The Sacred Heart Pioneers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Sacred Heart University. The Pioneers, members of Atlantic Hockey America, play at the Martire Family Arena in Fairfield, Connecticut. From 1993–2016, the Pioneers home arena was the Milford Ice Pavilion in Milford, Connecticut.
History
Division III Sacred Heart began sponsoring men's ice hockey as a varsity sport in 1993. The team was placed in the South Division of ECAC North/South/Central and because they were not able to schedule all of their ECAC South opponents twice the Pioneers played half a conference schedule in their inaugural year. With a full conference slate the following year, Sacred Heart greatly improved their record which continued in year three.
For the 1996–97 season Shaun Hannah was brought in as head coach and the Pioneers finished with their first winning record and 2nd in the division, narrowly missing the conference postseason.
In the late 1990s the MAAC was mandated to form an ice hockey conference. Two of the ECAC South programs would have to promote themselves to Division I and soon after they were joined by Sacred Heart. With an eye for their new conference, Hannah began offering scholarships to incoming students, a violation of Division III rules, which caused the Pioneers (along with two other ECAC South teams) to be ruled ineligible for any postseason play. Additionally all of their conference games would not be counted in the standings, through they would still be able to play the matches and count the results towards their overall standings.
MAAC Despite the influx of scholarship athletes, Sacred Heart finished 7th in the first year of MAAC conference play. The team rebounded in the second year, doubling their win total and finishing with a winning record. Postseason success was a little slower in coming with the Pioneers unable to win a playoff game until year 4 of D-I play. During the 2002–03 season Iona and Fairfield, the two original MAAC programs, both announced that they would end their sponsorship of ice hockey at the end of the season. With only one full-time member still active the MAAC terminated their ice hockey division. The remaining 9 programs banded together and formed the Atlantic Hockey Association which began the following year.
Atlantic Hockey Association
Sacred Heart played well for the first few years of Atlantic Hockey, reaching the championship game in 2004 and 2010 but after Hannah left in 2009, the team took a tumble down the standings. From 2011 through 2018 the Pioneers never finished higher than 8th in the conference. Bench boss C. J. Marottolo was finally able to push the Pioneers out of the basement in 2019 with a 4th-place finish, ending 1 win shy of .500 on the year.
The school announced in 2020 that it would build a $60 million facility for its men's and women's ice hockey programs. After a delayed start, construction began on the Martire Family Arena in March 2021, with a new scheduled completion date of 2023 and a new price tag of $70 million. Martire Family Arena became Sacred Heart's first on-campus ice arena.
Atlantic Hockey America Shortly after the 2023–24 season, the Atlantic Hockey Association merged with College Hockey America, a women-only league, to form the new Atlantic Hockey America. The two conferences had a longstanding relationship before the merger, having shared a commissioner and conference staff since 2010. All members of the Association and CHA became members of the merged league.
Season-by-season results
Records vs. current Atlantic Hockey America teams As of the completion of 2025–26 season School Team Away Arena Overall record Win % Last Result 24–36–7 0–2 L 38–41–16 4–3 W 46–43–8 2–3 L 31–34–10 3–2 W 44–50–7 5–2 W 23–22–2 2–1 W 13–24–1 5–0 W 21–34–3 3–0 W
Coaches As of completion of 2025–26 season Tenure Coach Years Record Pct. 1993–1994 Pete Downey 1 4–15–0 1994–1996 John Glynne 2 21–25–2 1996–2009 Shaun Hannah 13 191–204–38 2009–Present C. J. Marottolo 17 232–318–63 Totals 4 coaches 33 seasons 448–562–103
Statistical leaders
Career points leaders
Player Years GP G A Pts PIM 2003–2007 142 67 91 158 141 2005–2009 139 56 99 155 228 1999–2003 129 65 77 142 198 2004–2008 143 54 87 141 105 2006–2010 147 47 87 134 122 2001–2005 139 55 69 124 233 2013–2017 147 42 82 124 125 2009–2013 143 46 72 118 65 2018–2023 154 47 69 116 125 2008–2012 142 61 48 109 113 1998–2002 120 49 60 109 138
Career goaltending leaders
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
Minimum 30 games Player Years GP Min W L T GA SO SV% GAA 1999–2003 88 5160 36 35 13 126 7 .917 2.63 2018–2022 82 4642 41 27 8 206 6 .900 2.66 2021–2024 47 2596 17 22 4 115 1 .901 2.66 2019–2023 51 2611 18 22 3 118 2 .901 2.71 2003–2007 71 4291 38 29 4 196 2 .912 2.74 Statistics current through the end of the 2025–26 season. Not including active players.
Current roster As of August 2, 2025.
Awards and honors
NCAA AHCA Second Team All-Americans 2009–10: Nick Johnson, F 2019–20: Mike Lee, D; Jason Cotton, F
MAAC
Individual awards
Goaltender of the Year Eddy Ferhi: 2003
Offensive rookie of the year Martin Paquet: 2000
Coaches of the Year Shaun Hannah: 2000
All-Conference Teams First Team All-MAAC
2002–03: Eddy Ferhi, G; Les Hrapchak, D; Martin Paquet, F
Second team all-maac
1999–00: Alexis Jutras-Binet, G; Martin Paquet, F 2000–01: Eddy Ferhi, G 2001–02: Eddy Ferhi, G; Martin Paquet, F
MAAC All-Rookie Team
1999–00: Les Hrapchak, D; Martin Paquet, F
Atlantic Hockey Association
Individual awards
Player of the Year Jason Cotton: 2020
Best Defensive Forward Dave Jarman: 2010
Rookie of the Year Pierre-Luc O'Brien: 2004 Bear Trapp: 2006 Justin Danforth: 2014 Braeden Tuck: 2020
Individual Sportsmanship Award Alexandre Parent: 2008 Eric Delong: 2013 Braeden Tuck: 2023, 2024
Regular Season Scoring Trophy Neil Shea: 2022
Coach of the Year C. J. Marottolo: 2010
All-Conference Teams First Team All-Atlantic Hockey
2004–05: Pierre-Luc O'Brien, F 2005–06: Jason Smith, G; Pierre-Luc O'Brien, F 2006–07: Jason Smith, G; Scott Marchesi, D; Pierre-Luc O'Brien, F 2007–08: Alexandre Parent, F 2009–10: Nick Johnson, F 2016–17: Justin Danforth, F 2017–18: Cameron Heath, F; Dylan McLaughlin, F 2018–19: Dylan McLaughlin, F 2019–20: Mike Lee, D; Jason Cotton, F; Austin McIlmurray, F 2020–21: Marc Johnstone, F 2022–23: Neil Shea, F
Second Team All-Atlantic Hockey
2003–04: Konn Hawkes, D; Garrett Larson, F 2004–05: Kalen Wright, F 2005–06: Alexandre Parent, F 2007–08: Scott Marchesi, F; Bear Trapp, F 2015–16: Justin Danforth, F 2016–17: Cameron Heath, D; Ryan Schmelzer, F 2017–18: Lester Lancaster, D 2020–21: Braeden Tuck, F 2021–22: Logan Britt, D; Neil Shea, F
Third Team All-Atlantic Hockey
2009–10: Paul Ferraro, D; Dave Jarman, F 2011–12: Matt Gingera, F 2012–13: Eric Delong, F 2018–19: Austin Magera, F 2019–20: Josh Benson, G 2021–22: Braeden Tuck, F 2022–23: Hunter Sansbury, F 2023–24: John Jaworski, F
Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team
2003–04: Pierre-Luc O'Brien, F 2004–05: Scott Marchesi, D; Alexandre Parent, F 2005–06: Bear Trapp, F 2009–10: Steven Legato, G; Eric Delong, F 2013–14: Mitch Nylen, F; Justin Danforth, F 2017–18: Marc Johnstone, F 2018–19: Josh Benson, G; Austin Magera, F 2019–20: Braeden Tuck, F 2022–23: Marcus Joughin, F
Atlantic Hockey America Individual awards
Player of the Year Félix Trudeau (2026)
Forward of the Year Félix Trudeau (2026)
All-Conference teams First Team All-Atlantic Hockey America
2025–26: Mikey Adamson, D; Félix Trudeau, F
Second Team All-Atlantic Hockey America
2024–25: Mikey Adamson, D; Félix Trudeau, F
Third Team All-Atlantic Hockey America
2024–25: Ajeet Gundarah, G; Hunter Sansbury, D
All-Atlantic Hockey America Rookie Team
2024–25: Ajeet Gundarah, G
Pioneers in the NHL
As of July 1, 2025.
Player Position Team(s) Years Games Justin DanforthRight wingCBJ2021–Present1830Marc JohnstoneRight wingPIT2023–202410
See also Sacred Heart Pioneers women's ice hockey
References
External links