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FAIRFIELD, Conn.- The Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team resumes play in 2022 with a pair of road games at Niagara beginning Friday at 7:00 p.m.

Last Time Out... The Pioneers are coming off a loss to Army West Point on December 2 by a score of 4-1. On the upside, sophomore Ryan Doolin tallied his first collegiate point while junior Braeden Tuck scored his sixth goal of the year tying his career high.

Last Meeting... The last time the Pioneers faced the Purple Eagles came on October 29-30 when SHU hosted Niagara at Webster Bank Arena. Sacred Heart split the series falling in the first match 4-1 and prevailed in the second by a score of 3-1. Niagara narrowly holds a 15-13-2 lead in the overall series.

Scouting The Purple Eagles... Niagara is coming off a split series against #10 Notre Dame on January 1-2 as they won the first game 3-1 and fell 5-0 the following day. The team is led on offense by Albin Nilsson who leads the team in all three stat categories (goals, assists and points). The teams top goaltender is Chad Veltri who holds a record of 5-6-1 and a GAA of 2.89.

Graduating In Style... Per the NCAA's most recent Graduation Success Rate, the Pioneers are just one of 19 division one men's ice hockey programs that had a 100% success rate.

Career Year, Career Highs...This season, seven Pioneers are on track for career years with junior Neil Shea is having a breakout season with three goals and seven assists. The Marshfield, Mass. native is also on a four-game point streak as he last tallied an assist in the team's last game against Army West Point on December 2. In his two years at Northeastern, he tallied just two goals, and four assists for six points.

Tuck on Target... Junior Braeden Tuck currently leads the Atlantic Hockey Association in shot percentage with .40. He's fired six goals on 15 shots attempted. The Calgary, Alberta native currently is tied for first on the team in goals and points.

Second Half Race... Heading into the new year, the Pioneers trail first place Bentley by only seven points in the Atlantic Hockey Association standings. The Pioneers have plenty of room to catch up as they have only played nine AHA games while Bentley has played 12.

Pios Getting the Call... Two Sacred Heart alumni Mike Lee '20 and Jordan Kaplan '20 both got the call up to play in the American Hockey League this week. Mike Lee was skating for the Indy Fuel of the ECHL before moving up to the Hartford Wolfpack where he skated back at Webster Bank Arena against the Bridgeport Islanders on December 29. Jordan Kaplan also got promoted to the Utica Comets from the Adirondack Thunder.