Men's Ice Hockey Wraps Up Regular Season Against AIC Wednesday
2/24/2020 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
FAIRFIELD, Conn.- The Sacred Heart University Men's Ice Hockey team concludes the 2019-20 regular season at home against AIC Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. at Webster Bank Arena.
Last Time Out... The Pioneers are coming off a two game series against Army West Point in which the Pioneers took the first game in an easy shutout 3-0 win in which senior Jason Cotton tallied a goal and an assist for two points while sophomore goalie Josh Benson picked up his fifth shutout victory of the year. In the second game, the Pioneers were down early in the game as they trailed 3-1 heading into the third period but a pair of goals by juniors Marc Johnstone and Max Luukko early in the period helped send the game into overtime before Army won in the third round of the shootout.
Last Meeting... SHU last met with AIC just two weeks ago on February 11 when the Pioneers fell to the Yellow Jackets 6-2. SHU currently leads the all-time series between the Yellow Jackets with a record of 32-25-8.
Scouting The Yellow Jackets.. AIC is coming off a two-game sweep of Holy Cross that came on Feb. 20-22 as they defeated the Crusaders by final scores of 4-1 and 2-0. With the sweep, AIC clinched the Atlantic Hockey regular season title for the second year in a row. The Yellow Jackets are led offensivly by is junior Tobias Faldeby who has racked up 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 points. The current points leaders on the team is senior Blake Christensen and senior Martin Mellberg as Mellberg has tallied nine goals 17 assists for 26 points while Christensen has tallied 10 goals 16 assists for 26 pointss. Guarding the net for the Yellow Jackets is senior Zackarias Skog who averages a GAA of 1.88 and a save percentage of .923. He has played and started in 18 games this season and compiles a record of 9-8-1.
Pioneers Put on the Pressure on the Power-Play .... The Pioneers currently sit a top the nation's leader in power-play percentage as SHU currently sits fifth in the nation on the man-advantage opportunities this season. SHU tallies a power-play percentage of 26.7 going 36-135 on the year. Senior Austin McIlmurray leads the way with 12 power-play goals on the year which currently leads the nation.
Dominating the State... The Pioneers claimed the first ever CT Ice Tournament Championship on Sunday, January 26 as SHU defeated #17 Quinnipiac by a final score of 4-1. The Pioneers first had to get by fellow ECAC member Yale in which SHU racked up four goals in the opening period to take a commanding 4-0 lead and eventually defeating the Bulldogs by a final score of 6-2. Senior Jason Cotton was named MVP of the entire tournament as he tallied four points with two goals and two assists.
Bates On A Career Year... Junior defenseman Alex Bates is tallying a career year as he has currently notched two goals, 12 assists for 14 points which is tied for a career high in points. He has recorded a career high 12 assists while he is just two goals shy of his career high in goals as he has currently scored two on the year.
On the Brink on Team History.....The Pioneers have hit the program history high in conference wins this year as SHU has currently recorded 20 Atlantic Hockey victories this season. The closest the Pioneers have hit to the 19 mark is back in the 2005-05 when SHU tallied 18. The team has also hit a high in most goals scored in program history with SHU tallying 127. As for the most wins in program history the Pioneers have tallied 20 wins which is one off the most SHU has had in program history which is 21.
Cotton and Lee Tabbed Walter Brown Award Semifinalists..... Seniors Jason Cotton and Mike Lee were named semifinalists for the 68th Annual Walter Brown Award as announced by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston. The award is presented to the best division one american born collegiate hockey player in New England. The nation's oldest nationally-recognized college hockey honor, the Walter Brown Award was established in 1953 by the members of the 1933 Massachusetts Rangers, the first American team ever to win the World Championship Tournament. The Gridiron Club will announce the finalists and winner of the 68th Walter Brown Award in March, following league playoffs and before the start of NCAA Tournament play. The award will be presented to the winner at the New England College Hockey Writers' Awards Brunch on May 3 at Prince Restaurant in Saugus.
Offensive Power is Shining.....Coming into this weeks matchup, the Pioneers currently rank second in the nation in scoring offense as SHU reaches four goals a game as the Pioneers tally an average of 3.90. The Pioneers sit right behind the number two team in the nation in North Dakota who tallied an average of 4.14 goals per game.
Cotton and Lee Creeping Up the Record Books.... Seniors Jason Cotton and Mike Lee rank in the top three in all-time program history in single season goals and assists as Cotton ranks fourth with 20 goals on the year so far while Lee ranks fourth as well in most assists in a single season with 28 on the year.
