I left the CSTV offices in New York at about 4:50 to catch a 5:16 train out of Grand Central. I would have made it, except that I got pushed off of the No. 5 train that I was trying to get on at Union Square. If you've ever seen any video or photos of the trains in Tokyo...that's what it was like. In any case, because I got pushed off the train, I missed my 5:16 train at Grand Central and had to wait until 5:38, which didn't get me into Milford until 7:08. Oddly, the taxi companies in Milford don't have cabs camped out at the station, so I had to duck into a Quiznos across the street from the train station and borrow the phone book. When it was all said and done, I had missed the first period by the time I got to the Milford Ice Pavilion. Not fun. Oh well...

THE RINK: The Milford Ice Pavilion is owned and operated by the same folks as the Northford Ice Pavilion, but I like Milford much more. It's not that Milford is a great building; it isn't. That said, it has charm. The folks at Milford are so kind as to put Sacred Heart's logo on the ice, and a marquee above the concession stand lists the upcoming home games (the offerings at the snack bar, by the way, are nice and varied, like Northford's). Like Northford, there's a netting in front of the entire seating area, but unlike Northford, it's not my problem, because the press box is across the ice, right over the glass in the end Sacred Heart attacks twice.

GAME 22: SACRED HEART 4, ARMY 2

When I arrived at the arena just before the start of the second period, the score was tied, one goal apiece. According to Rick Cohen, the ever-helpful Sacred Heart Athletic Communications representative at the Pavilion, the goal for Army's Chase Podsiad was a tip-in of a rebound, and Sacred Heart countered just under six minutes later with a goal by Pierre-Luc O'Brien, where Army goalkeeper Brad Roberts made the initial save on Bernie Chmiel's shot, but couldn't stop the momentum fully, and the puck bounced to O'Brien, who potted his eighth goal of the season. Brad Roberts stopped 10 shots for the Black Knights and Jason Smith stopped six for the Pioneers, and that's where I joined the action.

The second period was all Brad Roberts. Army was outshot 14-3 in the period, but Roberts stopped everything that the Pioneers threw at him. Nothing particularly spectacular, but Roberts was getting the job done, plain and simple. Robb Ross, not to be confused with Army football coach Bobby Ross - or Minnesota women's star Bobbi Ross - had Army's best chancce of the period, but he was stopped by Smith.

Ross may be the most skilled player the Black Knights have. It's really hard for Army to recruit skill players because of the service commitment, but I've liked Ross since I saw him in his freshman year, and he's definitely someone to watch when you see the Black Knights.

But that was the second period, and this one got interesting in the third. Peter Ferraro started things up, when he came in one-on-one. The Army defenseman forced Ferraro off to his right, and Roberts stopped the initial shot, but Ferraro scooped up the rebound and went for a wraparound goal. Roberts was uncharacteristically slow going from post-to-post, and Ferraro was just able to jam it in for the 2-1 lead.

The score went to 3-1 on a very nice goal by freshman Bear Trapp. Bear took the puck off of the end boards, brought it out front, made a lightning-fast switch to his backhand and tucked it between the legs of a stickless Roberts.

Now, Bear's father and stepmother were on my train back from the game, so I had the opportunity to ask Mr. Trapp how Bear came by his name. It turns out that his full name is Douglas Bear Trapp, and the "Bear" part comes from a press clipping about his grandfather, Barry Trapp, currently the director of scouting for the Toronto Maple Leafs. So, Bear goes by his middle name by choice, which you have to respect. After all, when you call yourself Bear Trapp, you open yourself up to a lot of ribbing, so you have to play well enough to shut people up. His goal in this game certainly qualifies.

Army cut it back to a one-goal lead on a power-play goal, as freshman Tim Manthey scored on a low shot from the left point that sailed past Smith on his stickside. However, wih 9:06 left in the third, Drew Sanders sealed it for the Pioneers with a shot from the left face-off circle that slid just past the outstretched left leg of Roberts and just inside the far post to make it 4-2 Pioneers, which is how it would end.

The Pioneers are a good team, and certainly capable of winning the Atlantic Hockey title. I don't know if Sacred Heart would be able to put the fear of Zach into a top-seeded team, the way 2005 champ Mercyhurst did to Boston College in the first round last March, but I wouldn't rule it out. I'd need another look at Jason Smith in net before I made that judgement. He's a sixth-round draft pick of the New Jersey Devils, so he could be very good, but Army didn't exactly test him often enough for me to get a good sense of how he plays.

What I did get a good sense of is the atmosphere for games at Sacred Heart. The listed attendance was 326, but it felt like more. The Pioneers had a nice pep band at the game, complete with those fabric vocers that get stretched over the bells of the tubas. They played mostly pep band standards, although they also played the Pioneers onto the ice with an arrangement of the intro music made famous by the Chicago Bulls.

I should know the name of the song, but I don't. I guess it's because they don't have any hook to include in the song title, the way "Rock and Roll, Part II" often has "The Hey Song" added in parentheses. It's not like they can put "Chicago Bulls Theme" in parentheses after the title of this song (which I'm sure I'll know by the next time I go to a game), because the Bulls aren't the only team that;s used it (my first memory of the tune is from the 1992-93 Phoenix Suns), and because it would make an official connection between that song and the Bulls, which I'm not sure either party would want. But I digress.

The other nice touch was a large bell that is kept in the stands and rung after goals, when the Pioneers come out before a period, and at several other times throughout the game. I got a closer look after the game, and I saw the the handle used to ring the bell was once part of a hockey stick.

By the way, Sacred Heart seems to have a much nicer setup at Milford than Quinnipiac does at Northford: a lounge in between the locker room and coaches' office, plaques on the walls, upcoming games listed on the marquee, the logo on the ice, and all the other nice little touches. The Pavilion feels like the home of the Pioneers, not just someplace they play their games.

As for Army, Roberts seemed to be a bit off his game tonight, which is a big reason why Army came up on the short end. That's not a shot at him: Army was outshot, 43-18, and when the shot totals are that lopsided, the only way the team with fewer shots wins is because the goalie steals the game. Roberts wasn't bad, particulary in the second, when he was very solid, but he didn't steal the game.

Speaking of stealing games, though, congratulations to Merrimack's Jim Healy on stealing one from New Hampshire tonight. I don't know exactly what the story is with the Warriors these days, but next time I check in with you folks, I will. So long!