No. 19/20 Boston College at Sacred Heart
Jan. 14, 2023 - 7 p.m.
Martire Family Arena - Fairfield, Conn.
SNY / FloSports TV
The traditional gift for the 30th anniversary is pearls, and the Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team got a gem of a hockey rink for its 30th season. After 29.5 years as hockey nomads, the Pios finally have an arena to call their own. Hockey East opponent, five-time national champion and No. 19/20 nationally ranked Boston College comes calling on Saturday night, as SHU opens the Martire Family Arena. Catch all the action live with Randy Brochu and Freddie Coleman on SNY and FloHockey at 7 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
Austin Magera pushed his point-scoring streak to four games (2-3-5) with a second-period goal, but it was the only one SHU could find on the road on Sunday. The Pios could not climb out of an early 2-0 hole at the Whittemore Center and suffered a 4-1 loss in non-conference play at New Hampshire.
A LOOK AT THE PIOS
SHU (11-8-1) looks to get right back in the win column after having a five-game winning streak snapped its last time out. The Pios have faced four Hockey East opponents so far this season (1-3-0): a 6-1 loss at Providence on Oct. 7, a 3-0 loss to Merrimack on Nov. 17, a 4-2 win over Northeastern on Dec. 6, and the 4-1 loss at UNH on Jan. 8. SHU also scored a 3-2 exhibition victory at UMass on Oct. 1. Neil Shea leads the team in scoring (7-12-19), but first-year Marcus Joughin (7-10-17) is hot on his heels. Ryan Steele (8-7-15) makes it three Pios at 15 points or better through 20 games, while the team now has nine players in double digits. Todd Goehring is tied-second in Atlantic Hockey in goals (9), Ryan Steele is fourth in goals per game (0.50), and Austin Magera is fourth in faceoff winning percentage (57.1%).
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Boston College (8-6-4) is 2-1-0 in three games coming out of the break, with a pre-New Year's split at Arizona State, followed by a 4-2 win over UMass at Frozen Fenway last Saturday, which squeaked the Eagles back into both national polls. This will be BC's first game against an Atlantic Hockey opponent this season. The last time the Eagles faced an AHA member was a 4-2 win over Mercyhurst at Dartmouth's Ledyard Classic on Dec. 30, 2021. Cutter Gauthier paces BC at 18 points (11-7-18), while Nikita Nesterenko has added 4-12-16 and Trevor Kuntar has chipped in 6-9-15. Gauthier's 11 goals are tied-second in Hockey East, and he also ranks third in the league in points per game (1.29). BC boasts Hockey East's second-best power play, at 24.3%. In the nation, Gauthier ranks second in goals per game (0.79) and 10th in points per game (1.29).
'ICE' TO MEET YOU
Saturday night marks the first-ever meeting between the Sacred Heart and Boston College men's ice hockey programs.
