OCT. 13-14, 2022
SHU at Holy Cross
FloSports TV

Pioneer Game Notes


FAIRFIELD, Conn. - The Sacred Heart Men's Hockey Team begins conference play this week with a pair of road games against Holy Cross at Worcester. The Pioneers and Crusaders have 7 p.m. puck drops on Thursday and Friday at the Hart Center that air live on FloSports.

SERIES
SHU and Holy Cross have played 80 times with the Crusaders holding a 40-35-5 edge. The last Pioneers win was 4-1 last February at Worcester when Neil Shea had two goals and an assist and John Jaworski had a goal. Justin Robbins stopped 19 of 20 shots to earn the win in net.

PIONEERS 
First-year forward Aidan Connolly scored his first career goal to tie the score 1-1 in the second period, but No. 16 Providence reeled off three goals late in the middle frame on the way to a 6-1 decision at Schneider Rink last Friday in the season opener for both teams. 

CRUSADERS
Holy Cross, which won a 3-2 exhibition game over Boston College, opened the season at North Dakota last  weekend and fell 6-0 and 4-1. Charlie Spence had the Crusader tally while three different teammates had time in the goal.

ROSTER
The SHU roster includes 15 forwards, 11 blueliners and four goalies, as well as players from eight states and four countries. There are four graduate students, nine seniors, five juniors, four sophomores and seven first years among the 29 players. 

MFA
The Martire Family Arena, the new home of Sacred Heart Hockey on the school's West Campus, officially opens on Jan. 15 with a game against Boston College.  Frank Martire '69, chairman of the school's board of trustees, and his wife, Marisa, gave $5 million toward the $75 million project. The family also has an equity interest in the National Hockey League's (NHL) Las Vegas Golden Knights. The new arena at SHU will include bowl and premium seating with suites and spectacular views of the ice and the hills outside through a smart glass system that is controlled to adapt to ambient light.

BEHIND THE BOARDS
SHU Hockey features a regular podcast called "Behind the Boards," which includes an interview with head coach CJ. Marottolo. Fans can catch it on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

WATCHING THE PIOS
SHU home and conference games air live on FloSports TV. Links for all games can be found on the team's website schedule.

ATLANTIC HOCKEY ASSOCIATION
The Pioneers, seeking their first regular or post-season AHA championship, have finished second in the standings three times, the last in 2019-20. That was one of the school's best teams, one that had its playoff run end because of the pandemic. SHU, which made it to the AHA Championship game in 2003-04 (lost to Holy Cross), has not been back to the final.

CT ICE IS ON CAMPUS THIS YEAR
The third edition of CT Ice is slated for Jan. 27-28 at Quinnipiac's People United Center. The tournament, featuring the four Division I schools in the Nutmeg State and conceived by SNY, had been played in Total Mortgage Arena as a neutral site. Now it will rotate through the four campus venues. Game times are 4 and 7:30 p.m. and air live on SNY  both days. SHU, which faces QU in game two the first day, won the inaugural event in 2020, the tournament was canceled the following winter and Quinnipiac took the 2022 title.