With the college hockey regular season winding down, the men’s ice hockey team is preparing for a postseason push, aiming to capture its first Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) championship.
The Pioneers will enter the postseason on March 3 with revenge on their minds after falling in last year’s semifinals to Bentley University. Senior captain Mikey Adamson believes the group has the roster and culture to make a championship run.
“We want to get it done this year and believe that we have the team to do it,” said Adamson. “We’re proud of the culture that we have built here and think it’s going to be a really good playoff for us.”
Sacred Heart strengthened its postseason positioning with a strong win against Bentley on Feb. 13 and a weekend sweep over the College of the Holy Cross on Feb. 20-21. This rewarded the Pioneers with earning nine of 12 possible points to climb the tightly contested AHA standings.
Heading into the final weekend of conference play, Sacred Heart is tied with Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) for the number two seed with 42 points. Coach C.J. Marottolo believes his team is peaking at the right time heading into a critical regular-season finale at Army on Feb. 27-28.
“Since we came back from Christmas break, I feel like we’ve been playing a much better brand of hockey,” said Marottolo. “In all three zones, we have been playing very connected, and our recent games have given us belief in what we will be if we play together.”
Senior forward Felix Trudeau has led the offensive surge, ranking first in the conference and tied for second nationally with 22 goals this season. He is five goals shy of Sacred Heart’s single-season record, currently held by Nick Johnson.
Source: Josh Gee, ‘26
Senior captain Reid Pabich recorded four goals of his own last weekend and his first collegiate hat trick on Feb. 21. Pabich, who transferred alongside Trudeau from the University of Maine to Sacred Heart before the 2024-25 season, said Trudeau’s breakout campaign came as no surprise.
“Even in our freshman year, I knew he would break out into the player he has become,” said Pabich. “He has an incredible shot, and we came here together for a reason. He’s my brother on and off the ice.”
While the Pioneers’ offense has powered them through much of the regular season, Marottolo believes the difference-maker in the postseason will be the goaltending tandem of sophomore Ajeet Gundarah and first-year Teagan Kendrick.
Gundarah, who ranked in the top 10 nationally in save percentage and goals-against average during his freshman season, continued his strong play into his second year before an injury sidelined him. Kendrick stepped in and excelled, creating competition for the starting role as the playoffs approach. However, Gundarah started both games in the Holy Cross series, saving 55 of 58 shots on goal.
“It’s never a bad thing when you have to make a decision between two goalies of their caliber,” said Marottolo. “Whoever is in the crease, we believe they’re one of the best goalies in the league. It’s a tremendous luxury to have as a coach.”
While their postseason seed and first-round opponent will not be determined until after the series against Army, Pabich and the Pioneers are confident that if they play their brand of hockey, they can make a deep run toward a championship.
“When opposing teams play Sacred Heart, we want them to know that it’s not going to be an easy game,” said Pabich. “We want to leave the program in a better place than we found it and really love playing with one another.”
