2023–24 Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey season

The 2023–24 Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey season was the 31st season of play for the program, the 26th at the Division I level and the 21st in Atlantic Hockey. The Pioneers represented Sacred Heart University, played their home games at the Martire Family Arena and were coached by C. J. Marottolo in his 15th season.

2023–24 Sacred Heart Pioneers
men's ice hockey season
Conference3rd Atlantic Hockey
Home iceMartire Family Arena
Rankings
USCHONR
USA HockeyNR
Record
Overall14–19–3
Conference14–10–2
Home8–10–1
Road6–8–2
Neutral0–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachC. J. Marottolo
Assistant coachesScott McDougall
Craig Height
Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey seasons
« 2022–23 2024–25 »

Season

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With a sizable amount of roster turnover, including three of its top four goal-scorers, Sacred Heart had many unanswered questions entering the season. The team was expecting to use Chase Clark as its starting goaltender, but the Quinnipiac transfer had a tough time getting to his game. The Pioneers began poorly, losing four of their first five matches but the team appeared to have sorted itself out by the end of October. Over several weeks, the team went 6–1, not allowing more than 2 goals in any of its games. The offense, too, got off to a slow start but then picked up the pace in the second month of the season. The line of Walsh-Joughin-Lombardi proved to be the most successful with those three finishing in the top four for team scoring.

In spite of their winning record, Sacred Heart was unable to find any success in their non-conference schedule. Though they had a fairly weak slate of opponents, the Pioneers couldn't get a single win in eight games, only managing one tie to Princeton. That terrible mark made it impossible for SHU to make the NCAA tournament without a conference title. Fortunately, however, the team was still able to perform well in Atlantic Hockey. Though they had a rather poor second half, winning just 5 of 17 games after January 1, Sacred Heart managed to finish 3rd in the conference. The struggles began with shaky play from Clark, who was replaced as the starter by Justin Robbins. While Robbins' numbers were only marginally better than Clark's the graduate netminder played more consistently in the latter half of the year. Unfortunately, the offense slowed down as the season went on and the Pioneers could only manage 3 goals in three of the final thirteen game to end the regular season.

Though they had backed into a quarterfinal bye, Sacred Heart was hoping to use home ice to their advantage and make a run in the conference tournament. However, despite getting a week-long break to resolve their troubles, SHU saw both of its main problems recur against Niagara. The team got a 2-goal lead in the opening match but could only watch as the Purple Eagles swiftly erased the advantage. Niagara scored four goals in under 9 minutes of game time, including 3 in a 43-second span, to take hold of the match. SHU opened the scoring in the second game as well but wasn't able to get a second marker in the final 59 minutes despite outshooting NU nearly two to one. Robbins was in net for both games and allowed 9 goals on 53 shots (both matches had empty-net goals), ending the Pioneers' season on a low note.[1]

Departures

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Player Position Nationality Cause
Logan Britt Defenseman   United States Graduate transfer to North Dakota
Tim Clifton Forward   United States Graduation (retired)
Patrick Dawson Defenseman   United States Graduate transfer to Northeastern
Todd Goehring Forward   United States Graduation (signed with Atlanta Gladiators)
Cody Hoban Forward   United States Left program (retired)
Julian Kislin Defenseman   Canada Graduation (signed with South Carolina Stingrays)
Luke Lush Goaltender   Canada Graduate transfer to RIT
Austin Magera Forward   United States Graduation (signed with South Carolina Stingrays)
Brandon Milberg Goaltender   Canada Left program (retired)
Neil Shea Forward   United States Graduation (signed with Chicago Wolves)
Ryan Steele Forward   Canada Graduation (signed with South Carolina Stingrays)
Jeppe Urup Mogensen Defenseman   Denmark Graduate transfer to Northern Michigan

Recruiting

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Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Mikey Adamson Defenseman   United States 22 Quincy, MA; transfer from Massachusetts
Jake Bongo Forward   United States 20 Ridgefield, CT
Mark Cheremeta Forward   United States 21 Minsk, BLR; transfer from Ohio State
Chase Clark Goaltender   United States 21 Williamsville, NY; transfer from Quinnipiac; selected 183rd overall in 2021
Blake Dangos Defenseman   United States 21 St. Louis, MO; transfer from Arizona State
Cullen DeYoung Goaltender   Canada 21 Canton, MI
Brendan Dumas Forward   United States 21 North Attleborough, MA
Cole Galata Forward   Canada 21 Barrie, ON
Rylee Hlusiak Forward   Canada 21 Barrie, ON
Liam Izyk Forward   Canada 24 Blackie, AB; transfer from Boston College
Tyler Spott Defenseman   Canada 23 Toronto, ON; graduate transfer from Northeastern
Garrett Sundquist Defenseman   United States 22 South Glastonbury, CT; transfer from Providence
T. J. Walsh Forward   United States 23 Shrewsbury, MA; graduate transfer from Rensselaer

Roster

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As of September 15, 2023.[2]

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

Standings

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Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OW OL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#17 RIT †* 26 18 7 1 3 2 0 54 102 64 40 27 11 2 156 96
Holy Cross 26 13 10 3 0 3 1 46 78 62 39 21 14 4 116 93
Sacred Heart 26 14 10 2 2 2 1 45 75 70 36 14 19 3 91 113
Air Force 26 15 10 1 3 0 1 44 88 75 38 18 19 1 115 119
American International 26 12 10 4 1 1 2 42 79 68 40 20 16 4 119 111
Bentley 26 12 12 2 1 2 2 41 69 58 35 16 17 2 95 82
Niagara 26 13 10 3 3 1 1 41 78 79 39 18 18 3 111 122
Canisius 26 10 12 4 2 1 0 33 73 87 37 12 21 4 103 126
Mercyhurst 26 7 15 4 0 1 4 30 77 91 35 9 22 4 98 126
Army 26 8 16 2 0 1 1 28 66 96 35 10 23 2 93 139
Robert Morris 26 7 17 2 0 1 1 25 60 95 39 11 25 3 94 142
Championship: March 23, 2024
† indicates conference regular season champion (DeGregorio Trophy)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

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Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 7 2:00 pm #14 Merrimack* Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut (Exhibition) FloHockey Clark L 2–3 OT 307
October 8 4:00 pm Ottawa* Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut (Exhibition) FloHockey DeYoung W 8–2  181
Regular Season
October 13 7:00 pm Colgate* Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey, SNY Clark L 2–3  4,165 0–1–0
October 14 7:00 pm Colgate* Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey, SNY Clark L 1–6  3,703 0–2–0
October 20 7:05 pm at RIT Gene Polisseni CenterHenrietta, New York FloHockey Clark L 2–4  2,929 0–3–0 (0–1–0)
October 21 5:05 pm at RIT Gene Polisseni CenterHenrietta, New York FloHockey Clark W 5–2  2,764 1–3–0 (1–1–0)
October 27 7:00 pm Niagara Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Clark L 3–4 OT 2,852 1–4–0 (1–2–0)
October 28 7:00 pm Niagara Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Clark W 4–1  2,538 2–4–0 (2–2–0)
October 31 7:00 pm Army Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey, SNY Clark W 6–1  2,127 3–4–0 (3–2–0)
November 5 7:00 pm at Long Island* Northwell Health Ice CenterEast Meadow, New York ESPN+ Clark L 1–2  349 3–5–0
November 10 7:00 pm Canisius Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Clark W 4–1  2,527 4–5–0 (4–2–0)
November 11 7:00 pm Canisius Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Clark W 3–2  2,493 5–5–0 (5–2–0)
November 24 6:00 pm at Robert Morris Clearview ArenaNeville Township, Pennsylvania FloHockey Clark W 4–2  623 6–5–0 (6–2–0)
November 25 1:00 pm at Robert Morris Clearview ArenaNeville Township, Pennsylvania FloHockey, SNY Clark W 3–1  566 7–5–0 (7–2–0)
December 1 1:05 pm at American International MassMutual CenterSpringfield, Massachusetts FloHockey Clark W 5–4  650 8–5–0 (8–2–0)
December 2 1:05 pm at American International MassMutual CenterSpringfield, Massachusetts FloHockey Clark L 2–3  521 8–6–0 (8–3–0)
December 8 7:00 pm Princeton* Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Clark L 0–4  3,671 8–7–0
December 9 7:00 pm at Princeton* Hobey Baker Memorial RinkPrinceton, New Jersey ESPN+ DeYoung T 2–2 OT 2,153 8–7–1
December 30 7:00 pm #16 New Hampshire* Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut ESPN+ Robbins L 2–6  3,368 8–8–1
January 5 7:00 pm Mercyhurst Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Clark L 2–7  2,497 8–9–1 (8–4–0)
January 6 3:00 pm Mercyhurst Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Robbins W 2–1  3,063 9–9–1 (9–4–0)
January 9 7:00 pm Army Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Clark T 3–3 SOW 2,634 9–9–2 (9–4–1)
January 12 7:05 pm at Bentley Bentley ArenaWaltham, Massachusetts FloHockey Robbins W 4–3  1,800 10–9–2 (10–4–1)
January 13 7:00 pm Bentley Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Clark L 2–3 OT 3,242 10–10–2 (10–5–1)
January 16 7:00 pm at Army Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Robbins L 1–3  800 10–11–2 (10–6–1)
January 19 7:00 pm Holy Cross Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Robbins W 2–1 OT 3,817 11–11–2 (11–6–1)
January 20 7:00 pm at Holy Cross Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Robbins L 2–5  824 11–12–2 (11–7–1)
Connecticut Ice
January 26 3:30 pm at Connecticut* XL CenterHartford, Connecticut (Connecticut Ice Semifinal) SNY Clark L 2–6  4,633 11–13–2
January 27 3:30 pm vs. Yale* XL CenterHartford, Connecticut (Connecticut Ice Consolation Game) SNY Robbins L 2–3  3,927 11–14–2
February 2 7:00 pm American International Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Robbins W 4–3 OT 3,947 12–14–2 (12–7–1)
February 3 7:00 pm American International Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Robbins W 3–1  3,974 13–14–2 (13–7–1)
February 9 9:05 pm at Air Force Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado FloHockey Robbins W 3–2  2,436 14–14–2 (14–7–1)
February 10 7:05 pm at Air Force Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado FloHockey, Altitude2 Robbins L 0–2  2,422 14–15–2 (14–8–1)
February 16 7:00 pm at Holy Cross Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Robbins L 1–5  1,368 14–16–2 (14–9–1)
February 17 7:00 pm Holy Cross Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Robbins L 1–2  3,688 14–17–2 (14–10–1)
February 24 5:30 pm at Bentley Bentley ArenaWaltham, Massachusetts FloHockey Robbins T 2–2 SOL 2,043 14–17–3 (14–10–2)
Atlantic Hockey Tournament
March 8 7:00 pm Niagara* Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut (Quarterfinal Game 1) FloHockey Robbins L 3–6  2,354 14–18–3
March 9 7:00 pm Niagara* Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut (Quarterfinal Game 2) FloHockey Robbins L 1–5  2,639 14–19–3
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[3]

Scoring statistics

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Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
T. J. Walsh LW 36 13 13 26 6
John Jaworski F 35 10 16 26 14
Kevin Lombardi RW 36 11 14 25 19
Marcus Joughin F 34 8 13 21 16
Mikey Adamson D 34 4 16 20 12
Braeden Tuck F 33 6 11 17 6
Hunter Sansbury D 36 5 10 15 37
Dante Fantauzzi D 35 2 11 13 32
Daniel Ebrahim LW 31 9 3 12 19
Mark Cheremeta LW 17 1 10 11 6
Andrius Kulbis-Marino D 36 5 5 10 14
Jake Bongo F 36 3 7 10 4
Liam Izyk F 34 4 4 8 33
Blake Humphrey C 23 2 4 6 4
Conner Hutchison D 14 1 4 5 2
Tyler Spott D 27 1 4 5 16
Blake Dangos D 19 1 3 4 16
Grant Anderson D 34 0 3 3 11
Brendan Dumas F 12 2 0 2 18
Chikara Hanzawa RW 28 2 0 2 6
Cole Galata F 20 0 2 2 4
Rylee Hlusiak RW 25 0 2 2 10
Dylan Robbins F 35 0 2 2 16
Garrett Sundquist D 9 1 0 1 2
Chase Clark G 19 0 1 1 0
Aidan Connolly C 2 0 0 0 2
Cullen DeYoung G 3 0 0 0 0
Justin Robbins G 17 0 0 0 0
Total 91 158 249 325

[4]

Goaltending statistics

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Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Cullen DeYoung 3 104:01 0 0 1 3 50 0 .943 1.73
Justin Robbins 17 956:20 6 9 1 47 401 0 .895 2.95
Chase Clark 19 1090:20 8 10 1 55 482 0 .898 3.03
Empty Net - 32:07 - - - 8 - - - -
Total 36 2182:48 14 19 3 113 933 0 .892 3.11

Rankings

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Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 (Final)
USCHO.com NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
USA Hockey NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 and 25.[5]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

Awards and honors

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Player Award Ref
Braeden Tuck Atlantic Hockey Individual Sportsmanship Award [6]
Sacred Heart Pioneers Atlantic Hockey Team Sportsmanship Award [6]
John Jaworski Atlantic Hockey Third Team [7]

References

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  1. ^ "SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2024". College Hockey Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  2. ^ "2023-24 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Sacred Heart Pioneers. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  3. ^ "2023-24 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". Sacred Heart Pioneers. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  4. ^ "Sacred Heart Univ. 2023-2024 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  5. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Atlantic Hockey Announces 2023-24 Regular Season Awards". Atlantic Hockey. March 19, 2024. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  7. ^ "Atlantic Hockey unveils three all-conference teams, one all-rookie team for 2023-24 season". USCHO.com. March 12, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.