Men's Ice Hockey to Host Niagara in Home-Opener
10/28/2021 1:27:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
Pioneers kick-off Atlantic Hockey play Friday when they host Niagara at 5:35 p.m.
FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Home sweet home, as the Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team kick-off Atlantic Hockey play Friday when SHU host's Niagara at 5:35 p.m. at Webster Bank Arena. Both games will be broadcast on FloHockey.tv.
Last Time Out... SHU is entering Friday's series with a 2-3-1 overall record as the Pioneers took the opening game against Maine 1-0 off an Adam Tisdale goal in the opening period and an shutout performance in net by Justin Robbins. In the second game, SHU had a 3-1 lead heading into the third period before Maine struck back with a pair of goals to send the game into overtime. Goalie Justin Robbins recorded a career-high in saves with 34 on the night.
Last Meeting....This is the 29th meeting between both teams as the Pioneers haven't faced Niagara since the 2019-20 season when they last split a pair of games in decisive fashion as SHU took the first game on February 15, 2020 6-0 while Niagara came back the next day defeating the Pioneers 6-1. Niagara currently holds the series with a 14-12-2 record .
Scouting The Purple Eagles... Niagara currently has an 0-4-0 record with it's most recent losses coming against Penn State. This will be the first pair of conference games both teams will encounter. Niagara has it's leading point scorer in Albin Nilsson who has two points while Chad Veltri returns for in net for Niagara with a 0-2-0 record and 5.01 GAA.
Robbins Captures AHA Goaltender of the Week..... Junior Justin Robbins was solid in net for the Red & White against Maine last weekend. The goalie captured his first career shutout and tallied a career high in saves to garner Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week honors. The Alpine, N.J. native recorded a GAA of 1.44, .951 save percentage and a total of 58 saves. In Saturday's 3-3 tie, he recorded a career high 34 saves.
Magera Making His Mark.... Senior Austin Magera has been the leading scorer for the Pioneers this season currently leading the team in points with five. He's registered two goals and three assists for the Pioneers and currently sits tied for third in Atlantic Hockey in points.
Top of the Pairwise....The Pioneers currently sit atop Atlantic Hockey in the most recent pairwise rankings so far this season. SHU ranks 30th overall in the rankings right behind Boston University and Boston College.
We've Seen This Before.... SHU currently holds a record of 2-3-1 through six games which is the same as the 2019-20 season through six games when the Pioneers had a record breaking season going 21-10-3 overall and 18-8-2 in AHA play. SHU was also nationally ranked in the USCHO.com poll for the first-time in program history.
Conference Play Starts Now.... This weekend's series between the Pioneers and Niagara will be the first Atlantic Hockey action SHU will have this season. This will be the 29th meeting overall between SHU and Niagara with the Purple Eagles leading slightly with a 14-12-2 edge. SHU last split the most recent series back in 2020 when SHU took the first game of February 15 6-0 while Niagara sealed the second game 6-1 the following day.
