{"id":88971,"date":"2018-11-08T11:00:04","date_gmt":"2018-11-08T17:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=88971"},"modified":"2020-08-24T14:05:05","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T19:05:05","slug":"progressing-sacred-heart-squad-part-of-unbelievable-atlantic-hockey-parity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2018\/11\/08\/progressing-sacred-heart-squad-part-of-unbelievable-atlantic-hockey-parity\/","title":{"rendered":"Progressing Sacred Heart squad part of ‘unbelievable’ Atlantic Hockey parity"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"<\/a>
Jason Cotton sits third in Sacred Heart scoring with two goals and three points through five games this season (photo: Mike Miller\/Sacred Heart Athletics).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stop me if you\u2019ve heard this before.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s October, and an Atlantic Hockey team rolls into another team\u2019s building for a conference series. That team takes at least a win or a tie but isn\u2019t swept out of the barn.<\/p>\n

You didn\u2019t stop me.<\/p>\n

Sometime in January or February, that same Atlantic Hockey team will sit somewhere in the standings. Some team will be within striking distance of a different team, and some other team will be a couple of points behind it.<\/p>\n

When the season ends, one or two points will be the difference. Chris and I will inevitably look back into October and try and find the game that caused the chaos.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll find several. Welcome to October in Atlantic Hockey, where it\u2019s kind of like a bizarro Whose Line Is It Anyway?<\/i> Everything\u2019s almost made up, but the points – the points matter a whole lot.<\/p>\n

The league launched its first full slate of conference games this past weekend, with 10 teams battling through five series. It immediately devolved into absolute chaos with only one game decided by more than two goals (Holy Cross\u2019 nonconference game against Providence notwithstanding) and two overtime games. Only one team earned a sweep, and it came on the road.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe parity is unbelievable,\u201d Sacred Heart coach CJ Marottolo said. \u201cOther than Air Force, every series was a split or a win and tie. All the games are tying us into a tight, tight league. It puts points at a premium starting from the first week back in October. You need to get them (now).\u201d<\/p>\n

Sacred Heart knows a little something about that parity — its split with Bentley was an early-season epic against a longtime rival. On Friday, the teams combined for 23 first period shots but only one goal when Bentley\u2019s Luke Santerno scored 1:16 into the game. Sacred Heart answered in the second when a power play that was 1-for-12 scored 52 seconds into the period, followed by a go-ahead goal four minutes later.<\/p>\n

It set up a wild third period where the Pioneers\u2019 Austin McIlmurray received a game misconduct that included a five-minute major. On the penalty kill, though, freshman Austin Magera blocked a shot and found himself on a short-handed breakaway. He scored, pulling Sacred Heart away with a 3-1 lead on his first career goal. It wound up as the game-winner as Bentley scored an extra-attacker goal with one minute on the clock.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou play the game the right way, you get rewarded,\u201d Marottolo said. \u201cThat was Austin blocking a shot and being where he needed to be for his teammates – and he was rewarded. That really lifted our bench. Our execution level had been high all week, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to beat into our guys every day in practice. It\u2019s not the team with the most talent that wins games. It\u2019s the team that works the hardest.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was only Night 1.<\/p>\n

The next night, it was Bentley\u2019s turn.<\/p>\n

Sacred Heart scored twice in the first period to post a 2-0 lead despite being outshot 11-6, only to see the Falcons whittle it away with a second period goal by Dylan Pitera and a third period goal by Jake Kauppila. That sent the game to overtime, where Callin again served as a hero, scoring a wide-open shot after a bullet pass from Luke Santerno to draw Bentley even on the weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cPoints now are just as important as points down the stretch,\u201d Marottolo said. \u201cI\u2019ve talked a lot to our team about putting ourselves \u2018in a position to be in a position.\u2019 You can\u2019t let the points slip away saying you can get them back because you never get that chance. But getting two points, playing .500 on the road, is fine. We wanted more, but I thought we could really build off that weekend. Those weeks are crucial.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Atlantic Hockey teams, these games are the true test after the proving grounds of nonconference games. Offseason optimism about winning more nonconference games is instead turning into a tough reality. As of this weekend, AHA teams are just 5-22-2 against other leagues and haven\u2019t seen an out-of-league victory since Mercyhurst and RIT beat Ferris State and Colgate, respectively, on Oct. 20.<\/p>\n

So the games have to become a learning experience for what will ultimately become the season-long demolition derby racing for the conference semifinals in Buffalo.<\/p>\n

Though the number is discouraging, the Pioneers have done their part by challenging Northeastern and Providence, emerging from the game against the Friars with a tie.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had Northeastern before Providence, and both of those teams were really good,\u201d Marottolo said. \u201cThey both had a lot of skill and pushed the pace, so it got us into a mindset. Our league is no different, but what stood out was Providence\u2019s work ethic. They really work hard on the puck and away from the puck.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sacred Heart trailed that game 2-0 after the first period but scored a power play goal, its first of the season, halfway through the second. They tied the game late in the third and held on as Brett Magnus made 31 saves against the PC attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur preparation for that game really helped our team,\u201d Marottolo said. \u201cOur practices are much harder than they\u2019ve ever been because I want the games to become easier, so to speak. We\u2019ve put a premium on conditioning to win one-on-one battles. Our guys are buying in and having fun with that grind, so it\u2019s been a good first month.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The first month) was fragmented. We didn\u2019t play the first weekend, then played Northeastern (twice), then played Providence and had a week off. So I didn\u2019t know how we would be in that first game (against Bentley) after having the week off. But I was pleased with our effort in chunks over that weekend. We have to shore up parts of our game, but I really liked our effort level.\u201d<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve probably heard all of this before, but this is life in Atlantic Hockey.<\/p>\n

There are four more series this week with an additional game on Tuesday. By the time it\u2019s done, we still won\u2019t know anything more than we did this past week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stop me if you\u2019ve heard this before. It\u2019s October, and an Atlantic Hockey team rolls into another team\u2019s building for a conference series. That team takes at least a win or a tie but isn\u2019t swept out of the barn. You didn\u2019t stop me (photo: Mike Miller\/Sacred Heart Athletics).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":111134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[812],"coauthors":[804],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nProgressing Sacred Heart squad part of 'unbelievable' Atlantic Hockey parity - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Stop me if you\u2019ve heard this before. It\u2019s October, and an Atlantic Hockey team rolls into another team\u2019s building for a conference series. 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