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FAIRFIELD, Conn.- The Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team looks to defend its CT Ice title against #2 Quinnipiac followed by the winner or loser against Yale and UConn beginning Saturday at 7:00 p.m.

Last Time Out... The Pioneers are coming off a pair of losses to AIC on January 21-22. SHU dropped the first matchup 4-2 and fell the following day 4-1. The Pioneers currently sit fourth in the Atlantic Hockey standings with 26 points. 

Last Meetings... The Pioneers last faced Quinnipiac back in 2020 when they dropped a close 2-1 overtime game on December 15. The Bobcats currently lead the overall series 15-3-2. SHU last faced Yale in an exhibition match on November 13 when they defeated the Bulldogs 3-1. The last regular season matchup came at CT Ice when they edged Yale 6-2. Yale narrowly leads the series 6-2-0. The Pioneers faced UConn earlier in the season where they fell 6-3 on October 2, 2021. SHU leads the series 31-30-6. 

Scouting The Teams on the Ice... Quinnipiac is coming off a 9-0 shutout victory over Princeton which came on Wednesday, January 26. The Bobcats rank #2 in the nation with a 19-2-3 overall record and 10-0-1-1 conference record. Leading the team on offense is Wyatt Bongiovanni who leads the team in goals with 12 and is third on team in points with 21. Yaniv Perets is the top netminder with 12 wins and a GAA of .836. Yale enters the CT Ice Tournament with a 5-10-1 overall record and a 2-7-3 record in ECAC play. They are coming off an 3-2 overtime victory over Union on January 22. Niklas Allain leads the team in points with 10 while in net Nathan Reid leads the Bulldogs with four wins and a GAA of 2.722. The Huskies enter the weekend tournament with a 11-10-0 overall record and a 6-5-2-1 Hockey East record. They are coming off a 3-2 victory over Merrimack on January 25. Ryan Tverberg leads the UConn offense with 18 points on nine goals and nine assists. Darion Hanson guards the pipes with 11 wins and a GAA of 2.50. 

Hockey Runs in the Family.... Growing up through high school and his hockey career, there was no shortage of role models to look up to for first-year Conner Hutchison. His sister Cailey is a graduate of the University of Maine where she skated for four years and now plays for the local Premiere Hockey Federation team, CT Whale. Meanwhile his brother Nick comes from Atlantic Hockey roots where he skated for Canisius from 2016-2020. He currently skates for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the American Hockey League. 

Britt Leading the Defense... Junior transfer Logan Britt has been a solid addition to the Pioneers squad as he currently leads the team in assists with a career-high 13 on the year. He also leads all AHA defensemen in assists. The Crystal Lake, Ill. native has captured AHA Defensive Player of the Week three times. He tallied one goal and one assists in the teams' last victory against Army on Tuesday and one assist in the series against AIC. 

Transfer Transition.. So far this season the transfers the Pioneers currently have on the roster have been making an impact. Of the eight transfers they accumulate 13 goals, 45 assists for 58 points. Leading the way is Neil Shea and Logan Britt who each have 16 points. Shea has five goals alongside 11 assists while Britt tallies three goals and 13 assists. Justin Robbins has been a solid pickup as the Arizona State transfer has seen action in 16 games recording a GAA of 2.36 and a save percentage of .910. He has a record of 6-5-3 in net. 

Magera Magic... Senior Austin Magera has been a big asset to the Pioneers this year as he returned to the ice on January 14 against Bentley. That was the first time the senior has skated since November 6 at Mercyhurst. Since then he has already registered three goals and four assists for seven points. On the year, he has tallied six goals and 10 assists for 16 points which is tied for first on the team.

Stealing the Win.. Senior Ryan Steele currently sits tied for second in the nation in game-winning goals this year. The senior currently has four on the season which is a career-high.

Juniors Carrying the Team.... This year's junior class have been dominating the stat sheet as they carry 61 of the Pioneers 165 total points on the year. The 10 man class leads the team with 22 goals and 39 assists. 

Staring the Top Team Down.... The Pioneers will face its highest ranked opponent against #2 Quinnipiac since October 20, 2018 when SHU faced #5 Providence and tied with the Friars 2-2. Since 2018, the Pioneers tally a record of 2-6-1 against ranked opponents. The last time SHU defeated a ranked team came on October 15, 2021 when the Pioneers defeated #12 Boston University 3-2.