SHU Game Notes

FAIRFIELD, Conn. - The Sacred Heart Men's Hockey Team (19-10-5, 16-7-3 AHA) will host Air Force (15-19-3, 11-13-2) in an Atlantic Hockey America Quarterfinal Playoff Series this weekend at Martire Family Arena. Game times for the best-of-three series are Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 5 or 7 p.m. and Sunday (if necessary) at 5 p.m. All games air live on FloSports TV.
 
The Pioneers, whose 19 wins are two short of the program record, were 6-5-1 at the end of Thanksgiving week before finishing the regular season with a 13-5-4 run. Their 53 conference points are the second most in school history, three shy of the CT Ice Champion 2019-20 squad that had its post season canceled by the pandemic.
 
Sacred Heart and Air Force split a weekend series in Fairfield in early January. The Pios won 3-0 before falling by the same score the next day. The Falcons have won five of the seven games against SHU in the AHA post season.
 
SHU, seeking its first conference tournament title, is coming off a 2-0 home win against Bentley on Feb. 22, the first time the Pios have finished a regular season with a shutout victory.
 
Sacred Heart has been led offensively by junior forward and Hobey Baker nominee Felix Trudeau, who has 15 goals and 38 points and is on a five-game point streak. Trudeau is currently fourth in the Hobey fan voting. Junior forward Reid Pabich has 11 tallies and a four-game point streak heading into the playoffs, while his classmate, Mikey Adamson, a candidate for the Walter Brown Award, leads Pio defenseman with 11 goals and 26 points. He leads the AHA with four game-winning goals, while his 11 scores are the most ever by a Sacred Heart blueliner.
 
SHU's Mike Richter Award Candidate Ajeet Gundarah has the top goal against (1.93) and save percentage (.934) in AHA; both are top 10 in Division I and would be Pio program records.
 
The Falcons, who beat Robert Morris 4-3 last Saturday night in the second overtime session, are 3-1-2 in their last six contests.