Utica, NY (11/13/14)- The Utica College men’s hockey team looks to get back on track this weekend as it prepares for two huge ECAC West Conference games. On Friday, the Pioneers travel to conference rival, Elmira College for a 7 p.m. tilt, before heading to Geneva, NY on Saturday to face Hobart (4 p.m.).
LAST TIME OUT: Utica is coming off a 0-1-1 weekend at home against Nazareth in ECAC West action… On Friday, the Pioneers scored the tying goal with under 1:30 left to play to escape with a tie against the Golden Flyers… Freshmen Anthony McVeigh(Kemptville, Ontario/Carleton Place (CCHL)) and Brent Wold (Lac Du Bonnet, Manitoba/Dauphin (MJHL)) scored for Utica on Friday… On Saturday, Naz scored three unanswered goals to earn a 5-4 victory… Peter LaFosse (Merrimack, NH/Kimball Union Academy) had two goals, while Louie Educate (Chicago, IL/Aberdeen (NAHL)) and Justin Hogan (Val Therese, Ontario/Brooks Bandits (AJHL)) each had a goal and an assist…Trent Samuels-Thomas (West Hartford, CT/Omaha (USHL))recorded two assists on the day and Dalton Carter (Toledo, OH/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) was Utica’s top performer, earning five assists on the weekend.
LEADING THE WAY: Freshman defenseman Dalton Carter(Toledo, OH/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) is first in the nation with 2.67 points per game… He leads the team with eight points (one goal, seven assist) through three games so far… For his efforts last weekend, he was named the Conference’s Rookie of the Week.
PLAYMAKER: Sophomore Trent Samuels-Thomas (West Hartford, CT/Omaha (USHL)) is second on the squad with four points, all assists… Samuels-Thomas recorded two assists in a season-opening win over Castleton on Nov 1… He also added two assists in the Pioneers’ 5-4 loss to Naz last weekend.
LIGHTING THE LAMP: Freshman Brent Wold (Lac Du Bonnet, Manitoba/Dauphin (MJHL)) has proven he can find the back of the net as he has three goals in three games… Most recently, he netted the game-tying goal with 1:28 remaining to help Utica to a 2-2 tie against Nazareth last Friday.
MAN ADVANTAGE: Six of Utica’s 10 goals this season have come on the power play… The Pioneers have converted 6-of-17 power play opportunities through the first three games… This mark is much better than Utica’s .131 conversion percentage last season.
SCOUTING ELMIRA: The Soaring Eagles are still looking for their first win of the season as they fell to Neumann 3-2 in overtime and salvaged a 1-1 tie against Manhattanville last weekend… Three different players have scored for Elmira, while Jarryd ten Vaanholt and Tommy Sumi each have a team-high two points.
AGAINST THE SOARING EAGLES: Utica is looking for revenge as the last time the two teams played each other was in the ECAC West Championship game at the “Aud” where Elmira escaped with a 5-2 victory… UC is 10-16-5 against Elmira dating back to the 2004-05 season, however the Pioneers hold a 4-3 advantage in head-to-head play over the last two years… Last year, the teams split with each winning two games.
SCOUTING HOBART: The Statesmen are 2-2 overall and are coming off a 1-1 weekend of ECAC West action… On Friday, Hobart fell to Manhattanville 4-3… It followed that up by downing Neumann University 6-3 on Saturday… Hobart is led by junior Bo Webster, who has three goals and three assists on the year.
AGAINST THE STATESMEN: Utica is 9-2-1 against Hobart since the 2010-11 season… Utica has not lost at “The Cooler” since Feb. 19, 2010… Last year, the teams went 1-1-1… Hobart defeated Utica 3-2 at “the Aud” last year, scoring the winning goal with one second remaining in regulation… The Pioneers then escaped Geneva with an OT win and a tie against the Statesmen later in the season.
LOOKING AHEAD: UC will return home next Friday night to host Neumann University for a conference contest beginning at 7 p.m…On Saturday, the Pioneers travel to Syracuse, NY for the Frozen Dome Classic against Oswego State at Syracuse University’s Carrier Dome.
