Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey

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Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey
Current season
Holy Cross Crusaders athletic logo
UniversityCollege of the Holy Cross
ConferenceAHA
NCAA Division I Division
Head coachBill Riga
4th season, 50–58–9 (.466)
Assistant coaches
  • Castan Sommer
  • Drew Michals
  • Connor Mauro
ArenaHart Center
Worcester, Massachusetts
ColorsRoyal purple[1]
 
NCAA Tournament appearances
2004, 2006
Conference Tournament championships
1999, 2004, 2006
Conference regular season championships
2003–04, 2005-06
Current uniform

The Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the College of the Holy Cross. The Crusaders are a member of the Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA). They play at the Hart Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.[2]

History[edit]

Holy Cross men's ice hockey began in 1966 and a year later it joined ECAC 2. The Crusaders played in the second tier of college ice hockey for ten years before they played their first playoff game, but once they made it they didn't go very far. Over a six year period Holy Cross wen 2–5 in the conference postseason and never really got close to an NCAA tournament berth. When Division II ice hockey was abandoned in 1984 Holy Cross dropped down to Division III and was placed in ECAC East when ECAC 2 split. They made the ECAC tournament three out of four years under Peter Van Buskirk but couldn't manage a win. The team went through a down period under Bill Bellerose for six seasons but started winning again when Paul Pearl became head coach in 1994. After recording their best season in fifteen years Holy Cross promoted its program to Division I and joined the MAAC in 1998–99.[3]

In their first year of D–I play Holy Cross won its first Conference Tournament, winning the inaugural MAAC Championship. Unfortunately, because the NCAA did not offer the MAAC an automatic bid at that time the Crusaders did not make the NCAA tournament. The next season Holy Cross dropped to seventh in the conference and lost 24 games over the course of the season (a program worst). After missing out on the conference tournament the next season Holy Cross returned to the playoffs for the final two years of the MAAC's existence before joining with all former MAAC programs in founding Atlantic Hockey.

Similar to their start with the MAAC, Holy Cross produced a great season, winning 22 games, and were able to win their first conference title. They then swept through the Atlantic Hockey playoffs and captured their second tournament championship, though this time they received a berth into the NCAA tournament for the first time. Though their national championship experience was brief the Crusaders continued to play well and returned to the Championship in 2006 after winning both conference crowns. The met #2 overall seeded Minnesota in the first round and pushed the heavily favored Golden Gophers into overtime where Tyler McGregor scored 53 seconds in, winning what is usually noted as the biggest upset in tournament history.[4]

Holy Cross would decline after their miraculous 2006 season, posting losing records for four consecutive years, but the program began to recover in the second decade of the 20th century. Paul Pearl resigned in 2014 and was replaced by David Berard who saw middling regular season results.

In the 2022-2023 regular season Holy Cross won their first Atlantic Hockey playoff round since the 2006 season against American International College. They would later upset Rochester Institute of Technology in the semifinals of the tournament but lose in the championship to Canisius.[5]


Season-by-season results

Main article: List of Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey seasons

Source:[6]

Postseason[edit]

NCAA tournament results[edit]

The Crusaders have appeared in the NCAA tournament two times. Their combined record is 1–2.

Year Seed Round Opponent Results
2004 #4 West Regional semifinal #1 North Dakota L 3-0
2006 #4 West Regional semifinal
West Regional Final		 #1 Minnesota
#2 North Dakota		 W 4-3 (OT)
L 5-2

Coaches[edit]

Bill Riga

As of completion of 2023–24 season

Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
2021–Present Bill Riga 3 50–58–9 .466
2014–2021 David Berard 7 84–116–34 .432
1994–1996, 1997–2014 Paul Pearl 19 297–293–69 .503
1988–1994 Bill Bellerose 6 61–99–3 .383
1979–1988, 1996–1997 Peter Van Buskirk 10 167–146–8 .533
1976–1979 Mike Addesa 3 49–31–1 .611
1966–1976 Bill Kane 10 122–104–2 .539
Totals 7 coaches 58 seasons 830–847–126 .495

Awards and honors[edit]

NCAA[edit]

Individual Awards[edit]

Division I All-Americans[edit]

AHCA Second Team All-Americans

MAAC[edit]

Individual awards[edit]

Tournament Most Valuable Player

All-Conference teams[edit]

First Team All-MAAC

Second Team All-MAAC

MAAC All-Rookie Team

Atlantic Hockey[edit]

Individual awards[edit]

All-Conference teams[edit]

First Team All-Atlantic Hockey

Second Team All-Atlantic Hockey

Third Team All-Atlantic Hockey

Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team

Statistical leaders[edit]

Source:[7]

Career points leaders[edit]

Player Years GP G A Pts PIM
Joe Lunny 1982–1986 103 116 219
Jerry DeLeo 1982–1986 101 117 218
Larry Murphy 1966–1970 119 88 207
Matt Muniz 1982–1986 87 120 207
Glenn Graves 1973–1977 75 122 197
Gerry Curley 1977–1981 93 98 191
Bill Butler 1966–1969 91 89 180
Bill Bellerose 1973–1977 71 81 152
James Sixsmith 2003–2007 142 48 104 152
John Powell 1977–1981 147

Career goaltending leaders[edit]

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Minimum 30 games

Player Years GP Min W L T GA SO SV% GAA
Jason Grande 2022–2024 42 2413 25 13 3 87 2 .920 2.16
Tony Quesada 2002–2006 105 6034 61 33 8 251 7 .915 2.50
Paul Berrafato 2014–2018 114 6677 46 47 19 281 11 .911 2.51
Matt Ginn 2011–2015 129 7759 59 55 13 324 8 .917 2.51
Scott Simpson 1995–1999 38 1960 21 10 2 82 2 .903 2.51

Statistics current through the end of the 2023–24 season.

Holy Cross Varsity Club Hall of Fame[edit]

The following is a list of people associated with the Holy Cross men's ice hockey program who were elected into the Holy Cross Varsity Club Hall of Fame (induction date in parentheses).[8]

Current roster[edit]

As of September 14, 2023.[9]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Wyoming Louden Hogg Sophomore G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 2002-10-18 Cheyenne, Wyoming Fargo (USHL) —
2 New York (state) Jack Robilotti (A) Senior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-07-18 New York, New York Fargo (USHL) —
3 British Columbia Brody Gagno Freshman D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-07-29 South Surrey, British Columbia Surrey (BCHL) —
4 Massachusetts Jake Higgins (A) Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2001-06-09 Hingham, Massachusetts Deerfield (USHS–MA) —
5 Minnesota Will Troutwine Freshman D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 2002-06-23 Eveleth, Minnesota Janesville (NAHL) —
8 Massachusetts Charlie Spence Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-03-18 Medfield, Massachusetts Boston Jr. Bruins (NCDC) —
10 New York (state) Liam McLinskey Junior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2001-02-20 Pearl River, New York Quinnipiac (ECAC) —
12 Florida Matt Guerra Senior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1999-05-21 Orlando, Florida Robert Morris (AHA) —
13 Massachusetts Will Elias Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2003-01-28 Weston, Massachusetts Cowichan Valley (BCHL) —
14 Manitoba Matt Shatsky Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-04-29 Winnipeg, Manitoba Sherwood Park (AJHL) —
15 Ontario Jack Ricketts (C) Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-09-08 Oakville, Ontario Oakville (OJHL) —
17 Nevada Matt DeBoer Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-09-02 Las Vegas, Nevada Green Bay (USHL) —
18 British Columbia Ty Gagno Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2003-10-01 Langley, British Columbia Prince George (BCHL) —
19 Ontario Jack Stockfish Freshman F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 2002-09-30 North Bay, Ontario Prince George (BCHL) —
20 North Carolina Devin Phillips Sophomore F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2001-07-12 Raleigh, North Carolina Brooks (AJHL) —
21 New York (state) Alec Cicero Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-03-09 Williamsville, New York Buffalo (OJHL) —
22 Ontario Lucas Thorne Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-03-05 Dunnville, Ontario Bonnyville (AJHL) —
24 New Jersey John Gelatt Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-04-29 Middletown, New Jersey Johnstown (NAHL) —
27 Illinois Mack Oliphant Sophomore D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2002-12-28 Northbrook, Illinois Johnstown (NAHL) —
28 Quebec Jack Seymour Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 2001-04-06 Chelsea, Quebec Chilliwack (BCHL) —
29 Connecticut Conner Welsh Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2004-01-02 Greenwich, Connecticut Vernon (BCHL) —
30 Pennsylvania Jason Grande Sophomore G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1999-02-07 West Chester, Pennsylvania Bentley (AHA) —
33 Quebec Thomas Gale Junior G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2000-06-10 Kirkland, Quebec P. A. L. (NCDC) —
34 Massachusetts Joe Solimine Sophomore F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2002-03-03 Middleton, Massachusetts Boston Jr. Bruins (NCDC) —
37 New Jersey Nic Petruolo Junior (RS) D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-01-29 Neshanic Station, New Jersey Union (ECAC) —
39 British Columbia Tyler Ghirardosi (A) Senior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-10-01 Montrose, British Columbia Quinnipiac (ECAC) —
40 Alberta Michael Hodge Junior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 157 lb (71 kg) 2000-05-30 Calgary, Alberta Union (ECAC) —

Crusaders in the NHL[edit]

As of July 1, 2023.

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