Sacred Heart Names C.J. Marottolo Head Coach

Sacred Heart Names C.J. Marottolo Head Coach

Courtesy of Sacred Heart Athletic Communications

FAIRFIELD, CT – Sacred Heart University Executive Director of Athletics Don Cook announced today the hire of C.J. Marottolo as the Pioneers new men’s ice hockey coach. Marottolo takes over from Shaun Hannah, who resigned in September after 13 years behind the Pioneer bench, and becomes the fourth coach in school history.

“It is an honor and privilege to be named the next head hockey coach at Sacred Heart University,” says Marottolo. “Sacred Heart's commitment to excellence in the classroom, on the athletic fields, and giving back to the community are three defining attributes that attracted me to this great university.”

Marottolo, a North Haven, CT native and former Choate Rosemary Hall hockey star, was on the Yale men’s hockey staff for 13 seasons and helped the Bulldogs reach the NCAA Tournament twice, including the 2008-09 season. He was promoted to associate head coach in 2003. During his tenure, he recruited four All-Americans, nine All-ECAC Hockey selections and four Ivy League Rookies of the Year.

“C. J. Marottolo has a wonderful reputation in the collegiate hockey world,” says Cook. “His 13 years at Yale as Associate Head Coach have prepared him well for his new appointment as head coach here. C.J. inherits a quality program from Shaun Hannah, who for 13 years worked tirelessly to create a solid infrastructure on and off the ice in the classroom, and in the community. In the best tradition of Tim Taylor, his long time mentor at Yale and former Olympic coach, C.J. emerged from a quality pool of candidates as a perfect fit to move the Sacred Heart men’s ice hockey program forward to even greater success within the Atlantic Hockey Association and beyond.”

An assistant coach at Trinity College for two winters before Yale, Marottolo played collegiate hockey at Northeastern University and graduated in 1989. The following two years he served as player/head coach of the Hockey Club of Metz, France. While overseas, he was also head coach of Euro-Sport/Drummond Hockey School in Amenville, France. Marottolo, who speaks French fluently, has also served as an assistant coach for Team New England at the 1997 Select 16 USA Hockey Festival and coached the 1998 Select 15 team before becoming head coach of the 1999 New England Select 15 squad that finished fourth.

He and his wife, Lynn, daughter, Kailey, and son, Jack, reside in North Haven.

Sacred Heart University is in its 11th season of Division I play this year and is a member of Atlantic Hockey, where the Pioneers have qualified for the playoffs each season and reached the league title game in 2004. During 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons, the Pioneers twice won a school-record 21 games and earned the top seed in the Atlantic Hockey playoffs for the first time in school history in 2007.

“Atlantic Hockey is a great conference with great teams and tremendous coaches. I look forward to the very competitive schedule,” Marottolo says.

The Sacred Heart season begins on October 23 with a pair of road games at RPI and Union. The 2009-10 home opener is October 27 against AIC at 7:05 at the Milford Ice Pavilion. Marottolo will have a chance to take on his old team when the Pioneers face Yale on November 24 in New Haven.