Box Score FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The "Ides of March" were not good to Julius Caeser or the Sacred Heart Men's Hockey Team, which had its 2024-25 season end today in game two of the Atlantic Hockey America Semifinal Series at Martire Family Arena.

In a classic goaltending competition, Bentley outlasted the Pioneers 3-0 to take the series in two straight. SHU freshman netminder Ajeet Gundarah, who ends the season with a school record 1.36 goals against and a .936 save percentage, stopped 33 of the 34 shots, while Connor Hasley turned aside all 26 Pio shots. The Falcons made it very difficult to get pucks through their defense, blocking 19 shots and earning their Division I best 11^th shutout of the season.

The Falcons scored just 56 seconds after the puck drop on a loose puck in the slot that was scooped up by a Bentley forward and fired past a pile of Pios. It was a goal that would hold up the rest of the game. That start helped the visitors grab a 10-7 edge in shots on goal at the break. It also caused more anxiety in the SHU end. In fact, during one scramble sequence late in the first, the Pios' All-AHA tender faced five short-range shots and made four saves to keep it a one-goal contest.

Sacred Heart players also did a fine job of getting their bodies on shots, finishing with 15 blocks. Blueliners John Driscoll and Hunter Sansbury, who has the all-time AHA record with 320, combined for nine.

For the second straight night, the visitors got a five-minute power play. On Friday it turned the game around for Bentley with two tallies. Tonight, Gundarah and his penalty-kill units came through to keep it 1-0 in the first five minutes of the second period. The rookie netminder finished the middle frame with 16 saves.

The Pios pulled Gundarah with 2:16 left in the third and quickly gave up an empty netter to cushion the slim lead. The Falcons added another without a goalie with 16 seconds left to clinch a spot in next Saturday's championship game against either Holy Cross or Army.

Meanwhile, Sacred Heart must be proud of its overall campaign. Head coach CJ Marottolo and his staff took a roster full of new faces to a program best 21 wins and a Pio high of No. 21 in the Pairwise, while earning their first semifinal appearance in 15 years.