Men's Ice Hockey Hits Road for Two Against AIC
11/29/2023 2:13:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
Friday night is annual Jason Pagni Memorial Game at Avon Old Farms
Sacred Heart at American International
Atlantic Hockey Association
Friday, Dec. 1 - 7:05 p.m.
Jason Pagni Memorial Game
Jennings Fairchile Ice Rink - Avon, Conn.
Saturday, Dec. 2 - 7:05 p.m.
MassMutual Center - Springfield, Mass.
Live on FloSports
EVERYBODY RIDES
The Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team is back on the road this weekend, for a pair of important December games against rival American International. Friday night's game will be contested at Avon Old Farms in Avon, Conn., and is the annual Jason Pagni Memorial Game. The game is held annually in honor of Pagni, an Avon Old Farms alum and fixture in the Connecticut hockey community who passed away in a car accident in 2014. Saturday's game is back at AIC's usual home, the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield, Mass. Both games are 7:05 p.m. puck drops and Seth Dussault has the call both nights on FloSports.
LAST WEEKEND
The Pios swept their way through western Pennsylvania last weekend, with 4-2 and 3-1 wins at Robert Morris, in the first meetings between the two since 2019. John Jaworski had 1-3-4 over the course of the weekend, while Kevin Lombardi chipped in a pair of goals and an assist. Lombardi (2-3-5), Jaworski (3-4-7), TJ Walsh (2-5-7) and Marcus Joughin (4-1-5) are all on four-game point streaks.
SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS
American International is 7-1-0 in its last eight following an 0-4-0 start and heads into the weekend on a six-game winning streak, including four straight in Atlantic Hockey play. The Yellow Jackets were home on Tuesday night for a midweek contest with Army, which they won, 5-1, behind a pair of goals from Brian Kramer. Kramer is the team's leading scorer, at 6-5-11, while Dustin Manz and Brett Rylance have each chipped in 1-9-10. The AIC power play (14.3%) ranks dead last in Atlantic Hockey, but the penalty kill (85.2%) is third.
COACH MAROTTOLO SAID
"We have put ourselves in a position where this weekend's games have a great impact on our league standings. AIC has been the standard in our conference the past few years. These games will be a good measuring stick as to where we stack up. AIC is a well-balanced team that is strong in net and gets scoring contributions up and down its lineup. We need to play a hard, simple game and not deviate from our team identity."
PREVIOUSLY AGAINST AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL
The two teams met for a home-and-home on the final weekend of last season, which saw AIC claim five of six points to leapfrog the Pios and clinch second place in Atlantic Hockey. On Friday night at AIC, the Yellow Jackets got a late power-play goal from Blake Bennett to force overtime and then won in the shootout. On Saturday night at Martire Family Arena, AIC used a three-goal second period and goals from five different players to roll to a 5-0 victory and the second seed.
ALL-TIME SERIES
The series between the two teams dates all the way back to the MAAC Hockey days and consists of 74 games, with SHU holding a 35-30-9 advantage, which includes a 27-23-7 margin in Atlantic Hockey play. AIC holds a 12-4-1 edge since the start of the 2017-18 campaign, and the two are evenly split, at 22-22-6, over their last 50 meetings. The Pios are 19-17-6 in 42 road games against AIC, including 5-5-1 at the MassMutual Center. SHU is 3-0 all time in the Jason Pagni Memorial Game, including a 3-1 win over Mercyhurst in 2016, which is the Pios' only previous contest at the Jennings Fairchild Ice Rink at Avon Old Farms.
UP NEXT
SHU closes out the first half with a home-and-home series with Princeton next weekend. Game time is 7 p.m. both nights, with Friday night's game at Martire Family Arena, before the Pios make the return trip to Hobey Baker Rink on Saturday. Tickets for Friday are available via Ticketmaster.
