HOLIDAY WEEKEND PLANS
As the first half of the season begins to wind down, the Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team is red hot. The Pioneers have gone unbeaten in their last six (5-0-1) and picked up 17 points over the last three weeks, to right the ship after a 1-3-0 start to the Atlantic Hockey season. It's no light task for the Pios this Thanksgiving weekend, as they have a tough road trip to Holy Cross for a pair of games following the holiday. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. both Friday and Saturday at Hart Center, as the two teams wrap up their season series before the calendar even flips to December.

LAST WEEKEND
SHU had its five-game winning streak snapped on Saturday, but still took five out of six points from visiting RIT at the Martire Family Arena. On Friday night, the Pioneers jumped out to a 3-0 lead, with goals from Reid Pabich, Daniel Ebrahim and Hunter Sansbury, and then had to hold on down the stretch for a 3-2 victory. On Saturday, SHU trailed 1-0 through two and then scored three third-period goals, on the way to a 3-3 (OT) tie, after Grady Hobbs equalized late for RIT. Ebrahim provided the shootout's only score, as SHU took a 1-0 shootout win to claim the extra point. Jeremi Tremblay had a goal and an assist over the weekend to earn Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week honors.

SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS
Holy Cross has not had a particularly good time of it since the two teams met a month ago at the end of October. The Crusaders are 2-4-1 in their last seven, and are 2-2-1 for seven points in their last five Atlantic Hockey games. Holy Cross had just one game last weekend and got goals from five different players on the way to a 5-3 road win at Army. Liam McLinskey is averaging nearly a point per game to pace the offense, at 8-5-13 through 14 games. The Crusaders are, once again, the most-penalized team in Atlantic Hockey, but currently boast the league's second-best penalty kill, at 87.7% (50-for-57).

PREVIOUSLY AGAINST HOLY CROSS
It has only been a month since the two teams met for a pair of games at Martire Family Arena on Oct. 25-26. SHU came away with four of six points on its home ice. The Pios carried a 1-0 lead into the third period on Friday, but a power-play goal from Jack Stockfish and then an overtime winner from Liam McLinskey turned it into a 2-1 (OT) win for Holy Cross. Saturday's game was tied 1-1 through 40 minutes, before Reid Pabich notched the game-winner at 8:15 of the third, for a 2-1 SHU victory.

ALL-TIME SERIES
One of SHU's most-played opponents, the two sides are rapidly closing in on 100 all-time meetings, and have played each other fairly even throughout. Holy Cross holds a 47-42-6 advantage in 95 contests, including 35-34-5 through 74 Atlantic Hockey meetings. The Hart Center has been something of a problem for the Pioneers, who are just 16-26-2 in 44 all-time trips to Holy Cross' home rink.

UP NEXT
SHU will wrap up the season's first half with a busy, three-game week next week. The Pioneers host their final home game of the calendar year on Tuesday, Dec. 3, with Army in town for a 7 p.m. puck drop. SHU then heads to Canisius for a pair of games Dec. 6-7, heading into the break.