Atlantic Hockey Preview - Sacred Heart
For the fourth place team in the AHA, I will take the team that was the #1 seed in last year's AHA tournament - Sacred Heart.
Sacred Heart has won over 20 games the last couple years for the first time in the program's history. Both times, however, the season finished sooner than expected. Last year, the Pioneers made it to the AHA semifinals before bowing out in overtime to eventual tournament champion Air Force. The previous year, they lost in the AHA quarterfinals to instate rival UConn. They look to take the next step this year.
One thing Sacred Heart should be able to do this year is score. They return 4 players who had double digits in goals from last year. They are lead by Bear Trapp and Alexandre Parent. Those two combined for 78 points last year. Trapp has been remarkable in his two years with 83 career points. The Pioneers have a lot of depth in this area - scoring 3.25 goals per game in conference. Look for them to equal if not better that mark this year.
The Pioneers should be set in the defensive side of the team as well. They lost 3 defensemen to graduation, but only 2 of them were everyday players. They still have some veterans here. A couple of key members to watch are Scott Marchesi and David Grimson. They allowed a solid 30.4 shots on goal per game in conference and only 18.1% of the time teams scored on their power plays. This is pretty good - and I expect that they will be around there as well.
Goaltending could be an area of concern for Sacred Heart. Stefan Drew is the only returning goalie with experience. He has only played 14 games in his career though. He has been excellant in those games - with a 2.68 career goals against average and a .916 career save percentage. Backing up Drew will be Oliver St. Onge and Matt Miller.
If Drew can hold up on a game by game basis the Pioneers will be a tough team to beat. They will win quite a few games by their offense alone. They will be in the hunt for a conference championship. I think 4th is probably the lowest they will be.
Projected record: 17-11
Sacred Heart has won over 20 games the last couple years for the first time in the program's history. Both times, however, the season finished sooner than expected. Last year, the Pioneers made it to the AHA semifinals before bowing out in overtime to eventual tournament champion Air Force. The previous year, they lost in the AHA quarterfinals to instate rival UConn. They look to take the next step this year.
One thing Sacred Heart should be able to do this year is score. They return 4 players who had double digits in goals from last year. They are lead by Bear Trapp and Alexandre Parent. Those two combined for 78 points last year. Trapp has been remarkable in his two years with 83 career points. The Pioneers have a lot of depth in this area - scoring 3.25 goals per game in conference. Look for them to equal if not better that mark this year.
The Pioneers should be set in the defensive side of the team as well. They lost 3 defensemen to graduation, but only 2 of them were everyday players. They still have some veterans here. A couple of key members to watch are Scott Marchesi and David Grimson. They allowed a solid 30.4 shots on goal per game in conference and only 18.1% of the time teams scored on their power plays. This is pretty good - and I expect that they will be around there as well.
Goaltending could be an area of concern for Sacred Heart. Stefan Drew is the only returning goalie with experience. He has only played 14 games in his career though. He has been excellant in those games - with a 2.68 career goals against average and a .916 career save percentage. Backing up Drew will be Oliver St. Onge and Matt Miller.
If Drew can hold up on a game by game basis the Pioneers will be a tough team to beat. They will win quite a few games by their offense alone. They will be in the hunt for a conference championship. I think 4th is probably the lowest they will be.
Projected record: 17-11
posted by Komey at 4:28 PM
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