2020–21 Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey season

2020–21 Sacred Heart Pioneers
men's ice hockey season
ConferenceAtlantic Hockey
Home iceWebster Bank Arena
Rankings
USCHO.comNR
USA Today/
US Hockey Magazine		NR
Record
Overall6–10–2
Conference6–6–1–1–2–0
Home3–2–2
Road2–8–0
Neutral1–0–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachC. J. Marottolo
Assistant coachesScott McDougall
Steve Bergin
Craig Height
Captain(s)Marc Johnstone
Alternate captain(s)Alex Bates
Max Luukko
Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey seasons
« 2019–20 2021–22 »

The 2020–21 Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey season was the 28th season of play for the program, the 23rd at the Division I level, and the 18th season in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Pioneers represented Sacred Heart University and were coached by C. J. Marottolo, in his 12th season.

The start of the college hockey season was delayed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. As a result, Sacred Heart's first scheduled game was in late-November as opposed to early-October, which was the norm.

Season

As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the entire college ice hockey season was delayed. Because the NCAA had previously announced that all winter sports athletes would retain whatever eligibility they possessed through at least the following year, none of Sacred Heart's players would lose a season of play.[1] However, the NCAA also approved a change in its transfer regulations that would allow players to transfer and play immediately rather than having to sit out a season, as the rules previously required.[2]

Coming off of the best season in the history of the program, Sacred Heart saw a bit of a decline. The team finished 6–10–2 but the record does not reflect the difficulties that the team faced during the season. The Pioneers were not alone in suffering through COVID-related cancellations, but Sacred Heart saw their opposition increase in difficulty as a result. Many of their cancelled games were against weaker teams and the Pioneers added a set of games with Quinnipiac, a team that was ranked throughout the season. Additionally, Sacred Heart played Army (another ranked team) six times during the season, a full third of their games. While SHU kept most of those matches close they did lose to the Black Knights 5 times during the season, which accounts for half of the team's losses. It would be difficult to come away with any conclusions about Sacred Heart's season other than the team had to weather several storms during the year.

Departures

Player Position Nationality Cause
Drennen Atherton Goaltender  United States Transferred to Norwich
Vito Bavaro Forward  United States Graduation
Colin Bernard Defenseman  United States Left program
Jason Cotton Forward  United States Graduation (Signed with Carolina Hurricanes)
Jordan Kaplan Forward  United States Transferred to Vermont
Mike Lee Defenseman  United States Graduation (Signed with Indy Fuel)
Austin McIlmurray Forward  United States Graduation (Signed with Fort Wayne Komets)
Matt Tugnutt Forward  Canada Transferred to Providence

Recruiting

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Grant Anderson Defenseman  United States 21 Plymouth, MN
Ryan Doolin Forward  United States 21 Hanover, MA
Carson Gallagher Forward  Canada 21 Courtice, ON
Cody Hoban Forward  United States 19 Guilford, CT
John Jaworski Forward  United States 20 Grinnell, IA
Andrius Kulbis-Marino Defenseman  United States 20 Methuen, MA
Emil Öhrvall Forward  Sweden 22 Växjö, SWE; transfer from Michigan
Adam Tisdale Forward  Canada 21 Cochrane, AB; transfer from Clarkson
David Tomeo Goaltender  United States 21 West Caldwell, NJ

Roster

As of September 15, 2020.[3]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
3 Minnesota Grant Anderson Freshman D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1999-09-15 Plymouth, Minnesota Omaha (USHL) —
4 Denmark Jeppe Urup Morgensen Sophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 1999-03-14 Odense, Denmark Youngstown (USHL) —
5 Massachusetts Andrius Kulbis-Marino Freshman D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-02-16 Methuen, Massachusetts Maine (NAHL) —
6 New Jersey Max Luukko (A) Senior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1995-12-28 Avalon, New Jersey Philadelphia (USPHL) —
7 Massachusetts Daniel Petrick Sophomore D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 199 lb (90 kg) 1999-04-06 Wilbraham, Massachusetts Madison (USHL) —
8 New Jersey Tim Clifton Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1998-02-23 Farmingdale, New Jersey Shreveport (NAHL) —
9 Iowa John Jaworski Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2000-03-20 Grinnell, Iowa Chicago (USHL) —
10 Colorado Alex Bates (A) Senior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1997-06-17 Parker, Colorado Wenatchee (BCHL) —
11 Prince Edward Island Ryan Steele Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 1997-09-13 Stratford, Prince Edward Island West Kelowna (BCHL) —
12 Pennsylvania Kevin Lombardi Sophomore F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 234 lb (106 kg) 1998-08-12 Schwenksville, Pennsylvania Sioux City (USHL) —
13 Connecticut Cody Hoban Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2001-04-26 Guilford, Connecticut Danbury (NAHL) —
14 New York (state) Nick Boyagian Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 1997-07-16 East Greenbush, New York New Jersey (NAHL) —
15 New Jersey Evan Wisocky Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1998-03-20 Hoboken, New Jersey Connecticut (HEA) —
16 Pennsylvania Marcus Joseph Junior D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1997-05-08 Mountain Top, Pennsylvania Nanaimo (BCHL) —
17 Sweden Emil Öhrvall Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1998-06-10 Växjö, Sweden Michigan (Big Ten) —
18 New York (state) Michael Gilroy Senior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1996-10-10 North Bellmore, New York P. A. L. (USPHL) —
19 Massachusetts Ryan Doolin Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-02-06 Hanover, Massachusetts Alberni Valley (BCHL) —
20 Alberta Adam Tisdale Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 171 lb (78 kg) 1998-11-09 Cochrane, Alberta Clarkson (ECAC) —
21 Ontario Josh Allan Senior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1997-05-02 Orillia, Ontario Trenton (OJHL) —
22 New Jersey Derek Contessa Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 206 lb (93 kg) 1999-03-03 Freehold, New Jersey Dubuque (USHL) —
23 Alberta Braeden Tuck Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1998-04-15 Calgary, Alberta Trail (BCHL) —
24 Georgia (U.S. state) Austin Magera Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-07-19 Suwanee, Georgia Lincoln (USHL) —
25 Ontario Carson Gallagher Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 1999-08-04 Courtice, Ontario Johnstown (NAHL) —
26 New Jersey Marc Johnstone (C) Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1996-06-19 Cranford, New Jersey Chicago (USHL) —
27 Massachusetts Patrick Dawson Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-01-14 Medway, Massachusetts Odessa (NAHL) —
28 Michigan Marcel Godbout Senior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1996-06-04 St. Clair Shores, Michigan Sioux City (NAHL) —
29 New Jersey Todd Goehring Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1997-07-08 Wayside, New Jersey Chicago (USHL) —
30 Minnesota Josh Benson Junior G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997-11-04 Stillwater, Minnesota Fairbanks (NAHL) —
31 New Jersey David Tomeo Freshman G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-03-02 West Caldwell, New Jersey Johnstown (NAHL) —
33 Alberta Luke Lush Sophomore G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1998-02-15 Sherwood Park, Alberta Drayton Valley (AJHL) —

Standings

2020–21 Atlantic Hockey Standings
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OW OL SW PTS PT% GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#15 American International †* 12 11 1 0 1 0 0 32 .889 47 18 19 15 4 0 67 40
Army 15 10 4 1 3 1 1 30 .667 42 33 22 15 6 1 71 48
Robert Morris 15 10 5 0 2 1 0 29 .644 58 48 24 15 9 0 85 69
Canisius 13 8 5 0 1 1 0 24 .615 42 34 17 11 6 0 59 46
RIT 13 7 5 1 0 0 1 23 .590 43 40 20 9 9 2 68 70
Sacred Heart 13 6 6 1 1 2 0 20 .513 35 38 18 6 10 2 43 59
Mercyhurst 16 7 8 1 1 1 1 23 .479 54 50 21 8 12 1 64 67
Bentley 15 4 11 0 1 5 0 16 .356 35 48 16 5 11 0 42 51
Niagara 15 3 9 3 0 2 1 15 .333 39 53 22 7 12 3 57 70
Air Force 13 3 9 1 2 1 0 9 .231 32 49 14 3 10 1 35 56
Holy Cross 12 3 9 0 2 0 0 7 .194 22 38 16 4 12 0 30 52
Championship: March 20, 2021
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and Results

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
December 4 6:00 PM at Holy Cross Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts   Benson W 2–1  0 1–0–0 (1–0–0)
December 6 2:00 PM at Holy Cross Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts   Benson L 3–6  0 1–1–0 (1–1–0)
December 14 7:00 PM at #11 Quinnipiac* People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut   Lush L 2–9  0 1–2–0
December 15 7:00 PM at #11 Quinnipiac* People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut   Benson L 1–2 OT 0 1–3–0
January 6 3:05 PM vs. Air Force Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York   Benson W 4–3 OT 0 2–3–0 (2–1–0)
January 26 5:00 PM at #19 American International MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts   Benson L 2–8  0 2–4–0 (2–2–0)
January 29 5:05 PM at Army Tate Rink • West Point, New York   Benson L 1–2  0 2–5–0 (2–3–0)
January 30 6:00 PM vs. Army Webster Bank Arena • Bridgeport, Connecticut   Benson T 2–2 SOL 0 2–5–1 (2–3–1)
February 4 5:05 PM vs. Bentley Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts   Benson W 4–0  0 3–5–1 (3–3–1)
February 5 5:05 PM at Bentley Webster Bank Arena • Bridgeport, Connecticut   Benson W 4–2  0 4–5–1 (4–3–1)
February 8 7:05 PM vs. Army Webster Bank Arena • Bridgeport, Connecticut   Benson L 1–3  0 4–6–1 (4–4–1)
February 9 5:05 PM at Army Tate Rink • West Point, New York   Lush L 1–2 OT 3 4–7–1 (4–5–1)
February 13 7:30 PM vs. St. Lawrence* Webster Bank Arena • Bridgeport, Connecticut   Benson T 2–2 OT 0 4–7–2
February 16 5:05 PM vs. Bentley Webster Bank Arena • Bridgeport, Connecticut   Benson L 4–5 OT 0 4–8–2 (4–6–1)
February 19 7:35 PM vs. Holy Cross Webster Bank Arena • Bridgeport, Connecticut   Lush W 2–1  0 5–8–2 (5–6–1)
February 20 4:05 PM at Holy Cross Webster Bank Arena • Bridgeport, Connecticut   Lush W 5–3  0 6–8–2 (6–6–1)
Atlantic Hockey Tournament
March 12 5:05 PM at Army* Tate Rink • West Point, New York (Quarterfinal Game 1)   Lush L 0–4  102 6–9–2
March 13 5:05 PM at Army* Tate Rink • West Point, New York (Quarterfinal Game 2)   Benson L 3–4 3OT 96 6–10–2
Sacred Heart lost series 0–2
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

[4]

Scoring statistics

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Marc Johnstone RW 16 6 10 16 12
Braeden Tuck F 18 6 10 16 0
Austin Magera C 17 7 7 14 10
Kevin Lombardi RW 17 8 4 12 2
Ryan Steele F 17 4 8 12 12
Marcel Godbout C/RW 18 5 6 11 6
Patrick Dawson D 18 1 6 7 10
Grant Anderson D 18 1 5 6 4
Todd Goehring F 12 1 3 4 4
Josh Allan D 13 1 3 4 11
Emil Öhrvall LW 10 1 2 3 8
Nick Boyagian F 17 1 2 3 4
Jeppe Urup Mogensen D 14 0 2 2 4
Evan Wisocky C 16 0 2 2 0
Alex Bates F 17 0 2 2 17
Tim Clifton C 14 1 0 1 21
Michael Gilroy D 4 0 1 1 0
Derek Contessa RW 6 0 1 1 2
Adam Tisdale C 10 0 1 1 0
Cody Hoban F 10 0 1 1 6
Andrius Kulbis-Marino D 12 0 1 1 4
John Jaworski F 16 0 1 1 0
Ryan Doolin F 4 0 0 0 0
Daniel Petrick D 5 0 0 0 2
Carson Gallagher C 5 0 0 0 2
Marcus Joseph D 6 0 0 0 4
Luke Lush G 6 0 0 0 0
Max Luukko D 10 0 0 0 6
Josh Benson G 14 0 0 0 0
Bench - - - - - 6
Total 43 78 121 154

[5]

Goaltending statistics

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Josh Benson 14 853 4 7 2 43 383 1 .899 3.02
Luke Lush 6 292 2 3 0 16 125 0 .887 3.29
Empty Net - 6 - - - 0 - - - -
Total 18 1152 6 10 2 59 508 1 .896 3.07

Rankings

Main article: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings
Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 (Final)
USCHO.com NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR - NR
USA Today NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.[6]

Awards and honors

Player Award Ref
Marc Johnstone Atlantic Hockey First Team [7]
Braeden Tuck Atlantic Hockey Second Team [7]

References

  1. ^ "NCAA approves blanket waiver for 2020 fall sports athletes to retain year of eligibility". CBS Sports. August 21, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  2. ^ "DI Council grants waiver to allow transfer student-athletes to compete immediately". NCAA. December 16, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  3. ^ "2020–21 Sacred Heart Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Sacred Heart University Department of Athletics. Retrieved July 27, 2017.[permanent dead link‍]
  4. ^ "Sacred Heart Pioneers (Men) 2020-2021 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  5. ^ "Sacred Heart Univ. 2020-2021 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  6. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Atlantic Hockey Announces All-Conference and All-Rookie Winners". Atlantic Hockey. March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.