FAIRFIELD, Conn. – It was the night the Martire Family Arena crowd had been waiting for since the building's opening a week ago. Tied with 20 minutes to play, the Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team poured it on in the third period and sent a third straight sellout crowd, of 4296, into party mode for the final 10 minutes. Daniel Ebrahim (Brooklin, Ontario) played hero for the second straight night, while Kevin Lombardi (Schwenksville, Pa.) scored twice, as the Pioneers finished off a season sweep of Holy Cross, 4-1.
The game was tied 1-1 through 40 minutes, but the final 20 belonged to Sacred Heart. It started at the 3:12 mark, after Brendan Kennette (Windsor, Ontario) worked deep into the left-wing corner and dropped a pass for Ebrahim, along the boards, outside the lower part of the left circle. Ebrahim – who had the shootout winner on Friday night – put a sharp-angle shot right through Holy Cross goaltender Thomas Gale, for his fourth goal of the season, which would stand as the game-winner.
It took the Pios just 4:26 to find an insurance marker, with their second power-play tally of the night. Off an attempt near the right post, John Jaworski (Grinnell, Iowa) wound up pushing the puck through the slot and into the middle of the left circle. Conner Hutchison (Hicksville, N.Y.) stepped into the circle, stepped into his shot and rocketed his third of the campaign into the top-right corner.
Lombardi tacked on an empty-netter at 18:33, off a giftwrapped turnover from the Holy Cross defense, to cap things off and create the 4-1 final.
"Obviously very proud of our group tonight," said head coach C.J. Marottolo after the game. "It was a really hard-fought game. Our power play came up big with some big goals… Really proud getting five of six points at home. A lot to build off of going into next week."
Earlier in the night, both teams seemed determined to set the tone with some physicality, with bodies flying all around the rink in the first period. SHU posted a 7-4 advantage in shots in the opening frame, but it was visiting Holy Cross which notched the only goal, late in the stanza. Matt Shatsky took a shot from the left point, which deflected off of Tyler Ghirardosi and in at the 18:07 mark, for the latter's fifth of the season.
It would take SHU some time to answer, as the game remained 1-0 into the waning seconds of the middle stanza. The Pios capitalized on a late power-play chance, courtesy of Lombardi's first of the night, which was his eighth of the year. From deep in the left corner, Ryan Steele (Stratford, Prince Edward Island) found a seam to the left hash marks for Lombardi, who quickly sniped the top-right corner, with just 4.2 seconds remaining in the frame. His fourth goal in the last five games got the sellout crowd buzzing and set the stage for the fun to come in the third.
"It was an awesome experience playing in front of this crowd," said Lombardi after the game. "It's something I've never experienced before. Every little play, the place erupts. We definitely have an advantage here at home."
Luke Lush (Sherwood Park, Alberta) finished with 22 saves against 23 shots to pick up the win (10-8-2) in the SHU crease. Gale (1-8-2) made 21 stops against 24 shots in a losing effort for Holy Cross.
SHU ventures back out of conference next week, for the CT Ice tournament, to be hosted by Quinnipiac on Jan. 27-28. The Pios will square off with the host Bobcats at 7 p.m. on Friday night in Hamden, Conn.
