FAIRFIELD, Conn. – A classic Connecticut Ice Championship contest at Martire Family Arena was decided just 5:56 into the first period on a scramble and a rebound around the crease that resulted in a UConn goal.

The Sacred Heart Men's Hockey Team limited the Huskies, who are No. 4 in the Pairwise rankings, to 17 shots but couldn't solve goalie Tyler Muszelik, who made 23 saves and earned tournament most outstanding player status.

Pioneer sophomore goalie Cullen DeYoung, who gave up just three tallies on the weekend, including two on power plays, had another outstanding night in net with 16 saves. That number was insignificant, other than a testament to SHU's fine defensive commitment, it was DeYoung's demeanor in the face of great pressure from a nationally ranked team concealing great lineup weapons.

"We really pushed the pace on them and ultimately it came down to a game of bounces," said DeYoung, who came up big when his team needed it and the 4,177 fans let him know how much they appreciated it.

The guy on the bench in charge of the host team felt good about what he saw tonight.

"That was a great hockey game, up and down. The physicality was there, great goaltending on both sides," said SHU Head Coach CJ Marottolo, whose team leads Atlantic Hockey America and begins its conference stretch run next weekend at Niagara. "We felt the energy from the crowd all night and it drove us. Obviously, we would have liked a better outcome, but I couldn't be prouder of their effort. That's a great hockey team over there that can go far this year, but this proves that we have what it takes to go toe-for-toe with anyone in the country."

SHU had its chances for the equalizer despite having just one power play. The Pios had 10 shots on target in the middle frame that included a couple of grade A looks. Junior Hobey Baker nominee Felix Trudeau, who earned a spot on the all-tournament team along with classmate defenseman Mikey Adamson, led the team with three shots on Muszelik. The problem for Sacred Heart was the limited second chances.

Adamson, who had a goal and four points last night, had the puck on his stick in the high slot with under 10 seconds to play and snapped off a shot that was blocked by a Husky, ending the host team's hopes for an upset.

The Pio defense limited a UConn team that knocked off Quinnipiac yesterday to one shot on target in tonight's third period, even with a man advantage.

"The hockey gods weren't looking down on us tonight. We bent but didn't break; it wasn't for lack of effort or chances today. We had a terrific third period and only allowed one shot in the third. We brought everything we had tonight. We can go special places this year," said Marottolo.

Sacred Heart finished the tournament with eight goals (against Yale last night) on 51 shots while playing in front of two packed houses on a glorious CT Ice weekend.
 
 
2025 CT ICE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM 
POS TEAM              NAME 
F      Sacred Heart           Felix Trudeau (2 GP, 1 G, 2, AST, 3 PTS) 
F      Quinnipiac               Travis Treloar (2 GP, 2 G, 1 AST, 3 PTS) 
F      Connecticut            Ryan Tattle (2 GP, 2 G, 0 AST, 2 PTS) 
D     Sacred Heart          Mikey Adamson (2 GP, 1 G, 3 AST, 4 PTS) 
D     Quinnipiac              Aaron Bohlinger (2 GP, 0 G, 1 AST, 1 PT, 5 Blocked Shots) 
G     Connecticut           Tyler Muszelik (2 GP, 59 SV, 1 GA) 
 
MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER 
G     Connecticut           Tyler Muszelik (2 GP, 59 SV, 1 GA)