Last weekend was one that Sacred Heart coach C.J. Marottolo won’t forget for a very long time. The Pioneers won the Connecticut Ice, a tournament with all four Division I hockey programs in the state, and the school announced plans to build an on-campus rink.
The $60 million, 4,000-seat on campus arena will provide a beautiful new home for the college’s men’s and women’s hockey teams. It will further bolster Sacred Heart’s bid to stay among the top of Atlantic Hockey.
“This new arena is going to be one of the finer facilities in all of college hockey. It will make the alumni proud. It will have an enormous impact on the type of young men we’re going to attract. The school has grown. This new arena is just another arm of excellence,” Marottolo said.
Marottolo is in his 11th season as head coach of Sacred Heart’s hockey program. He went through a three-year stretch where the team won just 14 combined games. The program has certainly come a long way under his guidance.
“There’s no question there were a lot of struggles. Through that pain, we showed growth,” said Marottolo, who hails from nearby North Haven, Conn.
Yale and Quinnipiac played in the NCAA championship game in 2013 with the Bulldogs coming out on top. UConn, with six NHL draft picks, is a member of Hockey East. All three programs have more history, tradition and talent on paper than Sacred Heart.
However, none of that mattered to the Pioneers last weekend. The team upped its record to 16-8-2 with a 6-2 win over Yale and a 4-1 triumph over Quinnipiac to earn the trophy in the first ever playing of the event that brought hockey pride to the Nutmeg state.
“It was a good event. It was good hockey,” Marottolo emphasized.
“This event really resonated with me. I grew up here. I cut my teeth here. I learned the game here. I gathered my passion for the game. I played youth hockey and watched Yale growing up here. It meant a lot to me. Hockey has grown a lot. To be able to win the first one, I couldn’t be prouder.”
Winning the Connecticut Ice and finally receiving the go-ahead for a new arena on campus weren’t things that happened over night. A lot of people were involved to get Sacred Heart’s hockey program to the level it is at now.
The school provided more resources over recent years, including more scholarships and a move from the Milford Ice Pavilion to the Webster Bank Arena.
“Ultimately, the school was on board with upping the scholarships, which was a massive help. The administration facilitated the move to Webster Bank from a local arena,” Marottolo said.
Marottolo pointed to several people in the administration. Their belief in the hockey program has helped all of this happen.
“It all starts at the top with our president, John Petillo. Everyone has to be aligned. Senior Vice President Jim Barquinero and Bobby Valentine, our athletic director,” Marottolo said. “Mike Kinney is the senior VP for finance. All four guys have put their heads together.
“Mark Izzo is the executive director of construction. He’s going to oversee the construction of the rink. He loves hockey and has been a huge advocate for our program.”
Although more resources certainly helped the cause, if it wasn’t for the assistant coaches hitting the road hard and finding better players on the recruiting trail, it would have been all for naught.
“I have to give the assistant coaches a lot of credit. Scott McDougall, Paul Kirtland and (former assistant coach) Joel Beal,” said Marottolo. “They go out on the road. The assistants are the bloodline for a good program. They found the right kids for what we wanted to create. None of this can happen without good players.”
This year’s senior class is a major reason for the turnaround. Players in this class believed in Sacred Heart and its coaching staff before many others did.
“They believed in us as people and coaches. They saw our vision for where we wanted to go. They come to work every day. They’re great student hosts when we’ve had other recruits come in,” said Marottolo.
“I couldn’t be happier for those guys. Seeing their faces when we won on Sunday night was worth its weight in gold. I’ll never forget that. It’s a testament to their character,” Marottolo continued.
Two seniors, both transfers from Hockey East schools, are tied for the team lead in points with 28. Forward Jason Cotton, who was a healthy scratch at Northeastern, and Mike Lee, who played sparingly in parts of two seasons at Vermont, are both instrumental to the on-ice success of this year’s team.
“Jason Cotton never takes a stride off. He never cheats a drill,” began Marottolo.
“This is the type of kid he is. We got beat by RIT last year in a series where we thought we should have won. We were really disappointed. Jason Cotton, at 9:30 the next morning, tells me he wants to talk to me. He told me, ‘I know you helped me get a job with an investment company, but I need to be on the ice and get better.’”
“I’m not surprised by the year he’s having. He’s the type of leader he is. He’s a great ambassador for our program,” Marottolo concluded.
“I’ve know Mike Lee for a long time. He’s a Hamden kid. I coached him growing up. He has a ton of talent and great hockey IQ. He anchors our ‘D’ core. He helps us break pucks out of our zone and get pucks in the attacking zone,” Marottolo said.
Both will likely get a chance to play pro hockey after the season ends. However, Cotton, Lee, and the rest of the Pioneers have some unfinished business before then. SHU is tied for first place in Atlantic Hockey and will have a legitimate shot at earning a NCAA Tournament bid during the league’s playoffs.
