WORCESTER, Mass. – In a battle between the top two teams in the Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) preseason coaches' poll, the Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team and Holy Cross fought to a 2-2 tie in this weekend's series finale at the Hart Center Rink in Worcester, Mass., on Friday evening. The Pioneers secured their seventh AHA point of the year, falling in a shootout to the Crusaders. 

Leading the way for the Pioneers were seniors Felix Trudeau and Joshua Barnes, as they accounted for the team's two goals. Trudeau scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season, while Barnes potted his first as a Pioneer. 

Records: 
SHU: 3-3-1, 2-1-1 AHA
Holy Cross: 3-5-1, 3-1-1 AHA 
 
How It Happened:
For the second straight night, the Crusaders scored first, finding the back of the net at 11:10. Jack Stockfish made it 1-0, going bar down on a wrister from the left dot. 

Unfortunately for the Pioneers, they did not replicate game one, as they entered the second period trailing 1-0. 

Sacred Heart evened the score with the lone goal of the second period at 4:01. Noah Van Vliet started the play with a pass to Reid Pabich in the neutral zone. Pabich then sent a leading pass to Trudeau, who flew by his defender before sniping the top-left corner to make it 1-1. 

The Pioneers' defense was outstanding in the second as SHU held Holy Cross to just one shot on goal in the frame. 

After Holy Cross took a 2-1 advantage 3:52 into the third, the Pioneers got a much-needed five-minute power play. On the extended extra-man, Barnes snuck a shot by Holy Cross' Connor MacKenzie on his stick side at 11:03 for his first goal as a Pioneer. 

Neither team could break the tie over the final 8:57, as the Pioneers headed to overtime for the second time this season. Unlike SHU's last OT appearance, tonight's extra period went scoreless to set up a shootout. Holy Cross scored the lone goal of the shootout, as the Pios return to Fairfield with one AHA point. 

Between the pipes, Ajeet Gundarah made 31 saves, with 18 coming in the first period. The sophomore netminder made multiple saves to keep the score tied, including an outstanding stick stop early in the third on a 2-on-1 rush by the Crusaders. 

Notes:

• The Pioneers played their second OT game of the season and participated in their first shootout of the year.
• Barnes scored his first goal as a Pioneer and the 23rd of his collegiate career. 
• Trudeau tallied his team-best fourth goal of the season. 
• Van Vliet recorded his first collegiate point with an assist on Trudeau's goal. 
• Van Vliet made his first collegiate appearance in tonight's game. 
• Chase Ramsay made his first appearance as a Pioneer. 
• John Driscoll tallied a point in both games of the series (1-1-2). 
• Jake Bongo posted his first point of the year on the Barnes' goal. 

Up Next:
For the first time in three weeks, the Pioneers return home to the Martire Family Arena for a weekend series against Air Force. The first game of the series is slated for Friday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m.