Jake McGuire ’27
Staff Writer
This past weekend, Men’s ice hockey took on the Canisius Golden Griffins in the Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals. Canisus came to the Hart Center coming off a 5-2 win over Mercyhurst in their play-in-game, whereas Holy Cross was coming off a 5-1 blowout loss against Bentley. This game was a rematch of last year’s championship game, where Canisius shutout Holy Cross 3-0 en route to a Atlantic Hockey Championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament.
In Game 1 on Friday, Canisius started out hot. They scored the only goal of the first period, taking a 1-0 lead. The second period had four goals scored, two by each team. Holy Cross scored first in the second, with a shorthanded goal by Senior Jack Ricketts only four minutes into the period. However, on the same power play, Canisus scored less than a minute later to retake the lead 2-1. With just six minutes left in the period, Canisus scored for a third time, taking a 3-1 lead. However, Holy Cross responded quickly with a goal just two minutes later, bringing it to a one-goal game going into the third period.
Halfway through the third, the momentum turned in the Crusaders’ favor. Junior Liam McLinskey, with an assist from Sophomore Jack Seymour, netted the game tying goal to make it 3-3. Less than two minutes later, Freshman Jack Stockfish scored a power play goal to put the Crusaders up 4-3, their first lead of the game. They were able to fend off any attempt of a Canisus comeback and put the game away, with a final score of Holy Cross 4, Canisius 3.
On Saturday was Game 2 of the series. Once again, Canisus scored first, leading 1-0 at the end of the first period. In the second, the lone goal of the period was scored by Senior Jack Robilotti, tying the game up 1-1. Neither team could score in the third, with Holy Cross managing to kill off two Canisius power plays, resulting in the game going into overtime.
Despite outshooting the Golden Griffins 14-3 in the first overtime, they could not put a goal in. After twenty minutes of scoreless hockey, the game went to a second overtime, the first time all year for the Crusaders. However, in the second period, they got right down to business, and scored a goal only 2:53 into the second overtime. The game-winning goal is credited to sophomore Jack Seymour, his fifth of the season.
Win their quarterfinal sweep, they have advanced to the semifinals, which will once again take place at the Hart Center. They will host AIC, who just swept Air Force with scores of 3-1 and 3-2. Puck drops for Game 1 of the series at 7pm on Friday, March 15 at the Hart Center. Game 2 will be on Saturday, and Game 3 will be on Sunday, if necessary. The other semifinal game is between first-place RIT and Niagara, who both swept their quarter final opponents. The two series winners will meet for the Atlantic Hockey Championship on March 23.
Copy edited by Lilly Baumfeld ’27
Featured Image Courtesy of Holy Cross Men’s Hockey Instagram
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