Buckeyes Struck Back, Disarm Pioneers in 5-1 Series Finale

By: J.J. Pavlick | Fairfield, CT | October 17, 2026 |

FAIRFIELD, CT — In high-stakes college hockey, the second night of a back-to-back series against a power-conference opponent is rarely about system adjustments. It is almost entirely an interrogation of depth, energy reserves, and structural discipline.

Just twenty-four hours after the Sacred Heart University Pioneers secured a historic 5-3 statement victory over Ohio State, the Buckeyes provided a reminder of why they remain a premier Big Ten heavyweight. Weaponizing a relentless first-period forecheck and an overwhelming transition attack, Ohio State completely insulated the interior to hand the Pioneers a heavy 5-1 defeat on Saturday evening at Martire Family Arena.

While the loss prevents a weekend sweep, the big-picture view remains highly encouraging for the program. The split leaves Sacred Heart at an even 2-2-0 on the young campaign, but more importantly, it marks a highly successful early-season non-conference slate. The Pioneers conclude their initial stretch against Big Ten opponents with an unprecedented 2-1-0 record, proving they possess the tactical infrastructure to trade punches with the nation’s elite.

“Our non-league schedule to start was very hard. We’ve taken a lot of good out of it and we’ve learned a lot about our guys,” Sacred Heart head coach C.J. Marottolo said of the early October crucible. “We just didn’t have our energy and work ethic from the beginning. In spurts, a little bit. We need to have energy and work, or it’s not going to go well for us. Ohio State was on their game. They were moving the puck well, and everybody was chasing the game. For us, we have to know our identity and what we need to lean into as a hockey team, and we didn’t do it tonight.”

A First-Period Suffocation

The narrative of the series finale was dictated entirely in the opening twenty minutes. If Friday night belonged to the physical blue-line dominance of Taos Jordan and the Pioneers’ counter-attack, Saturday was an absolute clinic in defensive structural suffocation by the Buckeyes.

Ohio State adjusted its interior coverage, trapping the neutral zone and completely choking out Sacred Heart’s breakout attempts. The offensive pressure pinned the Pioneers deep in their own territory, limiting SHU to a meager three shots on goal throughout the first frame. By contrast, the Buckeyes peppered the Pioneers’ net with 14 shots, executing at a high tempo.

Starting goalkeeper Ajeet Gundarah fought valiantly to weather the initial storm under immense traffic, turning aside a barrage from Sascha Boumedienne and Max Montes. However, the relentless zone pressure took its toll late in the frame. At 18:58, Will Tomko found a seam at even strength, burying a pass from Evan Jardine and Sam Deckhut past Gundarah to break the ice and put the Buckeyes up 1-0.

Second-Period Chaos and Goaltending Relief

The structural bleeding escalated into the early minutes of the middle frame as the Pioneers struggled with self-inflicted discipline issues. Ohio State continued to advance its transitions, with Benjamin Wilmott scoring at 3:32 to push the lead to 2-0. Minutes later, with Emmanuel Vermette in the box for tripping, Ryan Rucinski capitalized on the man advantage at 7:08 to extend the cushion to 3-0.

“We were undisciplined tonight, and we took some selfish penalties,” Marottolo stated bluntly regarding the special teams deficit. “Some of them, I thought, could have gone either way, but still, you can’t take penalties against a team like that who moves the puck and has a very good power play. It’s just kind of in a bottle. That’s where our game was at tonight.”

The relentless push prompted a goalie change at 7:29, as sophomore Jack Spicer entered the crease in relief. The move was strictly a motivational tool to jumpstart a flat bench, as Gundarah had played fine under heavy siege. Team captain Jake Bongo was direct about the locker room’s defensive performance in front of their starter.

“That was not on the G today,” Bongo shared bluntly. “We hung him out to dry. Defensively, we were not good enough. It was unacceptable. Too many Grade-A’s. We left guys naked in front of our net all game. It’s unfortunate that he had to pay the price there, but that’s not on him. That’s on us as a team. My message after the game was just kind of stay positive. At the end of the day, it wasn’t good enough. We’re going to learn from it, and we’re going to bring it next weekend for the start of conference games.”

Spicer faced immediate fire upon entering the game. Following a cross-checking minor against Aiden VanRooyan, Ohio State’s power play struck again at 11:30 as Félix Caron pounded home a feed from Max Montes to make it a commanding 4-0 game.

Armed with some structural stability in the crease after Spicer stopped consecutive looks from Erik Påhlsson and Montes, the Pioneers’ special teams unit finally broke through. Following a roughing minor against Jardine, Mirko Buttazzoni and VanRooyan executed a crisp perimeter cycle, threading a pass across the seam to Diego Buttazzoni. The gifted forward hammered a heavy one-timer from the right circle at 13:53, cutting the deficit to 4-1.

“They’re special players,” Bongo said of the UMass Lowell transfers. “I mean, they can take nothing… and make something out of nothing. They don’t need much. It’s a privilege to watch them play, and we expect them to make plays like they have been all year for us.”

While Diego’s high-risk stickhandling lines later in the game occasionally resulted in turnovers on the ice, Marottolo backed his star offensive weapon’s instincts. “I empower them to make the play,” Marottolo said of Diego’s creativity. “It’s a lot easier from where I am at the bench; they’re on the ice, they’re playing, and I trust them to make the right play. Situational play, like if we’re up by a goal, you can’t be making plays like that at the blue line. But offensively, he’s more gifted than I am. He can do what he needs to do.”

Spicer shut the door completely from there, stopping all 13 shots he faced in relief, but Ohio State’s defense suffocated the perimeter through the final horn to seal the split.

Addressing the Post-Game Standard

The weekend finale also required Bongo to navigate internal leadership details, including handling the emotional fallout from Friday night’s victory when Landen Gunderson celebrated an empty-netter directly in front of the Ohio State bench.

“I understand there’s a lot of emotions in the game, especially for him, with that being his former team,” Bongo observed. “But at the end of the day, you’ve got to control your emotions, and especially in an emotional moment of the game like that, you’ve got to find a way to kind of reel it in and put the team first there.”

Bongo also highlighted the functional updates required ahead of Atlantic Hockey play, particularly inside the face-off circle and tracking the team’s depth of physical support behind VanRooyan and Jordan.

“It’s not just on the centermen,” Bongo noted regarding the draw disparity. “We need some help from the wingers. The wingers got to get their bumps and help the centers there. It’s a five-team effort to win a face-off. Aiden and Jordan have been rock solid for us, but we have to follow up on the physicality for them. We got to use our legs, skate hard, and get in on the forecheck enough. Penalty kill has to be sharper, but the more opportunities we give them, they’re more likely to capitalize. Gotta do a better job staying out of the box for sure.”

Bongo’s not wrong, and even coach C.J. Marottolo said that the forwards and defenseman need to help out on the faceoffs and not just rely on the centers to win every draw cleanly. Too often this year you will see no push for the puck on the faceoffs, and it leads to dangerous chances for the opposition or lets the opposition off the hook when they should be trapped and forced to bunker in.

Turning Attention to the Road

The Pioneers will wash the film from this weekend split immediately as they prepare to navigate their first road stretch of the season and slide into conference play.

“As I told them in the locker room, this weekend coming up at Holy Cross is going to be really hard,” Marottolo concluded. “So we have to get our rest, address what we need to address, and move on. I think we’ll be fine.”

Sacred Heart will travel to Worcester, Mass., on Friday, October 23, for a 7:00 PM clash against historic rival Holy Cross. The matchup kicks off a highly competitive home-and-home weekend series, with the Pioneers returning to Fairfield to host the Crusaders the following evening at 5:00 PM.