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FAIRFIELD, Conn.- The Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team returns to Atlantic Hockey play as they fly out to Colorado for four games with Air Force over the course of five days starting Friday at 9:05 p.m. ET.

Last Time Out... The Pioneers are coming off a 3-1 victory against Yale that came in an exhibition match on November 13. Dante Palecco had a homecoming celebration at his former school as he tallied a pair of goals in the game.

Last Meeting... Since 2019-20, the Pioneers have defeated Air Force in three straight games dating back to January 31, 2020 when SHU edged the Falcons 5-4. Currently Air Force leads the overall series 24-16-7. SHU took the last matchup in a thrilling 4-3 overtime win as Braeden Tuck stopped the three goal comeback by Air Force as he scored 3:01 into the overtime period to give the Pioneers the 4-3 win on January 6, 2021.

Scouting The Falcons... Air Force enters the four game series with a 3-6-1 overall record and a 1-2-1 record in AHA play. The Falcons are coming off their first Atlantic Hockey victory with a 2-1 win over Bentley on November 12. They are led by Will Gavin who leads the team with six goals and seven points on the year. In net the Falcons have Alex Schilling who registers a 4.06 GAA and a 3-6-1 overall record in net.

Danforth Makes NHL Debut With Columbus... History was made on Monday night as alumnus Justin Danforth '17 made his National Hockey League debut for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He becomes the first Sacred Heart player to skate in an NHL game. Danforth registered two shots and six hits in his debut for Columbus.

Danforth signed a contract with the Blue Jackets in May, becoming the second Pioneer to ink an NHL contract. He was one of the last cuts of training camp and skated in eight games with Cleveland of the American Hockey League (AHL) posting two goals and three assists before getting the call up.

During his time at SHU, Danforth registered 42 goals, 82 assists for 124 points in 147 career games from 2013-17. He was named First Team All-Atlantic Hockey in his senior season after leading the team with 32 points, by tallying 22 assists and 10 goals.

Robbins the Saver... Junior transfer Justin Robbins is having a career season in net as he currently ranks third in Atlantic Hockey in save percentage this season (.915) and ranks second in the association in goals against average at 2.38. He earned his first-career shutout victory at Maine earlier this season tallying 24 saves in the 1-0 win.

Penalties Ain't a Problem... The Pioneers average the least penalties in minutes per game in the nation averaging just six per game. Teams rarely get on the power-play against SHU as opponents have gone just 27 times on the man-advantage this season.

First Time For Everything... Transfer Rourke Russell and Troy Conzo each scored their first points as Pioneers as Conzo tallied his first goal at SHU on Saturday at Mercyhurst while Russell tallied a pair of assists in Friday's matchup at the Laker's to record his points as a Pioneer. Meanwhile graduate transfer Dante Palecco and junior transfer Neil Shea scored their first goals as Pioneers in the weekend series.

Martire Family Arena Update... Less than seven months after the official groundbreaking, the last piece of steel was put into place at Sacred Heart University's Martire Family Arena. Home to the school's Division I hockey programs, club teams and nationally ranked figure skating team, the $70-million project is slated to open in January of 2023 when the men's team takes on Boston College and the women face off against Harvard.

What has only been imagined through artist renderings is becoming reality with the addition of the final pieces of steel. The concourse from the East Building, at SHU's West Campus where the success of the varsity hockey programs will be showcased, as well as the east entrance, from which SHU students will enter before they cheer on the Pioneers, are starting to form.