FAIRFIELD, Conn. – It was a night quite literally years in the making. The Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team opened the sparkling new Martire Family Arena on Saturday night before a sold-out crowd of 4103, with a date with No. 19/20 Boston College. The two teams traded blows throughout regulation, which ended in a 2-2 tie. BC played spoiler in overtime, courtesy of Marshall Warren's game-winner, but it could do little to dampen the festive atmosphere in Fairfield, as the Pios finally have a home to call their own.
"It was a terrific college hockey atmosphere. The fans were great, and our guys fed off them," said C.J. Marottolo, the Pioneers' head coach, after the game. "I couldn't be happier for our university to have a kickoff like this. Our expectation is to win close games like this, so we are not satisfied with the outcome. Our guys played hard, and I was so proud of their effort."
With the loss, SHU falls to 11-9-1, while BC improves to 9-6-4. The game was the first ever meeting between the two teams.
When all the pregame pomp and circumstance subsided, the assembled crowd at the Martire Family Arena settled in for what turned into a quiet-ish inaugural period. Sacred Heart posted a 10-7 advantage in shots in the frame, but neither side could find the back of the net.
The SHU power play factored in on both second-period goals, though it would be one for each side. At the 2:07 mark, the power-play unit made sure SHU scored the first-ever goal in its new barn. From the right side, Kevin Lombardi (Schwenksville, Pa.) sent the puck into the left circle for Marcus Joughin (Tecumseh, Ontario), who immediately sent it up top for Conner Hutchison (Hicksville, N.Y.). Hutchison put a shot into traffic and wound up with his second goal of the season, after the puck deflected off the BC defense and into the net.
"It was a unique feeling. We were wondering who would score the first goal," said Hutchison after the game. "You want to be that guy. I just got fortunate enough. I took a shot from the point, and it went in. It was an unbelievable feeling. I blacked out during the celebration… [The environment] was surreal in general. Everyone had chills in warmups. Unbelievable crowd and noise level."
(Photo credit: Greg Vasil.)
However, the power play giveth and the power play taketh away, as SHU learned later in the stanza. After forcing a neutral-zone turnover, Andre Gasseau sprung himself in all alone and put a shot to the top-right corner for his fourth of the campaign, shorthanded, at 15:20.
BC jumped to a 2-1 lead just 32 seconds into the third period. Things turned into a bit of a fire drill in front of the SHU net, before Trevor Kuntar eventually finished things off for his ninth of the year.
SHU evened things back up at 7:27, after Julian Kislin (Manalapan, N.J.) fired wide from the right point. The rebound came all the way back to the left point for Patrick Dawson (Medway, Mass.), who immediately put it back towards the net. Lombardi was en route and had the redirect for his seventh of the year.
It was BC which had the final word on opening night though, in the 3-on-3 overtime. Off a faceoff in the right-wing circle, Liam Izyk and Andre Gasseau combined to work the puck into the middle for Marshall Warren, who did not miss. The senior's second of the season sent the Eagles away winners in overtime.
Luke Lush (Sherwood Park, Alberta) finished with 24 saves against 27 shots and suffered the loss (9-8-1) in the SHU crease. Mitch Benson (9-6-4) stopped 23 of 25 shots at the other end for BC.
The Pios are back home again next week, for their first Atlantic Hockey series in the new digs, as Holy Cross comes to town on Jan. 20-21. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. both nights at the Martire Family Arena.
