UTICA, NY- The Utica College women’s hockey team looks to continue its momentum this weekend as it faces ECAC West foe, Oswego State. The teams will meet on Saturday in Oswego, before traveling to Utica on Sunday for an afternoon match up at the Aud. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m. both days.
LAST TIME OUT: Utica is coming off two wins over William Smith College in its conference opener last weekend… On Saturday, the Pioneers broke through for two goals in the third period to pull out the 2-0 win… Sunday’s game had more scoring, as Utica defeated the Herons by the score of 6-1, to improve to 4-0 on the season… Morgan Reed (Fort Myers, FL/Cushing Academy), Gabrielle Schnepp (Northville, MI/Belle Tire), and Lauren Patterson (Burlington, Ontario/Oakville) each had five points on the weekend, while junior Emily Coope (Phoenix, AZ/Colorado Tigers) netted two goals… Freshman Jennifer Liu (North Saanich, British Columbia/Shaftesbury Titans ) also found the back of the net for her first career goal… Junior Keira Goin (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Hotchkiss School) turned aside 44-of-45 shots she faced to help the Pioneers earn the sweep… She also picked up her third career shutout in Saturday’s victory.
LEADING THE WAY: Junior forward, Gabrielle Schnepp (Northville, MI/Belle Tire) and senior forward Morgan Reed (Fort Myers, FL/Cushing Academy), have come out of the gates on fire this season… Reed and Schnepp are tied for the team lead in goals, assists, and points, accumulating four goals, seven assists, and 11 points in just four games… The duo is tied for second in the nation with 2.75 points per game… For their efforts, they were recently selected to the d3hockey.com national team of the week.
PATTERSON CONTINUES TO PRODUCE: Freshman Lauren Patterson (Burlington, Ontario/Oakville) is in the midst of a four-game scoring streak in which she has totaled nine points (two goals, seven assists)… On Monday, she was named the ECAC West Rookie of the Week for the second straight week after totaling one goal and four assists against William Smith… She is tied for first nationally in assists and her 2.25 points per game rank fourth in the country for rookie scoring.
FRESHMAN FOCUS: The freshman class has made its presence felt so far this season… Apart from Patterson, three other rookie players have found their names on the score sheet… Defender Kayla Dion (Colchester, VT/Boston Shamrocks ) has contributed three assists, while Jennifer Liu (North Saanich, British Columbia/Shaftesbury Titans ) and Taylor Dion (Colchester, VT/Boston Shamrocks) have each tallied one point through the first four games.
IN THE NET: The Pioneers’ goalkeeping has been stellar so far this season… Junior Keira Goin (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Hotchkiss School) has started three games, winning all three, including one shutout… Goin has compiled a .972 save percentage and a goals against average of .67… She ranks in the top-ten nationally in both categories, and was named the ECAC West Goalie of the Week, Monday, for her solid performance against William Smith… Sophomore Amanda Lupo (Auburn, NY/Skaneatles) has started one game, accumulating 21 saves with a save percentage of .875 for her first career win.
OUTPLAYING THE COMPETITION: The Pioneers have totaled 18 goals so far this season, while holding their opponents to just five… UC’s offense ranks seventh nationally with an average of 4.5 goals per game… The Utica powerplay leads the country with a percentage of 41.2 after converting 7-of-17 opportunities with the man advantage… The Pioneers have also had success at the faceoff circle as they have won .608 percent of draws, while holding opponents to a .392 faceoff winning percentage.
NATIONAL RECOGNITION: The Pioneers picked up one vote in this week’s D3hockey.com National Poll after sweeping William Smith in the opening weekend of conference action… Utica is currently 4-0 on the year, marking its best start since the 2006-2007 season, when UC went on to win a program-record 18 games.
SCOUTING OSWEGO STATE: The Lakers are off to a 2-1-1 start this season, and a 1-0-1 mark in league play… They are led by Olivia Ellis, who has two goals and four assists… Brianna Rice and Rachel Lenard have also been key for Oswego… Rice has two goals and three assists on the season, while Lenard has three goals and one assist.
AGAINST THE LAKERS: Utica is 12-6-1 all-time against Oswego, however, the Lakers have held the upper hand recently… In the last three years, UC is 1-4-1 against Oswego with its lone win coming at home on Nov. 2, 2012, when it won 3-1.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Pioneers face a tough test next weekend as they take on nationally ranked No. 3/4 Elmira College… The first game will be on Saturday in Elmira, with the series wrapping up in Utica on Sunday. Both games are scheduled to start at 3 p.m.
