Sacred Heart Men's Ice Hockey Showcase Talent At Annual Red And White Game
9/23/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Sept. 23, 2002
FAIRFIELD, CT (September 23, 2002) - The Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team will host its annual Red and White scrimmage on Saturday, September 28th at 8 pm at the Milford Ice Pavilion. The Pioneers were picked to finish third in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) preseason poll. SHU enters the 2002-03 with a wealth of talent and experience, bringing back 21 letterwinners from a year ago.
"This is a great opportunity for our guys to get out on the ice and showcase their skills," said head coach Shaun Hannah. "Our coaches will get a chance to evaluate our players and see what kind of progress we've made over the summer. It gives us an immediate idea of what needs to be done before the season kicks-off and who can fill which roles on this team."
Three Pioneer seniors to keep your eye on this season are forward Martin Paquet (Ste. Catherine, PQ), goaltender Eddy Ferhi (Charenton, France), and defenseman Les Hrapchak (Wakaw, SK). Paquet, voted Preseason MAAC Co-Player-of-the-Year, led the team in scoring in 2001-02 for the third straight year, netting 16 goals and 19 assists. Ferhi, the Preseason choice for Goalie-of-the-Year in the conference, currently ranks first all-time in the SHU record book with a career 2.81 goals-against-average. Ferhi posted a .910 save percentage (.905 overall) and a 2.82 goals-against-average (3.04 overall) in 2001-02 MAAC play. Hrapchak, who was voted to the Preseason All-MAAC Second Team for the second straight season, led all Pioneer defensemen with five goals and 18 assists.
Senior Richard Naumann (Boerne, TX) will captain the 2002-03 Pioneers with Paquet named assistant captain. Getting their first taste of collegiate action are freshman Erik Roos (Milford, CT), Bernie Chmiel (Pittsburgh, PA), Peter Giatrelis (Hamden, CT), Andrew Billinghurst (Fort Collins, CO), Brad Holland (Northville, MI), and Rocco Molinaro (Dearborn, MI).
The Pioneers are coming off a stellar 2001-02 campaign, where they finished 16-14-4 overall and 15-8-3 in the MAAC. Sacred Heart advanced to the MAAC semifinals for the first time last season in thrilling fashion, dropping Canisus 3-2 in overtime. The Pioneers lost to eventual champion, Quinnipiac, 3-2.
Sacred Heart opens the regular season with a pair of games at Bemidji State University on Friday, October 18th and Saturday, October 19th. The Pioneers open the home portion of their schedule, Friday, November 8th, when they play host to conference foe Army at the Milford Ice Pavilion. SHU will host two in-state conference match-ups at the Harbor Yard Arena, November 15th against UConn and March 7th against Fairfield.
