WORCESTER, Mass. (November 30, 2024) – It was a much better start on Saturday night for the Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team, but that was about it, as many of the symptoms from Friday night's loss at Holy Cross remained. SHU went 0-for-5 on the power play, to finish the weekend at 0-for-11. Holy Cross scored four times, all from within three feet of the crease. Max Dorrington (North Reading, Mass.) again had the lone goal for the Pioneers, who then surrendered four unanswered to suffer a 4-1 defeat and an Atlantic Hockey weekend sweep at Hart Center.
 
"Obviously, a very disappointing weekend in the big picture," said head coach C.J. Marottolo after the game. "We talked about getting off to a better start than we did last night. I thought we did a good job of that, but then we just couldn't get one by their goalie on the power play, and I thought that really turned momentum."
 
It was SHU (7-7-2, 6-5-1 AHA) which started the festivities on Saturday night, after Jake Hewitt (Fitchburg, Mass.) played chip and chase into the zone on the right side. The puck wound up on the stick of Michael Rubin (Blauvelt, N.Y.) on the right half wall. He provided a centering pass which was tipped en route and then hammered home by Dorrington at the left post at 5:06, for the latter's second of the weekend and fifth of the season.
 
Holy Cross (7-8-1, 6-4-1 AHA) had the game level 2:09 later. Devin Phillips gained the zone in a 1-on-1 situation and had his shot turned aside on the rush by Cullen DeYoung (Canton, Mich.). Will Elias was the trailer on the play and pounced on the rebound at the top of the crease to put away his second of both the weekend and the season, at 7:15.
 
Though it was even after 20 minutes, Holy Cross seized control of the game with a three-goal middle frame. Mere seconds after SHU's eighth empty power play of the weekend, Phillips provided a feed from the left circle. Matt DeBoer had gotten loose at the top of the crease and tipped home his fourth of the campaign.
 
Sacred Heart got in some penalty trouble in the back half of the frame, which is when the game started to slip away. Just three seconds apart, Matthew Guerra (Orlando, Fla.) was whistled for roughing and Hunter Sansbury (Lomita, Calif.) was sent away for interference, which left the Pioneers on the wrong end of 1:57 worth of 5-on-3. SHU nearly killed it off, but the levee finally broke with 12 seconds remaining in the first penalty. Mack Oliphant's shot from the point went wide to the right, but caromed off the end boards directly to the left post, where Liam McLinskey salted away his team-leading 10^th of the season at 15:29.
 
Less than a minute later, at 16:22, the Crusaders made it 4-1 off a draw in the right circle, which Ty Gagno won back to Timothy Heinke, who had his shot turned aside. Meanwhile however, left wing John Gelatt beat everybody else from both teams to the right post and jammed home the rebound for his second of the year.
 
The third period would go scoreless as Holy Cross went on to the 4-1 victory.
 
"The game was in striking distance and I just didn't really like our discipline in the third," added Marottolo. "Taking four or five penalties in the third when you're chasing a game isn't going to help our cause, and we'll address that."
 
DeYoung (2-5-1) finished with 26 saves against 30 shots in the loss for SHU. Thomas Gale (7-8-1) stopped 32 of 33 to make it a 68-save weekend in the Holy Cross crease.
 
SHU is right back at it on Tuesday night at home against Army. Puck drop is 7 p.m. at Martire Family Arena.
 
"There were some good things in the weekend and I don't want to just skip by those things," concluded Marottolo. "But, obviously not enough consistently for us to get the results that we want. We have a quick turnaround here to get ready for Army on Tuesday. We'll get the boys ready."