PIO GAME NOTES

FAIRFIELD, Conn. - The Sacred Heart Men's Hockey Team, coming off a big non-league weekend against a ranked team, is back in conference play this weekend with AIC coming to Martire Family Arena. The Pios and Yellowjackets square off Friday and Saturday nights at 7. Tickets are available for both games that air live on FloSports.

First-place SHU (12-8-4 overall, 10-6-2 AHA), which has a two-point lead on Bentley with two games in hand, has Niagara, Holy Cross and Air Force nipping at its heels. The Pioneers, who earned 15 votes for the USCHO.com national poll, are in the middle of an eight-game homestand in the month of January with important conference points on the line this week.

Four different players found the net as SHU improved to 5-1-2 in the last eight contests. Graduate forward John Jaworski had goals in both games and three points overall, while senior defenseman Hunter Sansbury chipped in a pair of assists. Junior wing Felix Trudeau added to his team-high 11-14-25 and is now 13^th among Division I players in goals.

Freshman goalie Ajeet Gundarah stopped 67 of 70 shots to help the Pios earn a 1-1 tie and a 4-2 victory against a No. 18 Cornell squad that came within a win against defending champion Denver of going to the 2024 Frozen Four and swept North Dakota earlier this year. The Pio rookie, who led SHU to its first win over a ranked team at Martire Family Arena, posted a season-high 40 saves in the tie before stopping 27 in game two in front of a packed house at home. Gundarah, the Atlantic Hockey America Goalie of the Month for December and the most recent Goalie of the Week recipient, now has a 1.92 goals against (12^th in Division I) with a .932 save percentage (8^th) and a 10-3-2 record for the first-place Pioneers who are home this weekend to face AIC for two contests.

AIC (7-13-1, 5-8-0 AHA), which has five fewer conference games played than SHU, is trying to make a move in the standings, has a two-game win streak but has not played since Jan. 7, an 8-2 win over Army. Forward Josh Barnes leads the Yellowjackets with 10 goals and 15 points, while two goalies have shared most of the time in net. Former Pio Chase Clark (3.01, .914) has three wins; Peyton Grainer (2.90, .900) has two.