Sacred Heart
17-15-3
Niagara
16-16-3
SHU Opens Postseason with 3-1 Win over Niagara
3/3/2023 10:20:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
Steele (1-1-2), Lombardi (1-1-2), Magera (0-2-2) notch two points apiece
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (March 3, 2023) – Whatever disappointment was left over from the final weekend of the regular season, the Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team shook it off in time to open the postseason on Friday night at Martire Family Arena. In the program's first-ever home playoff game on campus, the third-seeded Pioneers struck once in the second and twice in the third to chalk up a 3-1 victory over sixth-seeded Niagara in the opening game of a best-of-three Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal series.
Game Two is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday in Fairfield, with Game Three to follow at 7 p.m. on Sunday, if necessary.
On Friday, the first period went quietly as the teams felt each other out to open the first-ever postseason meeting between the two programs. SHU held a narrow, 7-6 edge in shots at the first intermission.
The game would reach its midpoint scoreless, but SHU (17-15-3) found the opener shortly thereafter. Conner Hutchison (Hicksville, N.Y.) pinched down the boards from the left point to thwart a Niagara clearance attempt, then made his way to the top of the left circle with the puck. From there, he spotted a seam across the slot and fed to the bottom of the right circle, where Daniel Ebrahim (Brooklin, Ontario) hammered home a one-timer for his seventh goal of the season at the 10:37 mark.
The game stayed 1-0 through the remainder of the second, before the Pios found the all-important insurance marker at 2:49 of the third. Austin Magera (Suwanee, Ga.) keyed a rush up the right side and Ryan Steele (Stratford, Prince Edward Island) carried deep into the zone. Steele sent the puck towards the middle, but the pass was deflected and fluttered through the air towards the top of the crease. Crashing down the middle, Kevin Lombardi (Schwenksville, Pa.) gloved the puck, then batted it out of midair with his stick to put it past Niagara's Chad Veltri.
The initial signal from the referee on the scene was no goal, as he ruled Lombardi had gloved the puck directly into the net rather than contacting it with his stick. Following a lengthy review, it turned out the opposite was true, Lombardi had his 11th of the campaign, and SHU had a two-goal lead.
"I'm super excited to be back, obviously," said Steele, who rejoined the lineup with a goal and an assist after missing the last month. "It was a tough injury and tough being out for the last four weeks… I couldn't ask for a better comeback out here."
Niagara (16-16-3) turned up the heat from there and used a pair of third-period power plays to post a 15-5 advantage in shots in the third period. The Purple Eagles finished the night with a 34-22 margin in shots, which included an advantage of 16-5 in "Grade A" scoring chances, as tabulated in the press box.
For all that work though, Niagara could get only one back, on a power play at 8:24. A deflected pass wound up on the stick of Shane Ott in the high slot. He sent it low on the left side for Jason Pineo, who immediately dished across the slot to Jay Ahearn. Ahearn salted away the one-time finish for his sixth of the year.
From there, Luke Lush (Sherwood Park, Alberta) and the Pio defense stood strong. Lush piled up eight saves in the next nine minutes following the Niagara goal. The Steele-Magera-Lombardi line connected again to ice things with an empty-netter at 18:20, which was Steele's 10th goal of the year.
"Real proud of the guys tonight, they came through with a real gritty effort," said SHU head coach C.J. Marottolo after the game. "I thought Luke Lush was tremendous tonight and we got some timely goals."
Lush (14-14-3) finished with 33 saves against 34 shots to pick up the win in the SHU crease. Veltri (15-14-3) stopped 19 of 21 in defeat for Niagara.
