Three Fredonia winter teams are in action this weekend in the first competitions of the 2017 calendar year.

Men's and women's basketball teams are on their annual North Country trip for a pair of SUNYAC games. The Blue Devils visit Plattsburgh first for a Friday doubleheader – men at 5:30 p.m., women at 7:30 p.m. They proceed westward to Potsdam for a Saturday twin bill – men at 2 p.m., women at 4 p.m.

The men's hockey team is also on the road in Owings Mills, Md., to take on first-year program Stevenson at 7 p.m. Friday and 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Here's a capsule look at each team as it heads into the new year:

MEN'S BASKETBALL – The Blue Devils closed out 2016 with a 79-71 victory over Rosemont in the consolation game of the Lycoming's Louis Fleming Basinger Memorial Tournament. That ended a four-game losing streak which, including the win Dec. 30, left the Blue Devils at 4-7 overall. They are 1-3 in SUNYAC play, including a win over Potsdam, 79-59, on Dec. 2 in Fredonia. Plattsburgh visited Dec. 3 and left as 75-57 winners … Fredonia is led in scoring and rebounding by junior Ian Helps (Bronx, N.Y./Greater New York Academy). He is averaging 14.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.  Helps entered the weekend with 923 points in 58 career games, an average of 15.1 points per game.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL – At 9-1, the women are off to its best 10-game start in program history. They have been 7-3 three times in program history, most recently last season. They are 4-0 in the SUNYAC, including home wins over Potsdam (86-55 on Dec. 2) and Plattsburgh (61-51 on Dec. 3) … The Blue Devils are averaging 78.1 points per game, ranked No. 16 in NCAA Division III. They lead the conference in that category, plus several others, among them defensive rebounding. Their average of 33 defensive rebounds per game is fourth best in D-III … Individually, senior guard Alexis Cheatham (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport) is sixth nationally with 3.4 three-point baskets per game and ninth in D-III with 34 three-pointers total. She's also third among active career D-III leaders with 203 three-point baskets. Her 317 career assists are No. 20 on the active leader list … With 1,087 career points, Cheatham is No. 8 on Fredonia's all-time scoring list. Next on list: Debbie Pike (1,097 points / 1986-90) … Cheatham is second on this year's team in scoring at 16.1 points per game. She trails sophomore Jenna Einink (Westfield, N.Y./Chautauqua Lake), who averages 17.2 points. Einink also leads the Blue Devils with 8.5 rebounds per game.

MEN'S HOCKEY – The Blue Devils, idle since Dec. 10, enter the weekend series at Stevenson with a 4-6-1 mark, including a 2-1 record in road games. Stevenson, meanwhile, is 5-5-1 overall and 3-3 at home. The Mustangs are first-year members of the ECAC West and will join the newly formed United Collegiate Hockey Conference next season … The teams have had three common opponents. Fredonia is 2-2-1 in games vs. Morrisville (1-1), Utica (0-1), and Buffalo State (1-0-1). Stevenson is 3-2 against those three: 2-0 vs. Morrisville, 0-1 vs. Utica, and 1-1 vs. Buffalo State … The Mustangs are coached by Dominick Dawes, previously at Neumann and head coach of Neumann's 2009 NCAA D-III championship team … Scoring leaders for the Blue Devils are junior Samuel Wilbur (Saginaw, Mich.) with 14 points (4 goals, 10 assists) and sophomore Bobby Polachek (Kingston, Pa.) with 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists) …. Fredonia is tied for seventh in power-play success among D-III teams. The Blue Devils have converted 16 of 60 man-advantages (26.67 percent)  … College hockey analyst Ken Butler places the Blue Devils at No. 46 in his most recent NCAA Division III KRACH Rankings.