Pioneers' ACHA ACDC B Ivy Weekend: OT Statement Win at Columbia, Wild Comeback Falls Short at Brown
Sacred Heart Men's Club Hockey hit the Ivy League portion of its MCHC schedule this past weekend, traveling to face Columbia University on Friday night and Brown University on Sunday afternoon. It was a high-intensity weekend that tested the Pioneers' pace, physicality, and composure, and showed exactly how dangerous this group can be as the MCHC playoffs approach.
Sacred Heart Outlasts Columbia in an OT Classic, 6–5
Friday night featured a 10:00 PM puck drop at World Ice Arena in Queens, NY, and it was playoff-style hockey from the opening faceoff. The game was fast, physical, and loaded with momentum swings against a deep Columbia squad.
Sacred Heart struck first when #21
Joey Letizia opened the scoring, tipping home a point shot from #8
Drew Scalice to give the Pioneers a 1–0 lead. Sacred Heart doubled the advantage late in the first period with just :31 remaining, when #14 Zach Donahue scored a beautiful goal assisted by #7 Tim Ouellette and #20 Ben Bajzath, sending Sacred Heart into the break up 2–0.
Columbia answered midway through the second to cut it to 2–1, but Sacred Heart regained control early in the third. Just over two minutes into the final period, Letizia scored his second of the night off a gorgeous corner feed from Bajzath, pushing the lead to 3–1.
Columbia responded quickly to make it 3–2, then tied the game 3–3 on a shorthanded goal, completely taking control of the game's momentum. Columbia eventually grabbed the lead on a controversial sequence where #28
Ben Hepler was down injured on the ice, play continued, and Columbia converted to go up 4–3. Another Columbia strike off a turnover at center ice made it 5–3 with eight minutes left with Sacred Heart facing its toughest moment of the season. The Pioneers didn't blink.
#20 Ben Bajzath ignited the comeback off an excellent rush by #6
Evan Vadola, who carried the puck into the Columbia zone and dropped it back perfectly to Bajzath for a high-slot wrist shot, cutting the deficit to 5–4 with just over two minutes remaining. Then, with a little over a minute left in regulation, Bajzath struck again, this time assisted by #26
Dylan Reader and #12
Alex Kurowski, tying the game 5–5 and forcing overtime.
Overtime was end-to-end and electric. With under 20 seconds remaining with both teams play 4-on-4 hockey, Columbia generated a prime chance from point-blank range as the puck sat loose at the top of the crease. #31
Tyler Armagan made a huge stop while #6
Evan Vadola threw his body into the play to help seal the net-front moment. As Columbia bore down on the rebound, #12
Alex Kurowski made a game saving play, getting his stick into the shooting lane to deny what looked like the game-winner. Kurowski's defensive read sprung #13
Scott Podstupka up ice, and Podstupka delivered a massive hit to create an odd-man chance down low close to the Columbia net. The puck found Bajzath, and with just 8 seconds remaining, he buried the overtime winner to complete one of the most dramatic victories of Sacred Heart's inaugural full season.
Official OT GWG: #20 Ben Bajzath (from #13
Scott Podstupka and #12 Kurowski)
Scoring Summary vs. Columbia
Head Coach
Steve Minichini said, "That win was about belief and structure. We got punched in the third, went down two, and our response wasn't frantic — it was connected. Our bench stayed calm, our shifts got shorter, and the details tightened up: puck management, layers in the neutral zone, and getting pucks to the net with people around it. Bajzath was relentless, Letizia was clutch, and the leadership on the ice was excellent. In overtime, our goaltender Armagan, defender Vadola, and Kurowski made three winning plays in a row before we transitioned and finished. That's team hockey, and it's the standard we're building."
Pioneers' Third-Period Push Comes Up Short at Brown, 11–7
On Sunday, Sacred Heart traveled to Providence, RI for a 3:30 PM puck drop at historic Meehan Auditorium to face Brown University in the second leg of the Ivy weekend. Coming off the emotional overtime win Friday night, the Pioneers found themselves chasing the game early. Brown jumped out in front with pace and capitalized on early chances, building a lead that forced Sacred Heart to play from behind.
But the Pioneers showed the same fight they displayed in Queens. Sacred Heart began chipping away, finding goals at key moments, and when the third period arrived the Pioneers made it a game — pushing hard, trading chances, and making a serious run to close the gap. The comeback effort was real, but Brown managed to hold on in a wide-open finish, adding an empty-net goal in the final seconds to seal the 11–7 result.
Scoring Summary vs. Brown
Up Next
The Pioneers return to practice this week preparing for their final regular-season games before playoffs. Sacred Heart hits the road again this coming Saturday, taking on the University of New Haven Chargers at 6:30 PM in West Haven. The matchup should be a strong test as the Chargers are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games.
