MIDWEEK HOCKEY?
The Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team continues a busy stretch on Tuesday night, as the Pioneers play host to Army, in the second of three midweek meetings between the two teams this year. The three contests with the Black Knights are the only midweek contests on SHU's schedule all season. Tuesday night wraps up a four-game homestand, which the Pios will be looking to split. Tuesday night is also First Responder Night at Martire Family Arena. The game is live on SNY in the tri-state area and available worldwide via FloSports, with Randy Brochu and Paul Pacelli on the call. Makena Wright and Evan Cormier will handle reporting duties. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.

LAST WEEKEND
SHU split a series with Mercyhurst in their first Atlantic Hockey action of the second half. On Friday night, the Pios went 0-for-7 on the power play and Mercyhurst rolled to a 7-2 victory. Sacred Heart bounced back on Saturday though, as John Jaworski tallied 1-1-2 and Tyler Spott's first Pio goal was a timely game-winner in the third period to boost the team to a 2-1 victory.

SCOUTING THE BLACK KNIGHTS
The Black Knights are 1-2-0 coming out of the break, with a 6-3 win over No. 16 New Hampshire, followed by losses to Bentley and No. 19 Penn State. Army will arrive with a bad taste in its mouth on Tuesday night though, as it had the Nittany Lions on the ropes in Happy Valley on Saturday night. The Black Knights led 6-2 at the game's midpoint, but conceded a pair in the back half of the second period and then Penn State struck thrice more in the third to score five unanswered and pull out a 7-6 victory. Joey Baez leads the team with 8-8-16 through 19 games. Army is allowing more than four goals per game, and is third-worst in the country in scoring defense.

PREVIOUSLY AGAINST ARMY
The two teams met at Martire Family Arena on Halloween, and the Pios cruised to a 6-1 victory. SHU scored the first five goals of the game and went 3-for-8 on the power play. Six different Pioneers found the back of the net, while Mikey Adamson and Mark Cheremeta collected three assists each.

ALL-TIME SERIES
The two teams have met 86 times in a series which dates to February of 1996. Army holds a slim, 38-35-13 advantage, including a 29-25-13 margin in Atlantic Hockey play. Sacred Heart has had success protecting home ice against the Black Knights, to the tune of a 23-11-6 record. The two teams have split their first two meetings at Martire Family Arena.

UP NEXT
SHU has a home-and-home with Bentley on tap for this weekend, with Friday night's game at Bentley Arena in Waltham, Mass., and Saturday's contest back home at Martire Family Arena. Puck drop is 7 p.m. both nights. Tickets for Saturday night are available through Ticketmaster.