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Thrive and advance suddenly turned into survive and advance.

But a win is a win and that’s all that mattered Saturday morning as No. 3 �鶹ӳ�� held off No. 14 Sacred Heart, 3-2, to advance to Sunday’s final round of the American Collegiate Hockey Association Northeast Regional Tournament at Simsbury, Connecticut.

The Bonnies will play No. 6 RPI (20-6-1) at 12:30 p.m. Sunday. The game will be (subscription required). With a win, SBU will advance to the ACHA Division II National Tournament March 12-17 in St. Louis. Four teams from each region advance to the 16-team national tourney.

The Bonnies (22-4-1) built a 3-0 lead after one period and appeared on their way to a comfortable win over Sacred Heart (12-9-3). But the Pioneers scored twice midway through the third period to cut the lead to one.

“We played great in the first period but we took our foot off the gas and got a little lackadaisical,” said Coach Mike Cosentino. “Played an A game in the first and a C game after that, so it averaged out to about a B. But that won’t be good enough against RPI. We need to play our A game the entire time.”

SBU goalie Tyler Kirk made two great saves after a 2-on-1 Sacred Heart break inside a minute to play to preserve the victory. Kirk was stellar all game, stopping 40 of 42 shots.

“Tyler was outstanding, making big saves when we really needed them,” Cosentino said “He really saved us in the third period.

The Pioneers shut down the Bonnies’ top scoring line, but SBU relied on its depth to build its lead.

Presley Schiltz scored his fifth goal of the year on the power play with 7:39 left, a screened wrister from the top of the right circle; Jake Giordano (4^th) scored from in front of the net with 3:03 left; and defenseman Cal Kogut (8^th) blasted home a slap shot from the blue line — assisted by Sam Renaud — with 1:16 to play.

“Our fourth line of Tyler Kelley, Jake and Ryan Berry came up big again for us,” Cosentino said. “They really bring a lot of energy when they’re on the ice.” Berry and Kelley assisted on Giordano’s goal.

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�鶹ӳ�� the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, �鶹ӳ�� is a community committed to transforming the lives of its students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a commitment to academic excellence and lifelong civic engagement. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, �鶹ӳ�� was ranked #8 for value and #19 overall by U.S. News and World Report (2025).