FAIRFIELD, Conn – The Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team kicks off the 2025-26 regular season with a road Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) series at RIT on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 10 & 11. The Pios and Tigers will clash Friday at 7:05 p.m. and Saturday at 5:05 p.m. at the Gene Polisseni Center in Rochester, N.Y.

Sacred Heart vs. RIT
    Friday, Oct. 10 – 7:05 p.m.
    Saturday, Oct. 11 – 5:05 p.m.
Gene Polisseni Center -- Rochester, N.Y.
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TWO OF THE FRIENDSHIP FOUR
The Pioneers and Tigers will comprise half of the field at the 2025 Friendship Four, hosted this year in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Miami (OH) and Union make up the remainder of the field, with the first game set for Friday, Nov. 28, as the Pios will play Union at 9 a.m. Eastern Time. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Pioneers played two games this past weekend, an exhibition against Hockey East opponent Merrimack on Saturday and a scrimmage against Simon Fraser (B.C.) on Sunday. The Pios suffered a 3-0 loss to the Warriors, as two first-period strikes proved to be too much for SHU. Sacred Heart bounced back in a big way on Sunday, rolling to a 5-1 win over the Red Leafs. After a hard-fought first two periods, SHU scored three times in the third to secure the win. Joshua Barnes led the way for the Pioneers with a hat trick in his second game donning the red and grey. Liam Lesakowski and Ethan Wolthers both finished with a pair of assists in the win. 

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Like SHU, RIT will open the 2025-26 regular season on Friday. The Tigers did play an exhibition in the preseason, cruising to a 6-1 win over Western (Ont.) at home in the Gene Polisseni Center. First year Alex Christopoulos tallied a hat trick in the victory, scoring the team's third, fourth and sixth goals. Last season, RIT finished 10-23-2 overall and secured the ninth seed in the AHA Tournament, posting a 9-15-2 record. The Tigers added 11 new players in the offseason, including two transfers. Austin Brimmer transferred from LIU, while Boris Skalos came from Mercyhurst. 

ALL-TIME SERIES
The Pioneers and Tigers have met 55 times before this weekend's series, with the first meeting dating back to 2006. SHU is 18-34-3 all-time against RIT, winning two of the last three and taking a shootout win in the most recent clash. Friday's matchup will be the 30th between the two teams in Rochester, with SHU having an 11-17-1 mark at the Tigers' barn. The Pios claimed a 5-2 win in their last game at RIT on Oct. 21, 2023. 

UP NEXT
The Pioneers kick off the home portion of its schedule on Saturday, Oct. 18, with a 5 p.m. bout against Stonehill at the Martire Family Arena. The fun begins at 4 p.m., with live music, food and giveaways in the plaza in front of the arena's main entrance.