Army West Point at Sacred Heart
Jan. 5, 2023 - 7 p.m.
Total Mortgage Arena - Bridgeport, Conn.
FloSports TV
The Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team wraps up its 6.5-year residency in downtown Bridgeport on Thursday night, as Army West Point comes calling for an Atlantic Hockey matchup. The Pios put a four-game winning streak on the line in their first of two meetings this year with the Black Knights. Randy Brochu and Bryan Leitch have the call at 7 p.m., live on FloSports TV from Total Mortgage Arena.
LAST TIME OUT
One day after Thursday night's dramatic comeback, Friday afternoon was a little more by-the-book for SHU at Total Mortgage Arena. The Pios built a 3-0 lead through two periods and cruised to a 4-1 victory to finish off a four-game season sweep of visiting Mercyhurst. Ryan Steele had a goal and an assist, while Kevin Lombardi dished out a pair of assists in the Atlantic Hockey contest.
A LOOK AT THE PIOS
SHU (10-7-1, 9-4-1 AHA) was winners of four in a row to close out the 2022 portion of its schedule and looks to keep things rolling into 2023. Three of the four victories came in Atlantic Hockey play, which snapped a three-game conference skid and has vaulted SHU into sole possession of second place heading into the new year. The Pioneers are just two points in back of first-place RIT, though the Tigers have two games in hand. Thursday night marks SHU's final home game at Harbor Yard, which has served as the team's primary home facility since the start of the 2016-17 campaign, and also hosted select games prior. The Pioneers hold a 39-59-14 record over 112 games of utilizing the arena as their home ice. Ryan Steele went for four points (2-2-4) in the sweep of Mercyhurst. Blake Humprhey's +11 is good for third in Atlantic Hockey.
SCOUTING THE BLACK KNIGHTS
Army West Point (6-10-2, 5-5-1 AHA) is tied-sixth in Atlantic Hockey and has lost three of its last four after a hot, 4-0-1 streak through the end of November and early December. The Black Knights were in action on Monday, when they dropped a 5-1, non-conference decision on the road at Yale. Thursday will be Army's first AHA action since splitting a pair at Mercyhurst on Dec. 9-10. The Lakers posted a 4-3 win on Friday night, while Army bounced back with a 3-2 (OT) win on Saturday, with John Keranen providing the overtime winner. Max Itagaki (2-15-17) leads seven Black Knights in double-digit points, and his 15 assists are good for second in the AHA. Army boasts two of the top five shot blockers in the league, in Noah Wilson (37, T-2nd) and Anthony Firriolo (35, T-4th). Gavin Abric is fourth in Atlantic Hockey in saves per game (28.08).
LAST MEETING
SHU took five of a possible six points from a home-and-home in February, when the two teams closed out the 2021-22 regular season. On Feb. 25 in Bridgeport, Neil Shea had two goals and an assist, while Braeden Tuck dished out three helpers in a 5-2 Sacred Heart victory. The following night at West Point, the two teams combined for six first-period goals, and SHU erased a 6-2 second-period deficit on the way to a wild, 6-6 (OT) tie. The Pioneers claimed the extra point in the shootout, 1-0.
ALL-TIME SERIES
The all-time series between the two sides dates all the way back to SHU's Division II days, and the Black Knights (83 meetings) are SHU's third most-common opponent, behind Holy Cross (87) and Bentley (84). Army holds a slim, 37-33-13 advantage across the 83 contests. The Pios have had success against Army on home ice, to the tune of a 21-10-6 record, though the advantage is just 4-3-2 in nine all-time meetings at Harbor Yard. SHU is 2-0-1 in its last three against Army, but the Black Knights hold a 6-2-2 edge over the last 10 meetings.
DON'T CALL IT A... OKAY, YOU CAN CALL IT A COMEBACK
On Dec. 29, the Pios erased a 3-0 deficit early in the third period, and rallied to a 4-3 (OT) win at home against Mercyhurst, courtesy of third-period goals from Marcus Joughin, Ryan Steele and Patrick Dawson, plus an overtime winner from Neil Shea. It marked the first time SHU erased a three-goal deficit and won since Nov. 22, 2013 at Army, when the Pios trailed 3-0 early and 5-3 after two, before rallying for a 6-5 win in regulation. The last time Sacred Heart trailed by three in the third period and still won? Nov. 4, 2006, also against Mercyhurst, at the Milford Ice Pavilion. In that game, the Pios trailed 4-0 with just five minutes to play, but came back for a 5-4 (OT) victory.
NOT ALLOWING MUCH
Luke Lush is currently second in Atlantic Hockey in goals-against average (2.45) and fifth in save percentage (.908), and is one of four AHA goalies to rank in the top five of both categories. Interestingly, two of the other three netminders also rank in the top five in the league in saves per game, which Lush decidedly does not. The SHU goaltender is 10th and last, among qualifying goalies, at 22.53 saves per game. Add all these facts together, and it means the SHU defense is limiting opposition shots and chances, while Lush is dealing well with what does get through to him.
