Sacred Heart Athletics reported on Sept. 9 that the Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) announced that the start of the 2020-21 collegiate Division 1 hockey season will be delayed. The men’s and women’s ice hockey teams are impacted by this decision.
“Our team had a feeling that the decision to delay would be forthcoming. We were all disappointed, but in lieu of what is going on in the world, we were not surprised,” said CJ Marottolo, head coach of the men’s ice hockey team.
The men’s season ended in March, shortly after their claimed championship title at the first ever Connecticut Ice Hockey Tournament.
The women’s season also ended in March after they were named New England Women’s Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) regular season champions.
“We had a great season last year, going 21-11, which included a 18-2 record against our league opponents,” said Thomas O’Malley, head coach of the women’s ice hockey team.
Senior captain of the women’s team, Jordan Sanislo, was also disappointed about the news of the season being delayed.
“It did raise some uncertainty, but it was still reassuring as they delayed the start of the season, rather some schools have been called off the entire season”, said Sanislo.
COVID-19 has changed the way both teams function, but the Pioneers are still staying active in preparation for their seasons.
O’Malley mentioned that the women’s team is also in phase one, which consists of strength and conditioning workouts at the William H. Pitt center on campus at Sacred Heart.
“Our guys right now are in the middle of phase one, which is to prevent them from having an injury,” said Marottol. “This is because most gyms around the country and Canada were closed during quarantine in March.”
The team’s focal point during the preseason is to build up their momentum for the upcoming season.
“The main focus for this upcoming season is to create a positive team culture, and grow together making us stronger both on and off the ice,” said Sanislo.
Coach O’Malley hopes to have the women’s team pick up right where they left off from last season. This means getting back to the playoffs and continuing onto winning the Championship.
“Our goals this upcoming season is to get better every day, be accountable to each other on every level and have a fun year together,” said Marottolo.
The men’s team is playing at the Webster Bank arena and the women’s team is playing at the Sports Center of Connecticut. On Jan. 25, 2020 Sacred Heart released an article stating that there would be a new ice hockey arena at West Campus, where it will be the home of the Division one men’s and women’s hockey teams, the figure skating team, and the men’s club hockey team.
“The team is very excited about the new arena. It is going to make things better for our program from day to day practicing and playing in our own on campus arena,” said O’Malley. “There would be various amenities that go along with it including the state-of-the-art locker room, athletic training facility, equipment room, and many more.”
Sanislo is excited about the new arena opening, as it will bring more attention to the Women’s hockey team because it will be on campus.
“It is a very exciting time to be involved with SHU hockey. I believe the atmosphere at our new arena will be electric and will make for one of our best college hockey atmospheres in all of college hockey,” said Marottolo.
