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FAIRFIELD, Conn.-The Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team begins the quarterfinal round of the 2022 Atlantic Hockey Association tournament on Friday against RIT at 7:05 p.m. in Rochester, N.Y.

Last Time Out... The Pioneers are coming off a pair of games against Army West Point in which they defeated the Black Knights 5-2 on February 25 followed by a four goal comeback, 6-6 tie the following day in which SHU took the shootout 1-0.

Last Meeting... The last time the Pioneers faced the Tigers came on February 1 in which SHU was defeated by RIT 5-1. Austin Magera scored the lone goal for the Pioneers.

Scouting The Tigers... RIT is coming off a split series with Air Force that came on February 25-26 in which the Tigers took the first game 3-2 in overtime and fell in the second game 1-0 in overtime. They are led on offense by Carter Wilkie who leads the team in points with 27. Guarding the pipes stands Kolby Matthews who tallies a GAA of 3.47 and save percentage of .888. He leads the team in victories with a 10-6-3 record.

A Wild End to the Regular Season.... In the Pioneers final regular season game at Army West Point, SHU rallied from four-goals down heading into the third period to tie the game up at 6-6 and eventually defeat the Black Knights in the shootout 1-0. Senior Todd Goehring led the Pioneers with a pair of goals as well as one goal in the shootout which eventually was the game-winner.

Facing RIT in the Quarterfinals Again.... Starting on March 11, the Pioneers will embark on their quest for an Atlantic Hockey Championship as they will face the #4 seed RIT. SHU has experience playing the Tigers in playoff action as in 2018-19 the Pioneers faced RIT in the quarterfinals and fell two games to one in the series. The Pioneers dominated the first game scoring 9 goals on RIT but were unable to clinch the series dropping the next two games.

Regular Season Review.... The team tallied a record of 14-16-4 on the year, and a Atlantic Hockey Association record of 11-12-3-1. SHU welcomed in eight transfers from across the college hockey spectrum with junior Neil Shea leading the transfers and team in points with 29 on the year.  The Pioneers defeated #12 Boston University on October 15, 2021 by a score of 3-2 as senior Ryan Steele tallied the game-winner in the final seconds of the third period. Senior Austin Magera propelled himself among the top 16 players in program history in career scoring as he has recorded a total of 87 points featuring 38 goals, and 49 assists. Four players surpassed 100 career-games played in a Sacred Heart uniform as Austin Magera, Nick Boyagian, Ryan Steele and Todd Goehring each reached that milestone.

"Coaching this group of guys has been really fun, which has made coming to the rink every day a really enjoyable experience. This group has been good at staying in the present and not getting ahead of it" head coach C.J. Marottolo stated. "There is a tangible belief in each other and feel our best hockey is in front of us. Overall, we have grown a lot as a team and can't wait for the playoffs to start."

The Pioneers stayed out of the penalty box this season registering the lowest penalties in minutes per game in the nation at 7.41. SHU had two three-game win streaks during the season as the Pioneers took three straight at Air Force from November 20-23 followed by a sweep against Bentley and road win at Holy Cross from Feb. 5-10. SHU began the 2021-22 campaign with six straight games against Hockey East opponents facing UConn, Merrimack, Boston University, and Maine. The Pioneers only hosted nine home games this season and were on the road for a total of 25 games.

This season, the Pioneers have tallied nine AHA Weekly Awards with one Player of the Month Award coming in February to Neil Shea. The Pioneers nominated junior Braeden Tuck as the team's nominee for the 2022 Hobey Baker Award while senior Austin Magera was named a Walter Brown Award Semifinalist.