best year with a career-high nine goals and 15 points.
SHUTTING THE DOOR: Senior Keira Goin (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Hotchkiss School) ranks third in the conference with a 1.47 goals against average… She is also fourth in the ECAC West with a .940 save percentage… Goin is the all-time wins leader at UC with 39… She also holds both the single season (seven) and career (12) shutout records.
SCOUTING OSWEGO: Oswego is 16-7-2 overall and it finished the regular season with a 10-6-2 mark in the conference… The Lakers are the only team to defeat nationally ranked No. 1 Plattsburgh State this season as they came away with a 3-2 victory on Nov. 20… Oswego has three players with more than ten goals on the season, led by junior Olivia Ellis, who has 13 goals and 21 assists on the year.
AGAINST THE LAKERS: Utica is 14-7-2 all-time against Oswego… This year, the teams split the season series with Oswego winning 2-0 at home, and the Pioneers coming away with a 2-1 victory at the Aud… Sophomores Kaitlin Parent (Myersville, MD/Middletown) and Elizabeth Dohner (Highlands Ranch, CO/Colorado Selects) scored in the win, with Taylor Dion (Colchester, VT/Boston Shamrocks), Jennifer Liu (North Saanich, British Columbia/Shaftesbury Titans ), Kayla Dion (Colchester, VT/Boston Shamrocks ), and Gabrielle Schnepp (Northville, MI/Belle Tire) each picking up one assist… This will be the first time Utica and Oswego have faced off in the post season.
LOOKING AHEAD: The winner of Thursday’s game will travel to either Plattsburgh State or Elmira College on Sunday… As the top seed in the tournament, Plattsburgh will face the lowest remaining seed in the semifinals, with No. 2 Elmira hosting the highest remaining seed.
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: Live video and stats of all home games is available on Pioneers All-Access: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/
