The Spectrum

Issue date: 12/1/05 Section: Sports

Media Credit: The Spectrum / Travis Flynn Senior defenceman Bernie Chmiel blasts a shot on net during the second period Sunday night. Chmiel scored a goal and added three assists to earn himself Atlantic Hockey player of the week honors

The Sacred Heart men's hockey team won its first non-conference game in almost three years, defeating RIT by an 8-5 score on Sunday evening. Pierre-Luc O'Brien, Alexandre Parent and Bear Trapp meshed for five goals and eleven points as freshmen goaltender Stefan Drew earned his first collegiate victory.

The Pioneers had not beaten a non-conference opponent since the 2002-03 season.

"It's been a while," assistant captain Rocco Molinaro said. "And it's good to get it out of the way."

With 11 points between the three, Sacred Heart's top line of O'Brien, Parent and Trapp did its part to ensure the Pioneer victory.

"Our first line is one of the top shifts in the league," head coach Shaun Hannah said. "They are definitely a big part of our offense."

But Hannah also knows his deeper lines have the abillity to score. Those support lines, combined with a potent first line, create a Pioneers team with a dangerous, balanced attack.

"We feel we have offensive balance and the potential to get production from all of our lines," Hannah said.

Goaltender Drew kept his Pioneers close the entire game, though at no point during the evening did the Pioneers trail. The closest call came early in the third period when RIT made the score 5-4, but it was as close as they would get. Sacred Heart's offense was too hungry to be stopped.

The Pioneers used a quick-strike attack in the first period to go up 2-0, and never looked back.

The first goal of the night came when O'Brien scored on a power play goal 5:38 into the opening period, and Trapp followed minutes later with a rebound off Molinaro's shot.

Molinaro would not be stopped in the scond period, however, as he gave Sacred Heart a 3-1 lead complements of a crisp Bernie Chmiel pass on the power play. The Pioneers scored again on the powerplay in the second, when Parent sent a slap shot past the RIT goaltender.

But the men weren't done.

Senior Andrew Billinghurst gave the Pioneers a commanding 5-2 lead as the wild second period came to a close. RIT was not finished, and closed to within one goal in the third period.

Continued...

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