Senior Defensemen Gabe Blanchard
Former School: UMass Lowell Hometown: East Aurora, New York Birthday: September 15th, 2000 Height: 6’1’’ Weight: 199 LBS Shoots: L Junior Hockey Career
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Senior Forward Matt Guerra
Former School: Holy Cross Hometown: Orlando, Florida Birthday: May 21st, 1999 Height: 5’8’’ Weight: 165 LBS Shoots: R Junior Hockey Career
Senior Forward Tyler Ghirardosi
Former School: Holy Cross Hometown: Montrose, British Columbia Birthday: October 1st, 1999 Height: 6’3’’ Weight: 185 LBS Shoots: L Junior Hockey Career
SHU Men vs. Niagara 3/8/24 | 2024 Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals Game 1 | 6-3 L
-Second straight year these two have met in the AHA Quarters. Niagara won last year in three games -Mark Cheremeta was in the lineup for the first time since December 9th at Princeton. He slotted in on the top line with Jaworski and Tuck -Early stoppage for a review on a hit 3:26 in. Nothing came of it -Braeden Tuck got the scoring started on the Power Play with 6:51 to go in the first period. TJ Walsh and John Jaworski got the assists -Kevin Lombardi gave the Pioneers a 2-0 lead on a weird angled shot just four minutes into the second. TJ Walsh got his second assist on the goal. Marcus Joughin also grabbed an assist -Garrett Sundquist took a penalty with 13:47 to go in the frame. Hunter Sansbury made an unreal play after the puck got through Robbins to clear it off the line and save a goal. He blocked a shot right after as well -Niagara would get on the board 6:35 to go in the second on a Tyler Wallace goal. The second period would end 2-1 SHU. -Then the third started. Carter Randklev scored 1:21 into the period to tie the game. Then, he scored again 30 seconds later to give Niagara a 3-2 lead. 13 seconds after that goal. Jonathan Ziskie scored to make it 4-2 Purple Eagles. Three goals in 44 seconds for Niagara. Absolutely back breaking -Braeden Tuck scored his second of the day off a wild sequence. John Jaworski came out of the box and found himself on a breakaway, but was stuffed. Tuck scored on a rebound, but it was called no goal, but then reviewed and counted. Jaworski got an assist -1:09 after the Tuck goal, Niagara scored on a Power Play. They would add an empty netter with 50 seconds to play to make the final 6-3 -SOG finished 35-34 Pios -2,354 was the announced attendance. Not terrible with the students on spring break SHU Men vs. Niagara 3/9/24 | 2024 Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals Game 2 | 5-1 L -Pios needed to win to force a Game 3 -Daniel Ebrahim would open the scoring just 19 seconds in. It was an odd angled shot that somehow managed to find the back of the net. This would be the only goal SHU would manage -Niagara would tie the game 3:11 into the second period, then score two goals in less than a minute (one on the Power Play) to take a 3-1 lead -Jake Bongo had a really good chance right in front at the end of the third that was shut down -Jack Richard would score, again on the Power Play, 4:30 into the third to make it 4-1. That's when it felt like it finally was out of reach -Niagara would add an empty netter with 3:18 to go to make the final 5-1 -The Sacred Heart Power Play would go 0/3 on the evening. Niagara went 2/4 -2,639 announced attendance. Again, not terrible without the students -This is the second straight year Sacred Heart was eliminated in the quarterfinal round by Niagara -SHU has still not reached the Atlantic Hockey Semifinal round since 2010, and has not won a playoff series/round since 2018 (They did advance in 2021, but that was because Holy Cross withdrew due to COVID issues) -The Pios finished the year on an 0-5-1 skid after sweeping AIC and winning game one at Air Force -It is a disappointing end of the year. SHU was in first place heading into CT Ice (RIT had games in hand to be fair), but still slid down to third and fell as the higher seed again, being outscored 11-4 in the two games. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't frustrated as a fan -Season Leaders
SHU Women vs. Franklin Pierce 2/23/24 | 2024 NEWHA Quarterfinals Game 1 | 3-1 L
-This was the second year in a row Sacred Heart and Franklin Pierce have met in the NEWHA Quarters. Last year, FPU hosted, winning the series in three games -This was also the first playoff series the women's team has hosted at Martire Family Arena -The Ravens jumped out in front first. Anna Caumo scored on the Power Play to give FPU the lead -Sacred Heart would answer just 2:39 later, when Paige McNeil scored to tie the game. Olivia Laroche and Kailey Smith had the assists. This would be the lone goal for the Pioneers in the series -Franklin Pierce would regain the lead with 8:06 to play in the third on a goal from Claire Casey and add an empty netter with 40 seconds to play -Sacred Heart finished the game with only one Power Play opportunity. It was early off a high stick, the Pios registered two SOG. FPU was 1/5 on the Power Play -SHU had 39 shots on goal in the game. Their 7th highest total this season. Paige McNeil, Izzy Chaput, and Sydney Antonakis had 5 shots each. Chaput added three blocked shots -Jillian Petruno finished the game with 22 saves on 24 shots SHU Women vs. Franklin Pierce 2/24/24 | 2024 NEWHA Quarterfinals Game 2 | 2-0 L -Grace Schuck scored the opening goal of the game with 23 seconds to go in the first period. That was all the scoring until the final three minutes of the game when the Ravens added an empty netter -Jillian Petruno stopped 25 of 26 shots she faced. Pios finished with 29 SOG -Both teams went 0/3 on the Power Play. The Pios Power Play finished the year operating at 12.6% (Tied for 34th Nationally) -This is the third season in a row that Sacred Heart has been eliminated from the NEWHA Tournament by Franklin Pierce. The were knocked out in the quarterfinals last season, and the semifinals the season before -Season Leaders
SHU Men at Bentley 2/24/24 | 2-2 T | Bentley Won Shootout 2-0 -Heading into the weekend, SHU was out of the running for the regular season AHA Title (RIT went back to back). But the Pios could have finished between 2nd and 4th. The scenarios were as follows:
-Sacred Heart opened the scoring on the Power Play 12:31 in. Marcus Joughin potted his 8th of the year to give the Pios a 1-0 lead. John Jaworski and Mikey Adamson had the assists -The Sacred Heart PP would go 1/3 on the night -Brendan Dumas would score his second goal of the year six minutes after the Joughin goal, giving the Pioneers a 2-0 lead -Bentley would get their first goal 40 seconds into the second on the Power Play -The rest of the second period would be scoreless as was the first 12 minutes of the third, until Ryan Upson scored for the Falcons to tie the game at two -Sacred Heart did have a push at the end of the third, looking for the go ahead but couldn't find it. With the game heading to overtime, Sacred heart would be locked into the three seed in the AHA Playoffs -Bentley would end up winning the shootout 2-0, grabbing the extra point -Justin Robbins stopped 21 of 23 shots in regulation and overtime -Hunter Sansbury blocked four shots -Garrett Sundquist blocked three. He's got four blocks and a goal in the last two games after returning to the lineup -Slipping all the way to third is a little disappointing. Especially after being in first place as late as January 26th (heading into CT Ice). It would have been nice to have home Ice for the first two rounds, especially with a semifinal against Holy Cross as a possibility (SHU lost both games in Worcester this year) -The AHA Tournament reseeds after the first round. So SHU's quarterfinal opponent is TBD. If everything goes chalk, it would be Bentley (SHU was 1-1-1 against the Falcons this year) -SHU hasn't been to the Atlantic Hockey Semifinals since 2010, and have not won a playoff round since 2018 when they beat RIT 2-1 in a first round series (Technically SHU advanced in the 2021 AHA Tournament, but that was due to Holy Cross withdrawing because of COVID). They look to change all of that in two weeks #1 LIU 3, #8 Saint Michael's 0 (Sharks Win Series 2-0)
#4 Sacred Heart 0, #5 Franklin Pierce 2 (Ravens win Series 2-0) #2 Saint Anselm 1, #7 Post 2 (Series Tied 1-1) #3 Stonehill 3, #6 Assumption 1 (Skyhawks Win Series 2-0) Semis Reseeds. Matchups depend on the result of the Game Three between Saint A's and Post #1 LIU 3, #8 Saint Michael's 2 (LIU Leads Series 1-0)
#4 Sacred Heart 1, #5 Franklin Pierce 3 (FPU Leads Series 1-0) #2 Saint Anselm 2, #7 Post 1 (STA Leads Series 1-0) #3 Stonehill 3, #6 Assumption 2 (STH Leads Series 1-0) SHU Women vs. Saint Michael's 2/2/24 | 5-2 W
-SHU jumped up 2-0 in just over eight minutes on goals by Cassie Nevers (assisted by Sophie Lupone) and Paige McNeil (assisted by Kate Helgeson and Peyton Bennetts) -Saint Mikes would strike twice in a five minute span n the middle of the second period, tying the game at two -59 seconds after SMC tied the game, Kate Helgeson scored to give SHU the lead back 3-2, then she scored again 3:08 later to make the game 4-2 Pios. Kate is tied for the team lead in points with 16 (along with Paige McNeil and Sophie Lupone) -Kerryn O'Connell scored her second goal of the year 35 seconds into the third period to make the game 5-2, and that is where it would stay -34 more saves for Jillian Petruno. She currently leads the NEWHA in save percentage (.943) and goals against average (1.99). She's also third in total saves (722) SHU Men vs. AIC 2/2/24 | 4-3 OT W -Chrome helmets made their return. We should just wear them every game -Justin Robbins made the start in net. Cullen DeYoung was the backup. Chase Clark was dressed and on the ice, but he did not take any shots in warmups and stayed in the neutral zone near center for most of it. Not sure if he's still hurt, or if there is something else going on -Robbins would be tested early, making a save on a partial breakaway just 8 seconds in -AIC would strike first 8:55 into the first period off a bad turnover by the Pioneers -Daniel Ebrahim would answer 40 seconds later to tie the game on a bouncing puck -New goal horn? I don't hate it, but I like the old one better -It also felt like there were a lot of new graphics at MFA, including the SHU win graphics postgame (we'll get there) -After a bit of a shaky start, SHU had the edge for most of the second period, leading in shots 18-6 -The second period, was not SHU's best. AIC controled the play for basically the entire 20 minutes. The Jackets would take the lead 2-1 with 6:48 to go in the frame, and then score again with 47.3 to play in the second. Taking a 3-1 lead into the third period -Sacred Heart managed just five SOG in the second -Mikey Adamson got Sacred Heart back into the game with a power play goal 4:20 into the third. That snapped an 0/13 streak on the PP for the Pioneers -Liam Izyk was called for slew footing and ejected with 15:10 to go in the game, so Sacred Heart had to kill off a five minute major. Which the Pios did. AIC didn't have any high danger chances, and only managed two shots on goal -55 seconds after killing the major penalty...Daniel Ebrahim scored his second of the night to tie the game, sending the 3,947 at Martire Family Arena into a frenzy. The third period was terrific for the Pioneers -The Pioneers had a couple really good chances to win in regulation in the final minute. Jake Bongo had a driving chance with 50.5 left to plat that was stopped, then Hunter Sansbury ripped one off the post with 20 seconds to go. Regulation would end 3-3, so we would play overtime. It would be the 6th OT game of the year for SHU -Overtime would not last long. Mikey Adamson buried the game winner just 30 seconds into the extra session (his second goal of the game), sending everyone in the arena home happy, and giving the Pioneers a much needed win and two huge points -Blake Humphrey picked up three assists on the night. Sansbury, Bongo, and Jaworski also grabbed assists -Four more blocked shots for Hunter Sansbury -30 saves on 33 shots for Justin Robbins SHU Women vs. Saint Michael's 2/3/24 | 1-0 W -This was the Heart to Heart game for the SHU Women. An initiative that they do yearly to support mental health among student athletes. The team wore special grey and green jerseys for the occasion -Carly Greene got the start for SHU. Her first appearance since December 9th against Post -Sacred Heart was totally in control from the jump. The best chance early on came on a 2 on 1 with Paige McNeil and Iyla Ryskamp. Pios had a huge lead in SOG halfway through the first period (12-5) -Cassie Nevers would score the first (and only) goal with 5:08 to go in the first period off a really nice pass from Sophie Lupone. Nevers ended up with three points on the weekend -Only three penalties were called all weekend. All three in this game (SMC was 0-1, SHU 0-2) -The rest of the game was pretty low event, but Sacred Heart was in control the whole way and was never really challenged. Saint Mike's had a couple moments where they had scoring chances, but nothing really sustained. They didn't get their goalie pulled until the final 24 seconds -First shutout of the year for Carly Greene, who stopped all 24 Saint Michael's shots -7th straight game with points for the Pioneers (4-1-2) -Sacred Heart is now tied for 4th in the NEWHA Standings with FPU (Pios own the tiebreaker) and are in line to host a NEWHA Quarterfinal series. SHU is also just two points back of Stonehill for third -SHU is back tomorrow against LIU (this game was rescheduled from 1/6 due to snow). A huge NEWHA tilit SHU Men vs. AIC 2/3/24 | 3-1 W -Justin Robbins was the starting goalie again. Same story as the night before. DeYoung seemed to be the backup, with Clark not taking shots -AIC scored on their second shot of the game 38 seconds in...and then didn't score again -The Jackets came out of the gate absolutely flying all over the ice in the first five minutes. This game was the most physical game I've seen Sacred Heart play all year. And it was that way for all 60 minutes -The first penalty would be called on Marcus Joughin 7:35 into the first...there would be THIRTEEN total penalties in this one (SHU was 0/5 on the PP, AIC was 0/8) -The Sacred Heart Penalty kill is now operating at 84.7%, which is 13th nationally -Dante Fantauzzi scored his second goal of the year on a delayed penalty with 6:00 to play in the first, tying the game 1-1 -Sacred Heart would score twice in the first 1:55 of the second period. Hunter Sansbury absolutely blasted one home (his 5th of the year), and then TJ Walsh found the back of the net for his team leading 13th goal of the season to put SHU up 3-1. That's all the scoring we would have, and all the Pios would need -Grant Anderson was called for a boarding major after review with 10:32 left in the second period, so SHU had to kill a five minute major for the second night in a row (which they did) -SHU would stay on the PK for seven consecutive minutes after Fantauzzi was called for a trip right at the end of the major, but the PK did their job and kept SHU up two -The third period would be just as physical as the first two, if not moreso. With bodies flying around, and extra curricular's after every whistle -AIC ripped one off the post with 7:54 to play, and then Kevin Lombardi was stopped on a breakaway. So that was a wild sequence -AIC would empty their net with 2:44 left. They would have a 6 on 4 advantage after Hunter Sansbury was called for a trip with 1:43 to go, but couldn't score -The extra curricular's continued until the final 6.3 seconds, when Dante Fantauzzi and Grayson Dietrich wrestled each other to the ground and went at it -The game ended with a 3-1 Pioneer win. SHU ended up with 5 out of a possible 6 points on the weekend. Huge -This was the first weekend sweep for SHU since November 24th and 25th at Robert Morris -Two assist night for Kevin Lombardi. Sansbury and Fantauzzi both ended up with two points (a goal and an assist each) -Blake Dangos and Marcus Joughin both ended up on the scoresheet with assists -Justin Robbins finished with 32 saves. Stopping 31 in a row after the early AIC goal. He's got a 2.66 GAA and a .906 SV% on the season -Hunter Sansbury blocked seven more shots, and won AHA Defensive Player of the Week -SHU sits in second in Atlantic hockey, two points behind RIT (who has a game in hand) and one point ahead of Holy Cross (SHU has two games in had on the Crusaders) -Sacred Heart heads west this weekend to take on Air Force in another huge AHA series On CT Ice 2024 and the Future of the Event
-I was on the fence about one more round of rotation on campus sites vs. hosting the event in Hartford permanently. Not anymore. If we want this event to be what it can be, it should have Hartford as the permanent home -It's a central location for the state (25 miles from UConn, 30 miles from Quinnipiac, 39 miles from Yale, and 55 miles from SHU) and has the parking plus the bars and restaurants to go to before games. I've seen rotating back and forth between the XL and Webster Bank thrown around on Twitter, but taking all of that into consideration, I feel like the XL is just the best location -The XL can truly be a neutral location as well. Yes, it has been UConn's home rink. Odds are they're going to have the most fans. That's just the nature of the beast. The XL is big enough to comfortably fit all four fanbases, and all four bands (or three if Yale doesn't bring one again) to help make the event what it can be. But it has to be truly neutral. Paint the ice like the first two events in Bridgeport, hit the goal horn and Brass Bonanza for all four teams, run ads for all four schools, etc. It can truly be great in Hartford -I do think CT Ice needs some kind of committee to run the tournament year in and year out to take it out of the hands of the individual schools. Each school should probably have a rep (maybe with a neutral head), but the Tournament will run better if the people running it are totally separate from the schools -I would also like to incorporate the women's teams for each school into this event. I know they play the Nutmeg Cup but I think having the men's and women's tournament under the same banner can only be a good thing. SHU Men vs. UConn 1/26/24 | CT Ice Semifinals | L 6-2 -No chrome helmets. Sad. -Had to start the game listening on the radio (shoutout 4pm start time on a Friday. Even tho I get why)...2:35 in, the Huskies scored on a Michigan. So not the most ideal start. -Kevin Lombardi answered right away. 1:01 after UConn opened the scoring, Lombardi's 10th goal of the year got things even (Mikey Adamson and Jake Bongo got the assists). -UConn added two before the end of the period (both scored by Hudson Schandor. The Huskies also had a goal called back) to take a 3-1 lead into the locker room after one -Liam Izyk got the Pios back to within one 2:36 into the second period (assisted by Tyler Spott), but that would be all for the Pioneers offensively for the afternoon. -UConn would score 31 seconds into their first and only power play off the game with 13:46 to go in the second, and then would score again three minutes later to make the score 5-2. -Chase Clark was yanked immediately after the 5th UConn goal. Chase finished with just 8 saves and 5 goals allowed. Justin Robbins would finish the game, stopping all seven shots he faced -Chase was banged up in the Princeton game at MFA. He hasn't looked right to me since. I'm not sure if he's still banged up, but something is off. -SHU was 0/3 on the Power Play against the Huskies. This included a five minute opportunity after Nick Capone was called for elbowing. -UConn would add an empty netter with 2:27 to go in the third, making the final score 6-2. -The Pioneers finished with 38 shots on goal. Their second highest total of the season (They had 39 against Mercyhurst on January 5th). Offensively, I think the Pioneers played a fine game. They generated pressure and chances, Arsenii Sergeev was on his game. -Later that night, RIT knocked off Bentley, moving the Tigers ahead of Sacred Heart for first place in Atlantic Hockey SHU Women at Stonehill 1/26/24 | T 2-2 -Cassie Nevers and Grayson Limke scored in the second period to give the Pioneers a 2-0 lead -Sophie Lupone got the primary assists on both goals. Nevers grabbed an assist on Limke's goal, and Anastasia Sloan picked up an assist on Nevers goal -Alexis Petford scored twice in a span of 1:29 (at the end of the second and beginning of the third period) to tie the game at two. The game would stay tied through the rest of regulation and overtime -Jillian Petruno finished with 40 saves, including 7 in overtime. It's the 4th time she's hit 40 saves in a game this season SHU Women at Stonehill 1/27/24 | T 2-2 -All the scoring in this one would come in the third period. Stonehill would score first 3:44 into the period, with Grayson Limke answering 20 seconds later to tie the game 1-1 -Five minutes after the Limke goal, Julianna Koman would score to give SHU the lead, only to have the Skyhawks tie the game 1:20 later -Another two assist night for Sophie Lupone. She's up to 14 points on the year, which is tied for second on the team. Cassie Nevers and Olivia LaRoche also had assists -Jillian Petruno finished with 40 saves again. That's the 5th time she's done that this season -This was the fourth straight overtime game for the Pioneers (1-1-2) -SHU is currently 5th in the NEWHA Standings. Two points behind Franklin Pierce for 4th (the Pios have a game in hand) -Sacred Heart has a two game series with Saint Michael's next weekend at MFA, followed by a Tuesday night game against LIU SHU Men vs. Yale 1/27/24 | CT Ice Consolation Game | L 3-2 -No chrome helmets again. Even sadder. -Justin Robbins got the start in net for SHU after being inserted for Chase Clark midway through the UConn game (not sure at all who will be in net when AIC comes to town next weekend) -Sacred Heart got a Power Play opportunity just 21 seconds into the game when the Bulldogs were called for tripping. SHU recorded two shots, but no goals. The Pio Power Play would end up 0/4 on the day, and 0/7 on the weekend. -Chikara Hanzawa would open the scoring with 4:39 to go in the first period, scoring his second of the year (assisted by Cole Galata and Dante Fantauzzi). -Yale would answer the SHU goal 3:15 later off a backhander and a rebound. And then would take the lead 22 seconds into the second period on a goal that hit a Pioneer in front, and bounced up and over Robbins. Bad puck luck. -The Bulldogs would go up 3-1 6:19 into the third period on an absolute rip of a shot. -John Jaworski would score with 1:05 to go and the goalie pulled, but that's as close as SHU got. The Pios, I thought, we're the better team the first two periods. But just looked gassed in the third. -Yale hit the post four times throughout the course of the game. -Sacred Heart finished with 37 shots on goal. The third highest total of the season -SHU is just 3-7-1 since coming back from winter break. -This is the first time the Pioneers have finished 4th at CT Ice -John Jaworski was selected as a member of the CT Ice All-Tournament Team -Sacred Heart is now three points behind RIT (who also has a game in hand) for first place in the Atlantic, with Holy Cross just two points behind for the second spot -SHU has a huge series with AIC coming next weekend at MFA As we head into CT Ice week, I thought a post on my overall thoughts on the event in the past and going into the future would be appropriate.
I was ecstatic when the event was officially announced in 2019. I grew up watching the Beanpot, and I knew, like Boston, we had four D1 Hockey teams. An event like this seemed like a no brainer. It brings the state together and should help to create rivalries in a small state that has a ton of hockey history. Then Sacred Heart won the first tournament. The smallest school of the big four knocked off a Yale team that had won a National Title six years earlier, and then national power Quinnipiac. It was an awesome story across College Hockey. I remember seeing how excited that team was as the clock wound down and finally hit double zero and thinking “wow we really may have something in this event”. Then March of 2020 happened. The 2021 tournament was understandably canceled. 2022 was back in Bridgeport. SHU had a shot to defend it’s title, and looked like they were going to until Joey Cipollone scored with 1:19 to play in regulation to tie the game and then Zach Metsa won it in overtime for the #2 Quinnipiac Bobcats, who went on to win the title. Then there was last years tournament. We didn’t find out what the event was called or that it was going to be broadcast on SNY until literally the day of the game (seriously, look up the QU Press Release). I remember someone had to tag me in a random link they found on the QU website that said “Connecticut Hockey Tournament” to buy tickets. It’s not a knock on QU. I thought the tournament was fun in Hamden last year, but the organization going into it was an absolute mess. A lot of it came from SNY drama, but we don’t have to get into that. Last year can never repeat itself if this event wants to be taken seriously. Which brings us to 2024. CT Ice (which yes we found out the name and location over the summer instead of the day of lol) heads to Hartford for the first time. We also found out that Sacred Heart gets to host at Martire in 2025, and Yale at Ingalls in 2026. This leaves us knowing that the tournament will plug on for at least three more years. Afterwards, who knows. Personally, I think this event needs to continue. It is not only good for the state, bringing all four fan bases together, but it’s also an event that can put Connecticut college hockey on a national stage, at least for a weekend. There was also some drama last year on where the event should be hosted. UConn head coach Mike Cavanaugh said it should be played every year in Hartford. That it should be played at a big venue. While Qunnipiac coach Rand Pecknold pushed for the rotation model that we have. Personally, right now I think the rotation is good. It builds excitement at the individual schools and its awesome in the smaller rinks. Cav is right, however, eventually I think the event should be played each year in Hartford. It’s a big arena, it’s the middle of the state (some schools will have a longer drive than others however) and I think having that central location every year is only good for the tournament. “We’ll see you in Hartford” type of deal. I love the idea of CT Ice. I think there are plenty of things that need to be tweaked and improved upon. I think the fan bases care, and if it's done the right way, can be a marquee sporting event in the state year in and year out. Anyway, lets get onto the weekend. Let’s go Pios, and let’s beat UConn. |
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