FAIRFIELD, Conn.— The Sacred Heart University women's ice hockey team starts its season with a two-game series versus RPI this weekend with an away game on Friday, and the home opener on Saturday.
 
TOP HEADLINES 

• Sacred Heart enters this season with the same goal as last year, winning the NEWHA championship. The Pioneers are coming off a strong 2024-2025 campaign in which they posted a 21-15-3 overall record, including a 12-6-2 mark in conference play. With many key returners back in the lineup, Coach Tommy O'Malley and his squad look poised to build on that success and make another run at the NEWHA championship.Coach Tommy O'Malley is entering his 23rd season as the head coach of the Sacred Heart University women's hockey program. He currently sits at 288 career wins at Sacred Heart and 349 career wins in his head coaching career. He is assisted by Allison Roethke, who is entering her third year here at Sacred Heart. O'Malley is also assisted by Caroline Peterson, who is entering her second season with the Pioneers.
• Coming into the 2025-26 season, the Pioneers have nine new faces. Five first years, along with four transfers. The transfers include graduate student Mia Wendell, who comes from Yale, sophomore forward Hailey Jussila from Quinnipiac, sophomore forward Caitlin Pierce from Connecticut College, and sophomore defender Julia Zielinska from Bemidji State. 
• Along with the newcomers are 24 returners. Including lead scorer Isabella Chaput, the anchor of the defense, Olivia LaRoche, and goalie Jillian Petruno, who is returning from injury and is looking to bounce back and have a great senior season.  
• Bria Holm, a junior forward returning for her second season at SHU, is poised to have another great season. Last year, as a sophomore, she took 59 shots, had five goals, and eight assists. With some players from last season graduating, it is looking like she will have an even bigger role on this Pioneers team heading into 2025-26.
• Along with senior goalie Jillian Petruno coming back from injury, Sacred Heart will also have junior goalie Lauren Larson returning. Last season, Larson had a .922 save percentage in 814 minutes played. Good goalkeeping can go a long way, and Sacred Heart has a good core of them coming back.

LAST YEAR IN REVIEW 

• Last season was filled with success for Coach O'Malley and the Pioneers. They started last year like this one, opening with RPI. They took the home opener and dropped game two, making them 1-1.
• Following their opening series, the Pioneers bounced back by splitting a two-game set with Saint Anselm before sweeping a road series at Stonehill.
• Heading into November 2nd of last season, the Pioneers were sitting on an overall record of 4-3-0. They then went on a seven-game winning streak, improving their record to 11-3-0 before the Nutmeg Classic Tournament.
• Following the tournament, the Pioneers finished the season on a 6-9-3 stretch. That left them with an overall record of 17-14-3 heading into the 2025 NEWHA Tournament. Their record was strong enough to secure the No. 3 seed, earning them the right to host Assumption in the opening round.
• The first round against Assumption was a best-of-three series. The Pioneers grinded out a 1-0 win in game one behind great defense and timely goaltending. In game two, the offense came alive as the Pios cruised to a 6-2 victory, completing the sweep and punching their ticket to the semifinals, where they hosted Saint Anselm College.
• Round two was a single-game elimination, and the Pioneers rose to the occasion. Behind stellar goaltending and a balanced offensive attack, they netted three goals to take control of the matchup. The defensive effort held strong throughout, shutting down Saint Anselm College's chances and securing a gritty 3-0 victory. With the win, the Pios advanced to the NEWHA Championship game against LIU.
• The championship game started slowly. Once the second period began, the Pioneers gained control. They exploded for three goals in the frame, building momentum and putting themselves in command. One more tally in the third sealed the deal as Sacred Heart rolled to a convincing victory. From start to finish, the Pioneers dominated the NEWHA Tournament, capping off their postseason run as champions for the first time since 2018.
• Winning the NEWHA championship gave Sacred Heart an NCAA playoff berth for the first time in program history. They played the University of Minnesota Duluth, where they lost by a score of 6-1. This capped off an incredible season filled with success. The final record was 21-15-3.

 
ON RPI

• After losing two games to Minnesota State University, Mankato, and two games to Holy Cross, RPI is coming into this matchup at 0-4. 
• Against Minnesota State, RPI dropped both games, falling 0–3 in the opener and 3–5 in game two. Despite the losses, there were positives to take away. RPI controlled the faceoff battle in both contests. They dominated game one with a 39–20 advantage and followed it up with a 30–24 edge in game two. 
• Against Holy Cross, RPI dropped both games, but they felt much closer. The first game they fell 1-2, and the second they fell 0-3. In game one, they once again dominated the faceoff battle while winning 26 compared to Holy Cross 18. In game two, they lost the faceoff battle for the first time of the young season, 25-28. Overall, RPI has been a strong faceoff team by winning 111 faceoffs thus far compared to 94.
• Through three games, junior goaltender Reese Keating has been steady between the pipes. In 175 minutes of action, she has posted a .929 save percentage while turning aside 79 shots.
• Sophomore forward Charlotte Wensley has played great through four games. She already has three goals on 10 shots
• Junior, Michaela Littlewood is another player to keep an eye on. Through four games, she has already tallied two assists while also blocking four shots.

HISTORY VS RPI

• This weekend will mark the ninth and 10th meetings between Sacred Heart and RPI. The Pioneers hold a record of 1-7-0 in the series and will look to add to the win column. Before last season's matchups, the two programs had not met since 2005.