Provided by Sacred Heart Hockey
Cardoza Nets Overtime Winner; D2 Hockey Wins 2 of 3
SHU M2 ice hockey takes 2 of 3 this weekend, beating Rider University twice before losing to SECHL rival Army.
The Pioneers started the weekend with a 2 day road trip at Rider University. SHU was first on the board when sophomore Christos Caminis opened the scoring with his first goal of the weekend. Rider was able to capitalize on a couple of SHU mistakes to gain the lead going into intermission. After a close first 10 minutes of the second, the Pioneers picked up 2 more with power play goals from Caminis and junior Nick Chiurazzi. A penalty by SHU in the third resulted in a Rider goal to send the game to overtime. Sophomore Michael Cardoza netted the overtime winner, his third goal on the season, to start the series off with a win.
The 2 teams met again on Saturday, with SHU dominating from the opening faceoff. Junior Ryan Oechsner scored in the 6th minute of the game to put the Pioneers on the board first. Rider was able to tie the game before freshman James O’Toole put the Pioneers back on top and they never relinquished the lead. Caminis netted another power play goal with 10 seconds left in the period. SHU added 4 more to ice the game, including the first career goal for freshman Charles DiCarlo. Sophomore Conor Higgins recorded 36 saves in the game to secure his second win of the season.
The Pioneers closed out the weekend with a big SECHL match up against Army. SHU was Army’s only loss on the season, having defeated the Black Knights 5-1 in October. Again, SHU was first to score when Caminis logged his 5th goal in 3 days. Army evened it in the second. Chiurazzi and sophomore Matt Milko both scored on power plays to put SHU ahead. The Knights closed the game with 4 unanswered to even the season series. Junior Corey Splaine went 1-1 in goal this weekend, with 72 saves and 2 assists. Caminis and junior Chad Schneider set the pace for the SHU offense, adding 6 points each to their season totals.
SHU is back home this weekend for a 3 game stint in the Martire Family Arena. They face off with Siena College on Friday at 7pm. Clarkson University comes to town for a 2 game series. Puck drop will be 6:30pm on Saturday and noon on Sunday.
