FAIRFIELD, Conn. (March 5, 2023) – Some nights, it's just not in the cards. In what was a wildly-entertaining, do-or-die, postseason hockey game through two periods, the Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team and Niagara traded blows through the first 40 minutes. It was the final 20 which were the problem for SHU on Sunday night at Martire Family Arena.
Sixth-seeded Niagara (18-16-3) scored twice in the opening 10 minutes of the final stanza to turn a one-goal lead into a three-goal cushion. An empty-net tally at the end made it a 7-3 final, as third-seeded SHU (17-17-3) saw its season come to an end in the third game of the Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinal series. The Pios finished at .500 or better for the first time since 2019-20.
Things were busy from the get-go on Sunday, in a game which featured five power-play goals and 10 total goals, despite the teams combining for just 56 shots on goal. In the first period, SHU opened the scoring with some strong puck movement to set up a power-play tally for Austin Magera (Suwanee, Ga.) – his eighth of the season – on a one-timer from the right circle at 3:27.
Niagara answered on its own advantage at 17:07, as Casey Carreau stuffed home his ninth of the year at the left post, then took the lead into the intermission when Carter Randklev notched a deflection goal right out front at 18:07 for his 12th of the year. Randklev, who would finish the night with five points (2-3-5), was just getting started.
The second period was where things really got going. Chasing a goal coming out of the locker room, SHU scored twice in a span of 39 seconds to surge to the lead. On an early power play, Logan Britt (Crystal Lake, Ill.) headed a 3-on-3 rush into the attacking zone from the left side. He centered for Braeden Tuck (Calgary, Alberta), who sent it into the right circle for Todd Goehring (Wayside, N.J.). Goehring wired a shot to the top-right corner for his 11th of the season.
On the very next shift, the Pios reclaimed the lead. From the right point, Hunter Sansbury (Lomita, Calif.) found Conner Hutchison (Hicksville, N.Y.) in the left circle. Hutchison put the puck towards the net and Kevin Lombardi (Schwenksville, Pa.) steered it home at the top of the crease for his 12th of the year.
From there though, it was all Niagara. The Purple Eagles stemmed the tide less than three minutes later, with a power-play tally at 6:49, featuring a strong puck-movement play of their own. From the middle of the blue line, Max Ruoho dished left for Randklev, who fired back across the grain to Jay Ahearn in the right circle. Ahearn salted away a one-timer for his seventh of the campaign.
The game-winner came at the 15:11 mark, via another power-play score. Ruoho quarterbacked things again from the middle of the blue line, as he once again worked the puck to Randklev at the top of the left circle. This time, Randklev took the shot himself and picked a corner for his 13th of the year.
A one-goal game headed to the third, the back-and-forth affair was up for grabs heading into the final 20 minutes. It was a proverbial "next goal looms large" situation, and it was Niagara which found said goal, just 2:36 into the stanza. From behind his own net, Noah Carlin passed up the right side to Randklev, who chipped the puck off the glass and out of the zone. Olivier Gauthier got on the other end of it, steamed through the neutral zone and into the offensive end, and snapped a shot to the top-right corner for his 10th of the season.
The back-breaker came just over seven minutes later, at 9:42, after Sacred Heart turned the puck over in the neutral zone while attempting to clear its own end. The change of possession yielded a 2-on-1 from the blue line in. Randklev slipped the puck to Ryan Naumovski behind the defense, and the latter finished off his ninth of the year.
From there, it was all academic. The Pioneers went on the power play less than two minutes later, but were held to one shot. Niagara added an empty-netter from Shane Ott at 19:17 and skated off to the semifinal round with a 7-3 victory.
Luke Lush (Sherwood Park, Alberta) made 17 saves against 23 shots in the loss (14-16-3) for Sacred Heart. Chad Veltri (17-14-3) stopped 29 of 32 shots at the other end for Niagara.
