Worcester, Massachusetts – The Holy Cross men's ice hockey team opens the Atlantic Hockey Association tournament by hosting Canisius in the quarterfinal round. The best-of-three series is scheduled to be held at Heart Center Rink on Friday, March 8, Saturday, March 9, and, if necessary, Sunday, March 10.
Games on Friday and Saturday are set for 7 p.m., with a tie game played if necessary on Sunday at 6 p.m. All three games will be broadcast on his FloSports, with Friday and Sunday games simulcast regionally on his NESN+.
Holy Cross finished the regular season with an overall record of 18-12-4, but went 13-10-3 in conference play, a good record for the No. 1 player. 2nd seed in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament. The Crusaders won seven of their past eight games and finished February with a 4-1 record.
junior Liam Malinsky He finished the regular season with 15 goals and 25 assists for 40 points, the highest in Atlantic hockey history.Senior jack ricketts Despite being a junior defenseman, he finished the regular season with 18 goals and a share of second place on the goal leaderboard. matt schatzki He is tied for 10th in assists with 19.senior netminder jason grande He has a team-best record of 10 wins, 4 losses, and 2 draws, and has a league-leading 2.06 points per game average and .929 save percentage.junior thomas gale He finished the regular season in fifth place with a save percentage of .917, which was third in the league, and an average score of 2.41.
Canisius, the reigning Atlantic Hockey Champions, finished the regular season in second place with an overall record of 11-19-4 and a conference record of 10-12-4. They went 2-4-1 in the final month of the regular season and were the 8th seed in this tournament.
The Golden Griffins faced No. 1. Last Saturday, March 2, in the Atlantic Hockey First Round, ninth-seeded Mercyhurst won 5-2 at home to earn a spot in the quarterfinal round. Kyle Haskins and Powell Conner will enter the quarterfinal weekend as the reigning Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, following their game against Mercyhurst.
Canisius will be led on offense by Matteo Giampa, who enters the playoff series with 34 points on 18 goals and 16 assists. Netminder David Fessenden has a team-best 7-10-4 record and a 2.14 goals-against average, while Ethan Robertson leads the way with a .900 save percentage.
The Crusaders enter the game with a 9-3-1 record against Atlantic Hockey opponents since the turn of the calendar, while the Golden Griffins enter the game with a 4-6-1 record in the same bracket.
The Crusaders have an overall record of 37-28-12 against the Golden Griffins, including 3-2-0 in tournament play. The teams met in Buffalo, New York in November of this year, with Canisius winning 5-2 on the first night, followed by a 3-3 tie, and Holy Cross winning on penalties on the second night. Despite the Crusaders holding a commanding lead in the all-time series, they are 1-6-3 in the last 10 meetings between the two teams.
The series winner will advance to the Atlantic Hockey Semifinals next weekend, March 15-17.
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