Thomas Tysowsky

Holy Cross Men's Hockey Heads To Mercyhurst For Two

Game Notes in PDF Format

GAME DAY QUICK FACTS:

The Teams: Holy Cross (3-5-2, 3-3-2 Atlantic Hockey) at Mercyhurst (2-9-1, 2-5-1 Atlantic Hockey)

Dates: November 20-21, 2009

Times: 7:00 p.m. Friday; 4:00 p.m. Saturday

Place: Mercyhurst Ice Center (1,300), Erie, Pa.

Live Video Streaming: B2 Networks

Series Record: Mercyhurst leads 19-10-4

Last Meeting: Holy Cross 4, Mercyhurst 3 (OT) (11/8/08; Worcester, Mass.)

2008-2009 Series: Tied 1-1

Last Mercyhurst Win: Mercyhurst 4, Holy Cross 3 (OT) (11/7/08; Worcester, Mass.)

4TH PLACE HOLY CROSS VISITS MERCYHURST: The Holy Cross men's hockey team (3-5-2, 3-3-2 Atlantic Hockey) will visit Mercyhurst (2-9-1, 2-5-1 Atlantic Hockey) on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 20-21 at the Mercyhurst Ice Center in Erie, Pa. Friday's game will start at 7:00 p.m., while Saturday's contest begins at 4:00 p.m. Only three points separate these two teams as the Crusaders are tied for fourth in the Atlantic Hockey standings with eight points and the Lakers are in a sixth-place tie with five.

THE SERIES WITH MERCYHURST: This weekend's games will mark the 34th and 35th times that these two teams have met with Mercyhurst leading, 19-10-4, and the only times they will match up against one another this season. The Crusaders and Lakers split the season series last year when they traded a pair of 4-3 overtime decisions at the Hart Center on Nov. 7-8, 2008. This weekend also marks the first time Holy Cross will travel to Erie, Pa. since Oct. 26-27, 2007. The Crusaders took the first game of that set, 4-1, before the teams tied the second game, 2-2. Holy Cross is 1-0-2 in its last three contests at Mercyhurst.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Holy Cross takes to the road this weekend where it has achieved some early success this season. The Crusaders are 3-3-0 in their first six games away from the Hart Center. Last season, Holy Cross lost its first four road games before compiling a 5-12-3 mark on opponents' home ice.

CYR LEADS TEAM IN GOALS AND POINTS: Junior forward Jordan Cyr (Winnipeg, Manitoba) was recognized earlier this season by the league when he was named the Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week for his three goals and one assist performance in the home-and-home series with Sacred Heart on Nov. 6-7. For the season, he leads the team with five goals and 11 points and is second on the team in assists with six. His 1.10 points per game is best on the team and tied for sixth around the conference. For his career, he has 25 goals and 19 assists for 44 points, including one goal for RPI in 2006-2007. He was last year's leading scorer with 19 goals and 13 assists for 32 points. His 19 goals were third all-time on the Holy Cross Division I list.

HOME ICE: The Crusaders are 0-2-2 at home so far this season. Last season Holy Cross went 7-8-2 at the Hart Center. Holy Cross has a 294-185-30 (.607) all-time record at the Hart Center since it started playing there in 1975-1976.

FRESHMAN LINE CONNECTS: Freshman forward Brandon Nunn (Fairport, N.Y.) scored his first collegiate goal Saturday against Air Force. Fellow freshmen linemates Rob Linsmayer (Winnetka, Ill.) and Kyle Fletcher (Kanata, Ontario) picked up the assists. Linsmayer now leads the team in assists with seven, and his seven points are third for the Crusaders. Fletcher's assist was his fourth on the season.

DEFENSE!: Holy Cross is second in Atlantic Hockey, giving up 2.60 goals per game. The Crusaders have allowed 26 goals over 10 games. Last season, the Crusaders ranked sixth around the league with 3.42 goals allowed per game.

TYSOWSKY EARNING ACCOLADES: Freshman goalie Thomas Tysowsky (Amherst, N.Y.) has already been named the Atlantic Hockey Goalie of the Week once and was also named the Atlantic Hockey Goalie of the Month for October. Overall his 2.31 goals against average is tied for second in the league and his .913 save percentage is tied for fourth. Tysowsky had an outstanding month of October as he started five of six games and earned his first two collegiate wins. He made 125 saves and allowed 12 goals. He was named the Atlantic Hockey Goalie of the Week on Oct. 19 as he made his collegiate debut, making 25 saves and allowing two goals for a .926 save percentage as the Crusaders fell to Merrimack (Oct. 16), 3-1. On Oct. 24-25, he earned two victories as Holy Cross won both road contests against Canisius, 3-2. Tysowsky made 51 saves and allowed four goals.

SHEEN SHINES: Junior co-captain Everett Sheen (Lethbridge, Alberta) is second on the team with eight points, while he is tied for second with four goals and is tied for third with four assists. Sheen posted one goal and two assists for three points versus AIC on Oct. 31. He recorded two goals and one assist for three points three weeks ago on the road versus Canisius as Holy Cross won both games by scores of 3-2. On Oct. 24 he scored the first goal of the game and assisted on Holy Cross' second goal, while on Oct. 25 he netted the Crusaders' second goal giving them a 2-1 lead. For his career, he has recorded 30 goals and 27 assists for 57 points.

HOLY CROSS TO HOST 2010 NCAA REGIONAL: Holy Cross will host the 2010 NCAA Men's Hockey Division I Northeast Regional. The dates are Saturday and Sunday, March 27-28 at the DCU Center in Worcester. The semifinals will be at 1:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on March. 27, while the finals will be at 5:30 p.m. on March 28. All three games will be on ESPNU. HC held the event for the first time in 2008.

HC ON B2 NETWORKS: All of Holy Cross' home games and Atlantic Hockey away games can be seen via live video streaming through B2 Networks.

SILVIA SCORES THREE GAME-WINNERS: Sophomore Jay Silvia (Burlington, Mass.) has scored all three of Holy Cross' game-winning goals so far this season. His three game-winners lead the league and are tied for first nationally. His four total goals this season are tied for second on the team. For his career, Silvia has 15 goals and 10 assists for 25 points, while he also has four career game-winners.

CRUSADER CAPTAINS: Senior forward Ryan Driscoll (Dorchester, Mass.) and junior Everett Sheen will serve as the 2009-2010 team co-captains. Driscoll's 117 career games played are the most by any current Crusader as he has 19 goals and 34 assists for 53 career points.

FIRST COLLEGIATE POINTS: Recently six Crusaders earned their first collegiate point. At the season opener versus Providence (Oct. 10), freshman Rob Linsmayer recorded an assist. For the season, he has seven assists which leads the team. Freshman Erik Vos (Carlisle, Ontario) posted his first two collegiate points with a goal and an assist as Holy Cross defeated Canisius, 3-2, on Oct. 24. Overall he has two goals and two assists for four points. His four points this season are tied for fifth on the team. Also against Canisius, sophomore Matt Gordon (Perth, Ontario) recorded his first two collegiate points with an assist in each game, while freshman Brendan Baker (Edina, Minn.) had his first collegiate point with an assist on Oct. 24 and freshman Kyle Fletcher (Kanata, Ontario) had his first collegiate point with an assist on Oct. 25. Baker has one goal and one assist for the season and Fletcher has four assists. On Nov. 14 against Air Force, Brandon Nunn scored his first collegiate goal on assists from Linsmayer and Fletcher.

SHEAHAN RECORDS 80TH CAREER POINT: Senior Brodie Sheahan (Lethbridge, Alberta) has the most career goals (33), assists (49) and points (82) of any current Crusader. Also his 18 career power play goals are eighth on the all-time Holy Cross Division I list. So far this season he has posted two goals and two assists for four points. He recorded his 80th career point with an assist versus AIC on Oct. 31. He also scored a goal giving him his 81st career point. Last season, he led the team with 19 assists, and was second with 12 goals and 31 points.

HC PICKED FOURTH IN PRESEASON POLL: Holy Cross has been picked fourth in the Atlantic Hockey Association Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Crusaders received 54 total points. Last season's tournament champion Air Force was picked as this year's preseason favorite with 80 points and eight first place votes, followed by last season's tournament finalist Mercyhurst with 70 points and two first place votes. Rochester Institute of Technology was picked third with 67 points, the Crusaders were fourth with 54 points and Canisius was fifth with 53 points. Army was sixth (40 points), Bentley was seventh (31 points), Sacred Heart was eighth (27 points), Connecticut was ninth (18 points) and American International College was 10th (10 points).

HOLY CROSS HEAD COACH PAUL PEARL: Paul Pearl is in his 15th year at the helm of the Holy Cross ice hockey program, and is just the fifth head coach in the history of ice hockey at Holy Cross. On January 21, 2006, with a 3-2 victory at Dartmouth, Pearl became the school's all-time winningest coach with the 168th victory of his career. Pearl has forged a 217-212-50 (.505) record at Holy Cross and has been the man behind the bench in seven of the nine most successful seasons in Holy Cross history, while he has had three teams post 20-plus win seasons. Along with 13 post-season appearances in 14 years, Pearl led the Crusaders to their first two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2003-2004 and 2005-2006, while he coached the Crusaders to their first ever NCAA Tournament win with the 4-3 overtime victory over Minnesota in Grand Forks, N.D., on March 24, 2006. In 2005-2006, Pearl led the Crusaders to a school single season record 27 victories, as the team posted an overall record of 27-10-2. Holy Cross also claimed the AHA regular season and tournament titles.

2 CRUSADERS AT NHL DEVELOPMENT CAMPS: Juniors J.P. Martignetti (Winchester, Mass.) and Everett Sheen participated at NHL development camps. Martignetti was at the Chicago Blackhawks' camp, while Sheen, who last year attended the Anaheim Ducks' camp, participated at the Washington Capitals' camp. The Blackhawks' camp was at Johnny's Ice House in Chicago from July 6-10. The camp roster had 53 players. Washington's camp took place from July 13-18 at Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Va. Both camps featured recent draft picks, select rookie players and other prospects.