Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey

Last updated
Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey
Hockey current event.svg Current season
Sacred Heart Pioneers logo.svg
University Sacred Heart University
Conference AHA
Head coach C. J. Marottolo
16th season, 18829155 (.404)
Assistant coaches
  • Scott McDougall
  • Craig Height
Arena Martire Family Arena
Bridgeport, Connecticut
ColorsRed and white [1]
   

The Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Sacred Heart University. The Pioneers are a member of Atlantic Hockey. They play at the Martire Family Arena in Fairfield, Connecticut. [2] From 1993-2016, the Pioneers home arena was the Milford Ice Pavilion in Milford, Connecticut.

Contents

History

Division III

Sacred Heart began sponsoring men's ice hockey as a varsity sport in 1993. The team was placed in the South Division of ECAC North/South/Central and because they were not able to schedule all of their ECAC South opponents twice the Pioneers played half a conference schedule in their inaugural year. With a full conference slate the following year, Sacred Heart greatly improved their record which continued in year three.

For the 1996–97 season Shaun Hannah was brought in as head coach and the Pioneers finished with their first winning record and 2nd in the division, narrowly missing the conference postseason.

In the late 1990s the MAAC was mandated to form an ice hockey conference. Two of the ECAC South programs would have to promote themselves to Division I and soon after they were joined by Sacred Heart. With an eye for their new conference, Hannah began offering scholarships to incoming students, a violation of Division III rules, which caused the Pioneers (along with two other ECAC South teams) to be ruled ineligible for any postseason play. Additionally all of their conference games would not be counted in the standings, through they would still be able to play the matches and count the results towards their overall standings.

MAAC

Despite the influx of scholarship athletes, Sacred Heart finished 7th in the first year of MAAC conference play. The team rebounded in the second year, doubling their win total and finishing with a winning record. Postseason success was a little slower in coming with the Pioneers unable to win a playoff game until year 4 of D-I play. During the 2002–03 season Iona and Fairfield, the two original MAAC programs, both announced that they would end their sponsorship of ice hockey at the end of the season. With only one full-time member still active the MAAC terminated their ice hockey division. The remaining 9 programs banded together and formed Atlantic Hockey which began the following year.

Atlantic Hockey

Sacred Heart played well for the first few years of Atlantic Hockey, reaching the championship game in 2004 and 2010 but after Hannah left in 2009, the team took a tumble down the standings. From 2011 through 2018 the Pioneers never finished higher than 8th in the conference. Bench boss C. J. Marottolo was finally able to push the Pioneers out of the basement in 2019 with a 4th-place finish, ending 1 win shy of .500 on the year.

A game between Sacred Heart and Army in 2012 NCAA Hockey- Sacred Heart University at Army (8200644031).jpg
A game between Sacred Heart and Army in 2012

The school announced in 2020 that it would build a $60 million facility for its men's and women's ice hockey programs. [3] After a delayed start, construction began on the Martire Family Arena in March of 2021, with a new scheduled completion date of 2023 and a new price tag of $70 million. Martire Family Arena will be the first on-campus ice arena for Sacred Heart. [4]

Season-by-season results

Records vs. current Atlantic Hockey teams

As of the completion of 2018–19 season [5]

SchoolTeamAway ArenaOverall recordWin %Last Result
Air Force Academy Falcons Cadet Ice Arena 12–23–7.3692-2 T
American International College Yellow Jackets MassMutual Center 30–21–7.5781-4 L
Army West Point Black Knights Tate Rink 23–26–10.4753-3 T
Bentley University Falcons Bentley Arena 32–26–6.5472-3 L
Canisius College Golden Griffins LECOM Harborcenter 19–25–8.4422-3 L
College of the Holy Cross Crusaders Hart Center 29–36–5.4501-4 L
Mercyhurst University Lakers Mercyhurst Ice Center 24–27–5.4730-3 L
Niagara University Purple Eagles Dwyer Arena 8–13–2.3916-3 W
Robert Morris University Colonials Colonials Arena 3–23–1.1303-1 W
Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers Gene Polisseni Center 13–27–2.3331-3 L

Coaches

As of completion of 2023–24 season

TenureCoachYearsRecordPct.
1993–1994 Pete Downey 14–15–0.211
1994–1996 John Glynne 221–25–2.458
1996–2009 Shaun Hannah 13191–204–38.485
2009–Present C. J. Marottolo 15188–291–55.404
Totals4 coaches31 seasons404–535–95.437

Statistical leaders

Career points leaders

PlayerYearsGPGAPtsPIM
Pierre-Luc O'Brien 2003–20071426791158141
Bear Trapp 2005–20091395699155228
Martin Paquet 1999–20031296577142198
Alexandre Parent 2004–20081435487141105
Dave Jarman 2006–20101474787134122
Garrett Larson 2001–20051395569124233
Justin Danforth 2013–20171474282124125
Eric Delong 2009–2013143467211865
Matt Gingera 2008–20121426148109113
Lloyd Marks 1998–20021204960109138

Career goaltending leaders

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Minimum 30 games

PlayerYearsGPMinWLTGASOSV%GAA
Josh Benson 2018–Present573298331751385.9022.51
Eddy Ferhi 1999–20038851603635131267.9172.63
Jason Smith 2003–2007714291382941962.9122.74
Brett Magnus 2015–201910964383956123145.9042.93
Kevin LaPointe 2001–2005714162283472143.9023.08

Statistics current through the start of the 2020-21 season.

Current roster

As of September 15, 2023. [6]

No. S/P/CPlayerClassPosHeightWeightDoBHometownPrevious teamNHL rights
1 Flag of Massachusetts.svg Jack O'DeaJunior G 5' 9" (1.75 m)148 lb (67 kg)2000-09-07 Brighton, Massachusetts Bridgton  ( USHS–ME )
3 Flag of Minnesota.svg Grant AndersonSenior D 6' 2" (1.88 m)180 lb (82 kg)1999-09-15 Plymouth, Minnesota Omaha  ( USHL )
4 Flag of Missouri.svg Blake DangosSophomore D 5' 10" (1.78 m)174 lb (79 kg)2002-04-08 St. Louis, Missouri Arizona State  ( NCAA )
5 Flag of Massachusetts.svg Andrius Kulbis-MarinoJunior D 6' 0" (1.83 m)184 lb (83 kg)2000-02-16 Methuen, Massachusetts Maine  ( NAHL )
6 Flag of Massachusetts.svg Mikey AdamsonSophomore D 5' 9" (1.75 m)170 lb (77 kg)2001-08-16 Quincy, Massachusetts Massachusetts  ( HEA )
7 Flag of Connecticut.svg Garrett SundquistJunior D 6' 3" (1.91 m)205 lb (93 kg)2001-07-17 South Glastonbury, Connecticut Providence  ( HEA )
8 Flag of California.svg Hunter SansburyJunior D 5' 11" (1.8 m)180 lb (82 kg)2000-10-08 Lomita, California Salmon Arm  ( BCHL )
9 Flag of Ontario.svg Daniel EbrahimJunior F 5' 11" (1.8 m)180 lb (82 kg)2000-07-12 Brooklin, Ontario Jersey  (NCDC)
10 Flag of Japan.svg Chikara HanzawaSophomore F 5' 6" (1.68 m)160 lb (73 kg)2001-07-12 Tokyo, Japan South Shore  (NCDC)
11 Flag of Ontario.svg Tyler SpottGraduate D 5' 11" (1.8 m)175 lb (79 kg)2000-06-17 Toronto, Ontario Northeastern  ( HEA )
12 Flag of Pennsylvania.svg Kevin LombardiGraduate F 6' 5" (1.96 m)230 lb (104 kg)1998-08-12 Schwenksville, Pennsylvania Sioux City  ( USHL )
13 Flag of Massachusetts.svg T. J. WalshGraduate F 5' 8" (1.73 m)175 lb (79 kg)2000-04-29 Shrewsbury, Massachusetts Rensselaer  ( ECAC )
14 Flag of Ontario.svg Brendan KennetteSophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m)190 lb (86 kg)2002-06-09 Windsor, Ontario Brooks  ( AJHL )
16 Flag of New Jersey.svg Dylan RobbinsSophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m)175 lb (79 kg)2001-08-29 Alpine, New Jersey Chicago  ( USHL )
17 Flag of Massachusetts.svg Aidan ConnollySophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m)185 lb (84 kg)2001-10-05 Marshfield, Massachusetts Maine  ( NAHL )
18 Flag of Iowa.svg John JaworskiSenior F 5' 10" (1.78 m)165 lb (75 kg)2000-03-20 Grinnell, Iowa Chicago  ( USHL )
19 Flag of Connecticut.svg Jake BongoFreshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m)170 lb (77 kg)2002-02-04 Ridgefield, Connecticut Surrey  ( BCHL )
20 Flag of New York.svg Blake HumphreySophomore F 5' 8" (1.73 m)162 lb (73 kg)2002-01-18 Syracuse, New York Sioux Falls  ( USHL )
21 Flag of Massachusetts.svg Brendan DumasFreshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m)185 lb (84 kg)2002-08-28 North Attleborough, Massachusetts New Jersey  ( NAHL )
22 Flag of New York.svg Conner HutchisonJunior D 5' 10" (1.78 m)170 lb (77 kg)2000-06-02 Hicksville, New York Tri-City  ( USHL )
23 Flag of Alberta.svg Braeden TuckGraduate F 6' 1" (1.85 m)170 lb (77 kg)1998-04-15 Calgary, Alberta Trail  ( BCHL )
24 Flag of Florida.svg Mark CheremetaGraduate F 5' 11" (1.8 m)185 lb (84 kg)1999-07-12 Parkland, Florida Ohio State  ( Big Ten )
25 Flag of Ontario.svg Dante FantauzziSenior D 6' 2" (1.88 m)195 lb (88 kg)2000-05-01 North York, Ontario Sioux Falls  ( USHL )
26 Flag of Alberta.svg Liam IzykGraduate F 6' 1" (1.85 m)187 lb (85 kg)1998-12-27 Blackie, Alberta Boston College  ( HEA )
27 Flag of Ontario.svg Cole GalataFreshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m)175 lb (79 kg)2002-03-18 Barrie, Ontario Surrey  ( BCHL )
28 Flag of Ontario.svg Marcus JoughinSophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m)180 lb (82 kg)2001-07-05 Tecumseh, Ontario West Kelowna  ( BCHL )
29 Flag of Ontario.svg Rylee HlusiakFreshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m)175 lb (79 kg)2002-06-03 Barrie, Ontario West Kelowna  ( BCHL )
31 Flag of New Jersey.svg Justin RobbinsGraduate G 5' 8" (1.73 m)160 lb (73 kg)1999-03-10 Alpine, New Jersey Arizona State  (NCAA)
32 Flag of New York.svg Chase ClarkSophomore G 6' 6" (1.98 m)208 lb (94 kg)2002-04-08 Williamsville, New York Quinnipiac  ( ECAC ) WSH , 183rd overall  2021
33 Flag of Michigan.svg Cullen DeYoungFreshman G 5' 10" (1.78 m)165 lb (75 kg)2002-02-03 Canton, Michigan Northeast  ( NAHL )

Awards and honors

NCAA

AHCA Second Team All-Americans


MAAC

Individual awards

All-Conference Teams

First Team All-MAAC

Second team all-maac

MAAC All-Rookie Team


Atlantic Hockey

Individual awards

All-Conference Teams

First Team All-Atlantic Hockey

Second Team All-Atlantic Hockey

Third Team All-Atlantic Hockey

Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team

Pioneers in the NHL

As of December 26, 2023.