How We Got Here
For a pair of teams that have been mainstays in the UCHC Semifinals for half of a decade, the path to the 2025-26 postseason was a bit more of a challenge this year for the Valiants and Pioneers.

Manhattanville earned the sixth and final postseason berth with a 5-9-0 record in the UCHC, finishing the regular season 5-19-1 overall. The Valiants were able to sweep the regular season series against Chatham and Hilbert to gain separation from the two teams that ultimately missed the postseason cut while also splitting the series up at Utica earlier this month to officially secure the berth.

Utica, meanwhile, was also slow out of the gate, going 4-14-1 overall and 3-5-0 in the UCHC through the end of January. The Pioneers were able to gain some momentum in the final three weeks of the regular season, finishing 5-1-0 with sweeps of St. John Fisher and Chatham with the aforementioned split with Manhattanville. The hot streak allowed the Pioneers to climb up the standings past Albertus Magnus and St. John Fisher to lock down the No. 3 seed and earn home ice advantage for the tournament's first round.

Manhattanville received another incredible season in the crease from sophomore Olivia Cimorelli (West Deptford, N.J./The Hill School / Ironbound Elite), who has already placed her name in the program record book just two seasons in to her collegiate tenure. Cimorelli became the fastest goalie in program history to 1,000 saves earlier this season and now holds Manhattanville's single-season saves record with 713 stops in the regular season. The sophomore holds a 2.42 goals against average and a .925 save percentage through 24 games.

Scoring has been hard to come by for Manhattanville, with the Valiants averaging 1.4 goals per game. The Valiants have also been limited to a .105 conversion percentage on the power play this year. Catrina Chinetti (Hyde Park, Mass./Boston Latin Academy / East Coast Wizards) leads the Valiants in scoring with six goals her senior season, striking three times on the power play and delivering a pair of game-winning tallies. Colby Cantor (Norwell, Mass./North American Hockey Academy) and Jada Mackinnon (Barrington, Nova Scotia, Canada/King's Edgehill School) rank second on the team with four goals each.
Utica's fared a notch better offensively than Manhattanville with 1.9 goals per game. The Pioneers, too, have been fueled by strong goaltending, with the tandem of Alex Venning and Katie Sheahan sporting a pair of save percentages at .917 or above. Venning has seen the majority of minutes, holding a 1.85 GAA, while Shehan sports a 2.33 GAA with six wins under her belt.

The Pios feature six skaters with ten or more points this year, with Samantha Dobrzynski leading Utica in points (14) and goals (5). Kelsey Elliott and Kaci Ryder both have 13 points on the season with four goals and nine assists each.

Last Time Out
The teams met in Utica on Feb. 13 and 14, splitting the two-game set. The Valiants won the opener 2-1 off goals from Ali Joly (Pickering, Ontario, Canada/Dunbarton / Caledon Coyotes) and Chinetti, while Cimorelli made 38 saves for the win, her lone blemish being a Dobrzynski power play goal in the second. Utica evened the series up a day later with a 1-0 win, with Angelina Garganese providing the lone score with a power play goals in the third. Cimorelli made 24 more saves in the loss, while Sheahan finished with 19 stops in the shutout.

Postseason History
Manhattanville and Utica are now meeting for the fifth-straight UCHC Tournament, the first matchup not taking place in the semifinal round. After the Valiants defeated the Pioneers 3-2 in overtime in 2022, the Pioneers have won the last three postseason meetings, defeating Manhattanville 3-0 in last year's semis.

Team Leaders
Manhattanville