Aiden Konold ’26
Chief Sports Editor
With four games remaining in the regular season, the Holy Cross men’s ice hockey team is positioned at third place in the Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) conference at 14-14-2 (12-8-2) with 39 league points. The Crusaders sit 11 points behind first place Bentley, and just three points behind second place RIT.
This past weekend, Holy Cross split its series with the Canisius Griffins in Buffalo, N.Y. The Crusaders won the first game, 4-3, on goals from Timothy Heinke, Connor Welsh, Quinn McCall, and David Hymovitch before losing 3-5 on Saturday.
While the Crusaders have won three of their last five games, the team has struggled to maintain consistency since its nine-game winning streak spanning across late October and the first half of November. In those nine games, the Crusaders outscored their opponents 38-12. In the 15 games since then, they have been outscored 52-42.
Throughout the season, Holy Cross head coach Bill Riga has rotated between the three netminders on his roster. Freshman Danick Leroux earned Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week honors for his performance against Canisius this past weekend. Across his two starts, Leroux made 50 saves, while allowing seven goals. On the season, he is 8-6-1 with the eighth-best goals-against average at 2.65 and the seventh-best save percentage at .907 in the AHA. Leroux’s season-high in saves of 40 came against Niagara back in early November.
The Crusaders are 1-5 when Senior goalie Louden Hogg starts. Hogg maintains a 3.23 goals-against average and an .885 save percentage. He also holds onto the team high for saves in a game this season with 41.
Junior Connor MacKenzie, a transfer from the University of Vermont, has gone 5-3-1 in his starts with a 3.01 goals-against average and an .893 save percentage. MacKenzie recorded his season-high 33 saves against Air Force on November 14.
Leroux’s success of late has led him to start the Crusaders’ last five games, a span in which he has gone 3-2.
This weekend, the Crusaders travel to Fairfield, Conn. to take on the Sacred Heart University Pioneers. Game one is slated for Friday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. and game two will be played on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 6 p.m. Entering today’s game, the Pioneers (15-12-3, 11-8-3) are just three points behind the Crusaders for third place in the conference.
Back in October, the Crusaders defeated the Pioneers twice, winning the first game 5-2 on two goals from Senior forward Michael Abgrall and a goal apiece from Noah Eyre, Mack Oliphant, and Jack Stockfish. The Crusaders’ three deciding scores were tallied in the final period.
The second time around, the two teams tied, 2-2, in regulation before Holy Cross took the game, 1-0, in a shootout. Stockfish scored the Crusaders’ two goals in regulation, while Senior forward Matt DeBoer scored the only shootout goal at the Hart Center.
This series will be pivotal to determine playoff seeding in a year where just a few points separate the second team in the conference from the seventh team. The teams to finish in the top four of the conference are guaranteed home advantage in the Quarterfinals, while the bottom four teams will be forced to play in the First Round for a spot in the Quarterfinals.
The Pioneers are led by Senior forward Felix Trudeau, who is second in the nation in power play goals scored with 10. Overall, he has scored 21 goals so far this season to go along with 10 assists for 31 points.
The Crusaders’ Matt DeBoer is fifteenth in the nation in power play goals scored with six. On the season, he has 12 goals scored and nine assists for 21 points.
Sacred Heart is sixth in the nation with an .867 penalty kill percentage, while Holy Cross is 20th with an .820 kill percentage.
This past weekend, the Pioneers split with Bentley, winning the first game in a 4-0 shutout, while losing the second, 5-1. The Bentley Falcons, who beat the Crusaders at the Hart Center in the 2025 AHA Championship Game, currently lead the conference with 50 points and a 15-4-4 conference record.
A series’ split signals the strength of Sacred Heart this year, especially Freshman goaltender Teagan Kendrick, who maintains a .922 save percentage and a 2.38 goals-against average. The AHA named Kendrick Goaltender Month in December and January.
Kendrick and teammate Ajeet Gundarah were both named to the Mike Richter Award Watch List just over a month ago. This award is given annually to the best Division 1 NCAA men’s ice hockey goaltender each year.
After their battle with the Pioneers at the 3600 seat Martire Family Arena, the Crusaders return to the Hart Center to face off against RIT. Holy Cross celebrates its seniors ahead of the February 27th game, which starts at 7 p.m. The next day, the two teams face off at the same time on Holy Cross Alumni Day for the final game of the 2026 regular season.
Featured image courtesy of Holy Cross Athletics
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