FRIDAY, OCT. 7
SHU at No. 16 Providence
7 p.m. on ESPN+

INTERNATIONAL STREAM
TICKETS
SHU GAME NOTES

The Sacred Heart Men's Hockey Team opens a season of celebrations this Friday, Oct. 7, when it travels to No. 16 Providence College for a 7 p.m. puck drop airing live on ESPN+ from Schneider Arena. The Pioneers, who are celebrating their 30th season during the 60th anniversary of the university, open their first on-campus venue, the Martire Family Arena, this winter. Friday's game against the 2015 national champions from Hockey East is also the season opener for the Friars.

SERIES
This is the sixth meeting between Providence and SHU and the Friars have a 4-0-1 edge. The Pioneers, who went 2-3-1 vs. Hockey East squads last winter, last skated against PC in 2018, a 2-2 OT tie at Webster Bank Arena. The four other meetings were at Schneider Arena in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2012. PC has outscored SHU 30-9 overall. 

PIONEERS 
SHU, which won both pre-season games last weekend, got goals from three different players and 27 saves from Justin Robbins in a 3-2 win at UMass before coming home to beat Western Ontario 6-4 behind tallies from six players and 19 stops from Luke Lush. The Pioneers, who go from 2021 NCAA champion UMass to 2015 Frozen Four winner Providence this week, had two-goal weekends from sophomore defenseman Conner Hutchison and rookie forward Chikara Hanzawa, while senior forward Kevin Lombardi chipped in a goal and two assists. SHU, which finished fifth in the AHA standings last winter, are picked second this season.

FRIARS
Providence, which also had a pair of pre-season contests last weekend, beat Western Ontario at home 5-2 last Friday and then fell 4-2 at Quinnipiac. The Friars finished the 2021-22 campaign seventh in Hockey East and are picked fourth in the pre-season poll. The Friars rank fifth among NCAA schools with 86 goals returning from last season, which includes their top seven scorers from last winter.

ROSTER
The SHU new roster includes 15 forwards, 11 blueliners and four goalies, as well as players from eight states and four countries. There are four graduate students, nine seniors, five juniors, four sophomores and seven first years among the 29 players. 

MFA
The Martire Family Arena, the new home of Sacred Heart Hockey on the school's West Campus, officially opens on Jan. 14 with a game against Boston College.  Frank Martire '69, chairman of the school's board of trustees, and his wife, Marisa, gave $5 million toward the $75 million project. The family also has an equity interest in the National Hockey League's (NHL) Las Vegas Golden Knights. The new arena at SHU will include bowl and premium seating with suites and spectacular views of the ice and the hills outside through a smart glass system that is controlled to adapt to ambient light.

BEHIND THE BOARDS
SHU Hockey features a regular podcast called "Behind the Boards," which includes an interview with head coach CJ. Marottolo. Fans can catch it on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

WATCHING THE PIOS
SHU home and conference games air live on FloSports TV. Links for all games can be found on the team's website schedule.

PIOS IN PROS
Justin Danforth '17, who was a regular in the Columbus lineup last winter, is back with the Blue Jackets this season. Another Pioneer in the NHL is Ryan Warsofsky '09, an assistant coach with the San Jose Sharks. Here are the other Pios in the Pros:

Dakota Raabe '22, Utah Grizzlies-ECHL
Rourke Russell '22, Adirondack Thunder-ECHL
Marc Johnstone '21, Toronto Marlies-AHL
Emil Ordvall '21, Visby/Roma, Sweden 
Mike Lee '20, Nove Zamky, Slovakia
Brett Magnus '19, Hijs Hokig, France
Mike Crocock '19, Guildford Flames, England 
Marcel Godbout '19, Allen Americans-ECHL
Jordan Kaplan '19, Norfolk-ECHL
Matt Tugnutt '19, Chamonix, France
Evan Jasper '18, Beitigheim, Germany 
Zack Tsekos '18 , Colorado Eagles-AHL 
Connor Doherty '17, Maine Mariners-ECHL
Alec Butcher '17 , Reading Royals- ECHL
Sammy Bernard '16, Roanoke Railyard Dawgs-SPHL
Ben Lake  '15, Belfast Giants, Ireland

OBAN
Oban Birmingham, No. 63 on the SHU roster, is the Team Impact Pioneer. A Darien, Conn., native, Birmingham joined the team in September of 2022.

SHU FUN FACTS
Chikara Hanzawa is the first player from Japan to play for the Pioneers… Justin and Dylan Robbins are the first brothers to skate on the same SHU squad… There are three fifth-year players on the roster: Todd Goerning, Ryan Steele and Austin Magera… Jeppe Urup is the only skater from Denmark to play for SHU… Neil Shea and Julian Kislin skated together for Northeastern in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons… There are four transfers on this year's roster; the two others are Logan Britt (Quinnipiac) and Justin Roberts (ASU).