Concluding their regular season at 19-10-5 overall and 15-7-3 in conference play, the men’s hockey team gained the No. 2 seed of the Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) playoffs. This earned the Pioneers a bye into the quarter-final and guaranteed home ice advantage until the championship game, if they advance.
“Our goal at the beginning of the year was to finish as high as we can possibly be seeded in the AHA standings,” said head coach C.J. Marottolo. “That gives us the best opportunity to have success in the playoffs.”
Source: Jayden Hunter, Staff Writer and Photographer
The quarter finals began on March 7, with the United States Air Force Academy being the Pioneers’ first opponent in their playoff run. Coming into the matchup, the Pioneers split their regular season games against Air Force with one win and one loss.
In game one of a best of three series, the Pioneers came out with the win, courtesy of two goals from grad student Tyler Ghirardosi, a goal and assist from graduate student John Jaworski, and key blocks and defense from senior Hunter Sansbury.
“When the postseason comes, the games get tighter, teams are more dialed into their details. Everyone fine tunes their games; less mistakes are made. You also notice a higher commitment from their players. More teams lay out for block shots, take a hit, make a hit and the teams become better during the postseason,” said Sansbury.
Game two on the following day was a tough battle between the two teams and led to a double overtime loss to the Air Force. Freshman goalie Aljeet Gundurah recorded 55 saves, which is third in program history. The loss forced a game three between the two teams.
“The key to this series is going to be us doing what we do well, we will continue to play towards our identity, we are great at what we do on the ice, and we will continue that during this series,” said Marottolo.
In game three, the attitude and momentum shifted after both teams knew that each program’s respective season would come to an end after the series closing game.
After a scoreless first period, Jaworski opened the scoring with a goal in the second period. Running off the lead, the Pioneers’ added three more goals to cap off a 4-1 win and quarter-final victory over Air Force.
The series win advances the Pioneers into the semifinals against No. 3 Bentley University, who the Pioneers have history with. The Pioneers faced Bentley three times during regular season, losing two games and winning one.
The Pioneers will look to get back on the ice against Bentley on March 14 for the AHA semifinals at the Martire Family Arena.
Sacred Heart Athletics contributed to this article.
