Men's Ice Hockey Heads to Bentley for 2026 AHA Championship Game

Saturday, March 21

Waltham, Mass. / Bentley Arena

7:00 PM

Sacred Heart

Bentley

Photo by: Greg Vasil

Men's Ice Hockey Heads to Bentley for 2026 AHA Championship Game

3/20/2026 10:33:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey

The Pios will battle the top-seeded Falcons at 7 p.m. in Waltham, Mass.

By: Josh Smith

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The stage is set for the 2026 Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) Championship Game as the No. 2 seeded Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team will battle No. 1 Bentley on Saturday, March 21, at 7 p.m. in Waltham, Mass.

No. 2 Sacred Heart vs No. 1 Bentley AHA Championship Game
Saturday, March 21 – 7:00 p.m.
Bentley Arena – Waltham, Mass.
LIVE on FloHockey

FELIX ADDS ACCOLADES
This week, standout senior Felix Trudeau has collected a haul of awards and recognitions. On Wednesday, he was named a top 10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, becoming the first Pioneer to make it this far in the voting process. Trudeau is also the 16th player in AHA history to make the top 10.

In addition to the Hobey Baker honor, Trudeau was named the AHA Player and Forward of the Year. He was also crowned AHA Scoring Champion after leading the league in points with 33 (16G-17A). He became the second Pioneer to be named the AHA Player of the Year after Jason Cotton in 2019-20.

AJEET'S BEEN AWESOME
Since returning from injury, Ajeet Gundarah has returned to his position as one of the best goaltenders in the country. Since his return on Feb. 14, the standout sophomore is 7-1-0 in eight starts, with a 1.50 goals against average and .948 save percentage. He has played the fourth-most minutes (479:35) in college hockey during that run. Gundarah also collected his fifth collegiate shutout in the series-clinching win over Robert Morris on Saturday.

LAST TIME OUT
Sacred Heart earned a win over No. 3 Robert Morris in the AHA semifinals over the weekend, winning game three by a 5-0 final score. The winning team scored five goals in all three contests, as SHU took game one 5-1 and RMU won game two 5-2. The game two loss brought an end to the Pios' seven-game win streak.

Marcus Joughin and Reid Pabich put on shows over the weekend, as both tallied a team-best six points. Joughin scored three goals and dished out three assists, reaching 100 career points in his final home game at the Martire Family Arena. Pabich scored four goals and had two apples, continuing his tear at the end of the season.

Between the pipes, Gundarah was outstanding in the bookend games, allowing just one goal over 120 minutes. He finished the series with 81 saves, a 1.67 goals against average and a .942 save percentage.

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Bentley has been dominant in the AHA all season, winning the league by five points after dropping the last two games of the regular season. The Falcons finished with a 15-8-3 AHA record for 53 points. Bentley is a perfect 4-0 in the postseason so far, but two of those games did go to overtime, which includes a three-OT thriller against 10th-seeded Mercyhurst. Both overtime games came in series openers, while the second games were both shutout victories for the Falcons, the last being a 4-0 win over No. 4 Holy Cross.

The Falcons head into the weekend as one of the most dominant defensive teams in the country. Bentley ranks eighth in the country in scoring defense with 2.29 goals allowed per game and 11th with an 83.9% effective penalty kill.

Bentley's defensive success is largely due to its two exceptional goaltenders. Freshman Lukas Swedin paces the team with a 13-6-4 record, a .921 save percentage and a 2.02 goals against average. Sophomore Nicholas Bevilacqua has also been outstanding in his 12 appearances, owning a 9-2-1 record with a .935 save percentage and a 1.66 goals against average, although he has not appeared in the postseason so far. Offensively, Senior forward Jake Black leads the way as he heads into the weekend as the team leader in goals (19), assists (21) and points (40).

ALL-TIME SERIES
SHU will play Bentley for the 97th time on Saturday. The Pios head into the championship game with a 46-42-8 lead in the series after going 2-1-1 against the Falcons in the regular series. Sacred Heart is also 24-23-5 in Waltham, Mass.

UP NEXT
If the Pioneers win Saturday, they will head to the NCAA Tournament for the first time. SHU would find out its opponent and regional site at the selection show on Sunday at 3 p.m. on ESPNU.