59 Teams in 59 Days Sacred Heart

The 59 Teams in 59 Days tour continues with a trip to Milford, Connecticut where we visit the Sacred Heart Pioneers on day number 51 on the tour.

Despite losing in the Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals to Connecticut, the Pioneers still had a solid season with a 21-12-2 record, their best season under head coach Shaun Hannah. This year Hannah and the Pioneers should be one of the pre-season favorites to win the league.

The biggest weapon for Sacred Heart is Senior Pierre-Luc O'Brien. In his career O'Brien has been great scoring 51 goals and adding 61 assists for his career point total of 112. Last year he became more of an assist man as he had a career high 31 assists to go with his 19 goals. Also returning are all rookie performer from last year Bear Trapp, and Alexander Parent, who each averaged over a point a game.

On Defense, the Pioneers lose two, but return a solid core of defensemen. Senior Thomas Spencer will lead the solid core of defensemen, along with classmate Kalen Wright. Also returning from last year are Junior Scott Marchesi, and Sophomore David Grimson.

Goaltending, the Pioneers have one of the best goalies coming back in Atlantic Hockey in Senior Jason Smith. In 30 games last year, Smtih was 18-11-1 with a solid 2.24 goals against average and an great .927 save percentage. Sophomore Stefan Drew, who played in six games last year, will be the backup for one more season. Expect him to start next year.

Overall, the Pioneers have one of the most solid teams in the conference. Shaun Hannah will have a good load of talent in front of him, the question is can the Pioneers win their conference and get to the NCAA's?

The predicted ceiling for Sacred Heart is first in Atlantic Hockey, their gutter is fourth.

Well one more week from tommorrow we will have our last team on the 59 Teams in 59 Days tour. But for day number 52, we will feature the St. Cloud State Huskies, one of the biggest surprises in the WCHA last year. Can the Huskies get back to the NCAA's? Find out tommorrow as we make the trip to St. Cloud, Minnesota.