The Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey team is a
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
(NCAA)
Division I college ice hockey
College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America.
In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the go ...
program that represents
Sacred Heart University
Sacred Heart University (SHU) is a private, Roman Catholic university in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1963 by Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sacred Heart was the first Catholi ...
. The Pioneers, members of
Atlantic Hockey America
Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) is a college ice hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participates in NCAA Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. The conference was formed in 2023 by the merger of ...
, play at the
Martire Family Arena in
Fairfield, Connecticut
Fairfield is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Connecticut, Trumbull, Easton, Connecticut, Easton, Weston, Connecticut, W ...
. From 1993-2016, the Pioneers home arena was the
Milford Ice Pavilion in
Milford, Connecticut
Milford is a coastal city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, between New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport. The population was 50,558 at the 2020 United States Census. The city includes the Vill ...
.
History
Division III
Sacred Heart began sponsoring men's ice hockey as a varsity sport in
1993
The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as:
* International Year for the World's Indigenous People
The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
. 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
Iona (; , sometimes simply ''Ì'') is an island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there are other buildings on the island. Iona Abbey was a centre of Gaeli ...
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 the
Atlantic Hockey Association which began the following year.
Atlantic Hockey Association
Sacred Heart played well for the first few years of Atlantic Hockey, reaching the championship game in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
and
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
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.
The school announced in 2020 that it would build a $60 million facility for its men's and women's ice hockey programs. After a delayed start, construction began on the
Martire Family Arena in March 2021, with a new scheduled completion date of 2023 and a new price tag of $70 million. Martire Family Arena became Sacred Heart's first on-campus ice arena.
Atlantic Hockey America
Shortly after the 2023–24 season, the Atlantic Hockey Association merged with
College Hockey America
College Hockey America (CHA) was a college ice hockey conference in the United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The conference's final membership featured six women's teams, with three in Pennsylvani ...
, a women-only league, to form the new
Atlantic Hockey America
Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) is a college ice hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participates in NCAA Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. The conference was formed in 2023 by the merger of ...
. The two conferences had a longstanding relationship before the merger, having shared a commissioner and conference staff since 2010. All members of the Association and CHA became members of the merged league.
Season-by-season results
Records vs. current Atlantic Hockey teams
As of the completion of 2018–19 season
Coaches
As of completion of 2024–25 season
Statistical leaders
Career points leaders
Career goaltending leaders
''GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% =
Save percentage
Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various Goal (sports), goal-scoring sports that track Save (goaltender), saves as a statistic.
In ice hockey and lacrosse and association football, it is a sta ...
; GAA =
Goals against average
Goals against average (GAA), also known as average goals against (AGA), is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on spo ...
''
Minimum 30 games
Statistics current through the end of the 2024-25 season.
Current roster
As of September 15, 2024.
Awards and honors
NCAA
AHCA Second Team All-Americans
*2009–10:
Nick Johnson, F
*2019–20:
Mike Lee
Michael Shumway Lee (born June 4, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Utah, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Lee became Utah's senior senator in 2019, whe ...
, D;
Jason Cotton, F
MAAC
Individual awards
Goaltender of the Year
*
Eddy Ferhi: 2003
Offensive rookie of the year
*
Martin Paquet: 2000
Coaches of the Year
*
Shaun Hannah: 2000
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 Association
Individual awards
Player of the Year
*
Jason Cotton: 2020
Best Defensive Forward
*
Dave Jarman: 2010
Rookie of the Year
*
Pierre-Luc O'Brien: 2004
*
Bear Trapp: 2006
*
Justin Danforth: 2014
*
Braeden Tuck: 2020
Individual Sportsmanship Award
*
Alexandre Parent: 2008
*
Eric Delong: 2013
*
Braeden Tuck: 2023, 2024
Regular Season Scoring Trophy
*
Neil Shea: 2022
Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award.
Some of the ...
*
C. J. Marottolo: 2010
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
Michael Shumway Lee (born June 4, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Utah, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Lee became Utah's senior senator in 2019, whe ...
, 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
*2023–24:
John Jaworski, 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 July 1, 2024.
File:Columbus Blue Jackets at Seattle Kraken - 2024-01-28 - Justin Danforth (53502113377) (cropped).jpg, Justin Danforth
Source:
See also
*
Sacred Heart Pioneers women's ice hockey
References
External links
*
{{Sacred Heart University
College ice hockey teams in Connecticut
NCAA Division I men's ice hockey teams
Ice hockey clubs established in 1993
1993 establishments in Connecticut