Former Surrey Eagles netminder Ajeet Gundarah is already making a name for himself early in his college career.
A freshman at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn., Gundarah is already among the best in save percentage and goals against average, despite the fact he started the 2024-2025 season with an injury.
One of only a handful of Division I hockey players of South Asian descent, Gundarah was named Atlantic Hockey America Goalie of the Week last week (Jan. 13), after he stopped 67 of 70 shots to help the Sacred Heart Pioneers earn a 1-1 tie and a 4-2 victory against a No. 18 Cornell squad. The Surrey native, who led SHU to its first win over a ranked team on home ice, posted a season-high 40 saves in the tie before stopping 27 in game two in front of a packed house.
Gundarah was also named by the Hockey Commissioners Association's "Watch List" of 32 who will compete for the Mike Richter Award, the U.S.'s top prize for a Division I goalie; Gundarah is one of five AHA goalies on the list. Goaltenders qualified for the initial "Watch List" by meeting minimum goals against (2.30) and save percentage (.920) standards.
He was the AHA Goalie of the Month for December as well, and now has a 1.92 GAA (12th in Division I) with a .932 save percentage (8th) and a 10-3-2 record for the first-place Pioneers, who are currently No. 1 in AHA standings.
"He gives our guys a lot of confidence when he's in the net," said SHU head hockey coach CJ Marottolo Monday (Jan. 20). "He's been terrific! He came in injured, so it took him a little bit to get going, to get cleared by the doctor, but once he did 鈥� he got his opportunity I think in mid-November 鈥� and he hasn't looked back since."
Gundarah, who won the British Columbia Hockey League's Fred Page Cup last season with his South Surrey-based squad, was the top netminder in the BCHL last season, finishing his junior career with a .924 save percentage in 97 BCHL games. Constantly described as a "brick wall" of a goalie by his BCHL peers, his stellar play earned him the Michael Garteig Trophy for the BCHL鈥檚 top goaltender.
"He's a competitor. He never gives up on plays, he never gives up on pucks ... he's a student of the game, he works at his game," Marottolo said, noting that, even when there's high expectation of a freshman player, there's still adjustments to make when players make the jump from junior hockey to Dvision 1.
His team, nicknamed the Pios, now takes a three-game win streak and a four-game unbeaten string into next weekend's (Jan. 24-25) at Sacred Heart's Martire Family Arena.
Gundarah has had 14 starts in 15 games and also, has a "great demeanour," Marottolo noted.
"He comes to the rink every day with a smile, and I'm a big believer in if you're happy with where you are, you're going to do well ... you're happy physically, emotionally 鈥� I feel like he's in a great spot and I see it every day, with his smile and with how he attacks practice every day," he said. "And he's very humble. He never takes credit, he always credits other people and that's a great characteristic to have in a teammate."
Hockey is the ultimate team game, he added, and while it's nice to be at the top of the standings, there are still plenty of games to play.
"You need everybody to take part and bring value ... everybody has a role," said Marottolo. "We're just taking it one game at a time and trying to play our best game, every game. One of our goals is to finish the highest we can in the league 鈥� to win a league championship and represent our league at the NCAA tournament," he continued.
"At the end of the day that's our goal, and there's a lot of work to be done to get there."
