SHU GAME NOTES
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart Men's Hockey Team (21-11-5) is home again this weekend for another Atlantic Hockey America playoff series. Bentley comes to Martire Family Arena for a semifinal, best-of-three that sends a team to the 2025 Championship Game. Puck drop on Friday is 7 p.m., while Saturday and Sunday (if needed) games start at 5 p.m. All the action airs live on FloSports TV.
The No. 2 seed Pios, seeking their first conference tournament title, are coming off a series win over Air Force at home in last weekend's quarterfinals. SHU beat the Falcons, 4-1, and then fell in double OT, 3-2, before taking the decisive contest, 4-1, on Sunday. This is their first semifinal appearance since 2010.
Bentley (20-14-2), also nicknamed the Falcons, swept its home series with Canisius 4-0 and 2-0, so the team was able to kick back and enjoy some "chowda" while watching SHU skate past Air Force in game three knowing it was in the semifinal for the first time since 2009.
There are a lot of standouts to mention on both sides, but the two netminders are getting most of the spotlight. Bentley junior Connor Hasley (1.98, .923), who has played in 32 of the 36 games, leads the country with 10 shutouts, the third most in NCAA history, while SHU's
Ajeet Gundarah tops all freshmen in Division I with a 1.85 goals against and a .937 save percentage, both of which rank among the top 10 nationally for all goalies.
Co-captain
John Jaworski led the Pios with two goals and four points last weekend, while
Tyler Ghirardosi and
Reid Pabich each chipped in a pair of goals and three points. During the series, co-captain
Hunter Sansbury became the conference's all-time leader in blocked shots, getting his body on 15 against Air Force.
Bentley, with a program-best 20 wins (as a Division I team), took two of the three regular-season meetings with SHU in 2024-25. The Falcons won 4-2 on Nov. 1 at Waltham and then 6-4 at Fairfield the following night. The Pios won 2-0 on Feb. 22 at Martire Family Arena on Senior Night.
The single game AHA Championship is Saturday, March 22, hosted by the higher seed.
