FAIRFIELD, Conn. — The Sacred Heart University women's ice hockey team begins the 2024-25 campaign this weekend, hosting RPI in a home-and-home slate on Friday, October 4 and Saturday, October 5. Puck drop from Martire Family Arena on Friday is slated for 2 p.m. while Saturday's matchup from Houston Field House in Troy, N.Y. is scheduled for 7 p.m. More information can be found at sacredheartpioneers.com. 
 
ORIGINAL SIX
Jillian Petruno takes over in goal after having grabbed No. 1 goaltender minutes last season. The junior netminder was near the conference lead in goals against average (1.93) and save percentage( .942) a season ago and looks to build upon posting a 10-win campaign in her first full season in the Red & White.
 
Second year forward Isabella Chaput returns for the Pios after tying for the team lead in points last season with 19 in her first year campaign. Chaput grabbed four, multi-point games last season including a hat trick against Saint Anselm on October 27. 
 
The Pioneers enter the season having had a winning record in 2023-24 when allowing three goals or less. The Pios were 14-6-2 when only giving up three goals or less and allowed three or less tallies from the oppostition in the last 21 games of the season. 
 
The Red & White welcome four additions from the transfer portal for the 2024-25 season as Savannah Popick, Sami Bowlby, Bria Holm and Alyssa Antonakis will make their Pioneer debuts this season. Popick joins the Red & White after a four-year career with NEWHA-opposition Saint Anselm while Bowlby and Holm head to Fairfield after careers at Quinnipiac and Maine, respectively. Antonakis makes a return to the confines of Martire Family Arena after suiting up for Northeastern the last two years including the Huskies' game against the Pios in the Ice Breaker Tournament. 
 
The Pios return five of the team's top seven scorers from a season ago as joining Chaput is graduate forward Paige McNeil, seniors Kate Helgeson and Sydney Antonakis and sophomore Grayson Limke who accounted for just under half of SHU's overall offense in 2023-24. 
 
Follow along with the action as Anthony Saccone and Cassie Nevers will provide the commentary for Friday's game while correspondent Jenna Reynolds will have your bench updates as all broadcasts this season will be aired exclusively on ESPN+. 
 
YEAR IN REVIEW
The Pioneers ushered in a new era of SHU Hockey last season, playing a full complement of 36 games at Martire Family Arena for the first time after spending the 2022-23 season between two homes. 
 
Having the started the season off with a joyful 5-2 win over New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) foe Saint Michael's, the Pios had a daunting stretch in the month of October, playing host to multiple teams who ranked either in or near the top-20 teams in the country. SHU played host to Western Collegiate Hockey Association contenders Minnesota State before flipping between conference and nonconference play for the remainder of the month, dropping series against LIU and Saint Anselm before hosting the third installment of the Women's Hockey Commissioner's Association Ice Breaker Tournament in the middle of the month. 
 
SHU began the gauntlet of NEWHA action on the front foot, going on a 5-1 run through the first six games of November including a series sweep over perennial playoff opposition Franklin Pierce at Martire Family Arena and a road sweep over Saint Michael's. However, the Pios faced some tough battles including matchups against #13/12 Yale and #11/11 UCONN in the Nutmeg Classic to conclude November. 
 
The Pios continued to plow through the schedule during the winter months, looking for a high seed in the 2024 NEWHA Tournament. The Red & White had their best string of results near the end of January and into February, going on a five-game unbeaten run (3-0-2) that included a season-series win over FPU and a full-season sweep of Saint Michael's, eventually locking up a fourth-place regular season finish in the NEWHA and home-ice advantage in the first round of the NEWHA Tournament. 
 
Though the Pios had the number of the Ravens during the regular season series, taking a 3-1 series win, FPU had the last laugh in the playoffs, taking both games against the Pios as SHU's season ended at home with an overall record of 15-21-2. 
 
Seven Pioneers had double-digit points last season as Sophie Lupone and first year standout Isabella Chaput grabbed the team lead in points with 19 on the year. Chaput also stole the team lead in goals with 12 as the three-time NEWHA Rookie of the Week eventually took home NEWHA Rookie of the Year honors and was named to the Women's Hockey Commissioner's Association Rookie of the Year Watch List. Kate Helgeson grabbed the team lead in assists after registering 13 helpers during last season's campaign. 
 
In goal, sophomore Jillian Petruno took over for the Red & White in between the pipes amassing a 10-16-2record in her first full season with the Pios. Petruno recorded 879 saves through the course of the year and accumulated 5 shutouts on her record. She currently holds a 1.93 goals against average and .942 save percentage heading into this season. She was twice named NEWHA Goaltender of the Month and was also nominated to the WHCA Goaltender of the Year Watch List. 
 
ON RPI
The Engineers head into the weekend slate having split their first two contests of the season against Holy Cross. In game one, the Engineers battled the Crusaders to a 1-1 tie heading into the third period before taking a 2-1 lead off a Morgann Skoda goal just under two minutes into the third period. However, two special teams goals from Holy Cross provided just enough for a comeback as Michela Lio's shorthanded tally and Alexia Moreau's power play goal gave the Crusaders a 3-2 lead that they saw through to the buzzer for a game one win. 
 
In game two, RPI sought to turn the tide of the weekend series and did so early, striking first just inside of six minutes in the first period as Andrea Trnkova grabbed her first goal of the season. Trnkova later added the insurance tally on the power play halfway through the second period to put the Engineers ahead by two as Reese Keating clamped down in goal, ending the weekend series with a 19-save shutout via a 2-0 win.  
 
Aylah Cioffi leads RPI in the points category after grabbing three points in the weekend series against Holy Cross (1-2-3). Cioffi leads the team in assists after tallying one in both games last weekend. Trnkova's two-goal game in the series finale against the Crusaders sees her in the top-spot on the Engineers in the goal-scoring department as seven Engineers recorded points last weekend. 
 
In goal, Keating has seen the lone action to begin the season, grabbing 44 saves in last weekend's series. She currently holds a 1-1 record with one shutout coupled with a 1.52 goals against averaee and .936 save percentage in two games. Keating, who only appeared in three games last season, has accrued a 2-2-0 record with a 1.76 goals against average and .922 save percentage.
 
The Engineers are led by seventh year head coach Bryan Vines, who has accumulated a 55-136-17 record during his time with the women's program at RPI. Vines began his time at RPI as an assistant coach for the men's hockey team for eight seasons prior to being named the head coach of the women's program. RPI currently holds the all-time series lead 14-3 including a 13-1 record since SHU became a DI program. The Pios look to get back to winning ways against the Engineers as the two sides will square off for the first time since a two-game set in November 2006.