Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey
Current season
Sacred Heart Pioneers athletic logo
UniversitySacred Heart University
ConferenceAHA
Head coachC. J. Marottolo
15th season, 174–272–52 (.402)
Assistant coaches
  • Scott McDougall
  • Craig Height
ArenaMartire 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.

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

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]

School Team Away Arena Overall record Win % Last Result
Air Force Academy Falcons Cadet Ice Arena 12–23–7 .369 2-2 T
American International College Yellow Jackets MassMutual Center 30–21–7 .578 1-4 L
Army West Point Black Knights Tate Rink 23–26–10 .475 3-3 T
Bentley University Falcons Bentley Arena 32–26–6 .547 2-3 L
Canisius College Golden Griffins LECOM Harborcenter 19–25–8 .442 2-3 L
College of the Holy Cross Crusaders Hart Center 29–36–5 .450 1-4 L
Mercyhurst University Lakers Mercyhurst Ice Center 24–27–5 .473 0-3 L
Niagara University Purple Eagles Dwyer Arena 8–13–2 .391 6-3 W
Robert Morris University Colonials Colonials Arena 3–23–1 .130 3-1 W
Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers Gene Polisseni Center 13–27–2 .333 1-3 L

Coaches

As of completion of 2022–23 season

Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
1993–1994Pete Downey14–15–0.211
1994–1996John Glynne221–25–2.458
1996–2009Shaun Hannah13191–204–38.485
2009–PresentC. J. Marottolo14174–272–52.402
Totals 4 coaches 30 seasons 390–516–92 .437

Statistical leaders

Career points leaders

Player Years GP G A Pts PIM
Pierre-Luc O'Brien 2003–2007 142 67 91 158 141
Bear Trapp 2005–2009 139 56 99 155 228
Martin Paquet 1999–2003 129 65 77 142 198
Alexandre Parent 2004–2008 143 54 87 141 105
Dave Jarman 2006–2010 147 47 87 134 122
Garrett Larson 2001–2005 139 55 69 124 233
Justin Danforth 2013–2017 147 42 82 124 125
Eric Delong 2009–2013 143 46 72 118 65
Matt Gingera 2008–2012 142 61 48 109 113
Lloyd Marks 1998–2002 120 49 60 109 138

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

Player Years GP Min W L T GA SO SV% GAA
Josh Benson2018–Present573298331751385.9022.51
Eddy Ferhi1999–20038851603635131267.9172.63
Jason Smith2003–2007714291382941962.9122.74
Brett Magnus2015–201910964383956123145.9042.93
Kevin LaPointe2001–2005714162283472143.9023.08

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

Current roster

As of September 15, 2023.[6]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Massachusetts Jack O'Dea Junior G 5' 9" (1.75 m) 148 lb (67 kg) 2000-09-07 Brighton, Massachusetts Bridgton (USHS–ME) —
3 Minnesota Grant Anderson Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-09-15 Plymouth, Minnesota Omaha (USHL) —
4 Missouri Blake Dangos Sophomore D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2002-04-08 St. Louis, Missouri Arizona State (NCAA) —
5 Massachusetts Andrius Kulbis-Marino Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 2000-02-16 Methuen, Massachusetts Maine (NAHL) —
6 Massachusetts Mikey Adamson Sophomore D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2001-08-16 Quincy, Massachusetts Massachusetts (HEA) —
7 Connecticut Garrett Sundquist Junior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2001-07-17 South Glastonbury, Connecticut Providence (HEA) —
8 California Hunter Sansbury Junior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2000-10-08 Lomita, California Salmon Arm (BCHL) —
9 Ontario Daniel Ebrahim Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2000-07-12 Brooklin, Ontario Jersey (NCDC) —
10 Japan Chikara Hanzawa Sophomore F 5' 6" (1.68 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 2001-07-12 Tokyo, Japan South Shore (NCDC) —
11 Ontario Tyler Spott Graduate D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-06-17 Toronto, Ontario Northeastern (HEA) —
12 Pennsylvania Kevin Lombardi Graduate F 6' 5" (1.96 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1998-08-12 Schwenksville, Pennsylvania Sioux City (USHL) —
13 Massachusetts T. J. Walsh Graduate F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-04-29 Shrewsbury, Massachusetts Rensselaer (ECAC) —
14 Ontario Brendan Kennette Sophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-06-09 Windsor, Ontario Brooks (AJHL) —
16 New Jersey Dylan Robbins Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2001-08-29 Alpine, New Jersey Chicago (USHL) —
17 Massachusetts Aidan Connolly Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-10-05 Marshfield, Massachusetts Maine (NAHL) —
18 Iowa John Jaworski Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2000-03-20 Grinnell, Iowa Chicago (USHL) —
19 Connecticut Jake Bongo Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2002-02-04 Ridgefield, Connecticut Surrey (BCHL) —
20 New York (state) Blake Humphrey Sophomore F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 162 lb (73 kg) 2002-01-18 Syracuse, New York Sioux Falls (USHL) —
21 Massachusetts Brendan Dumas Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-08-28 North Attleborough, Massachusetts New Jersey (NAHL) —
22 New York (state) Conner Hutchison Junior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2000-06-02 Hicksville, New York Tri-City (USHL) —
23 Alberta Braeden Tuck Graduate F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1998-04-15 Calgary, Alberta Trail (BCHL) —
24 Florida Mark Cheremeta Graduate F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-07-12 Parkland, Florida Ohio State (Big Ten) —
25 Ontario Dante Fantauzzi Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-05-01 North York, Ontario Sioux Falls (USHL) —
26 Alberta Liam Izyk Graduate F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1998-12-27 Blackie, Alberta Boston College (HEA) —
27 Ontario Cole Galata Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2002-03-18 Barrie, Ontario Surrey (BCHL) —
28 Ontario Marcus Joughin Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-07-05 Tecumseh, Ontario West Kelowna (BCHL) —
29 Ontario Rylee Hlusiak Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2002-06-03 Barrie, Ontario West Kelowna (BCHL) —
31 New Jersey Justin Robbins Graduate G 5' 8" (1.73 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1999-03-10 Alpine, New Jersey Arizona State (NCAA) —
32 New York (state) Chase Clark Sophomore G 6' 6" (1.98 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 2002-04-08 Williamsville, New York Quinnipiac (ECAC) WSH, 183rd overall 2021
33 Michigan Cullen DeYoung Freshman 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

  • 2002–03: Eddy Ferhi, G; Les Hrapchak, D; Martin Paquet, F

Second team all-maac

  • 1999–00: Alexis Jutras-Binet, G; Martin Paquet, F
  • 2000–01: Eddy Ferhi, G
  • 2001–02: Eddy Ferhi, G; Martin Paquet, F

MAAC All-Rookie Team

  • 1999–00: Les Hrapchak, D; Martin Paquet, F


Atlantic Hockey

Individual awards

All-Conference Teams

First Team All-Atlantic Hockey

  • 2004–05: Pierre-Luc O'Brien, F
  • 2005–06: Jason Smith, G; Pierre-Luc O'Brien, F
  • 2006–07: Jason Smith, G; Scott Marchesi, D; Pierre-Luc O'Brien, F
  • 2007–08: Alexandre Parent, F
  • 2009–10: Nick Johnson, F
  • 2016–17: Justin Danforth, F
  • 2017–18: Cameron Heath, F; Dylan McLaughlin, F
  • 2018–19: Dylan McLaughlin, F
  • 2019–20: Mike Lee, D; Jason Cotton, F; Austin McIlmurray, F
  • 2020–21: Marc Johnstone, F
  • 2022–23: Neil Shea, F

Second team all-atlantic hockey

  • 2003–04: Konn Hawkes, D; Garrett Larson, F
  • 2004–05: Kalen Wright, F
  • 2005–06: Alexandre Parent, F
  • 2007–08: Scott Marchesi, F; Bear Trapp, F
  • 2015–16: Justin Danforth, F
  • 2016–17: Cameron Heath, D; Ryan Schmelzer, F
  • 2017–18: Lester Lancaster, D
  • 2020–21: Braeden Tuck, F
  • 2021–22: Logan Britt, D; Neil Shea, F

Third Team All-Atlantic Hockey

  • 2009–10: Paul Ferraro, D; Dave Jarman, F
  • 2011–12: Matt Gingera, F
  • 2012–13: Eric Delong, F
  • 2018–19: Austin Magera, F
  • 2019–20: Josh Benson, G
  • 2021–22: Braeden Tuck, F
  • 2022–23: Hunter Sansbury, F

Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team

  • 2003–04: Pierre-Luc O'Brien, F
  • 2004–05: Scott Marchesi, D; Alexandre Parent, F
  • 2005–06: Bear Trapp, F
  • 2009–10: Steven Legato, G; Eric Delong, F
  • 2013–14: Mitch Nylen, F; Justin Danforth, F
  • 2017–18: Marc Johnstone, F
  • 2018–19: Josh Benson, G; Austin Magera, F
  • 2019–20: Braeden Tuck, F
  • 2022–23: Marcus Joughin, F

Pioneers in the NHL

As of December 26, 2023.

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