WEST POINT, N.Y. - Junior goalie Matt Ginn (Lindsay, Ontario) notched his first shutout of the season as the Holy Cross men's ice hockey team downed Army 2-0 on Saturday evening at Tate Rink in Atlantic Hockey action. With the win, the Crusaders rise to 12-19-3 overall (11-13-3 AHA) while the Black Knights fall to 5-26-0 (5-22-0 AHA). The game, concluded Holy Cross' regular season, as the eighth-seeded Crusaders will play host to ninth-seeded RIT in a best two-out-of-three Atlantic Hockey Tournament first round series. The series will include a game on Friday, March 7, a second on Saturday, March 8 and a third, if necessary, on Sunday, March 9, all at the Hart Center. The Crusaders went 1-0-1 versus RIT this year after a 3-3 tie and a 4-2 win, both in Rochester, N.Y.
The clock expired in the first period with the Crusaders holding a 1-0 edge over the Black Knights. Though Army did not find the back of the net in the opening period, the Black Knights initiated scoring opportunities just 19 seconds in when defenseman Mac Lalor rifled a shot from the right point that Ginn comfortably pushed out of harm's way. Holy Cross found its way onto the scoreboard after 5:35 of back and forth hockey, when senior Adam Schmidt (Warrington, Pa.) sped down the right side of the ice and cut off his pressuring defenseman for a backhanded shot in front of the net. Army tender, Parker Gahagen went down for a right pad save, but sophomore Tim Driscoll (Hingham, Mass.) awaited the rebound and hoisted the puck over Gahagen's right shoulder, top-shelf of the net for his sixth of the season and a lead that would remain for the rest of the game. Shots in the first were 11-10 in favor of Holy Cross, while Ginn remained solid making all 10 necessary saves. The Crusaders were 0-3 on the power play while the Black Knights went 0-1 with the man advantage.
The second period ended scoreless as Holy Cross carried its 1-0 lead into the final 20 minutes of play. The Crusaders kept offensive efforts rolling with 11 shots on goal, led by Schmidt who accounted for three. Though the Crusaders did not get a goal by Gahagen during their three power plays of the second, they fired five shots on net and maintained an impressive amount of both control and possession with the man advantage. Army only found the net five times in the middle period, but all attempts were stopped by Ginn. One of the Black Knights' five chances occurred with just 42 seconds left when Brian Schultz went on a fast break down the center after picking up the puck from just outside the blue line. Ginn remained calm on the breakaway as he batted the puck away from the net with his glove, allowing Holy Cross to regain possession, kill off the clock and maintain a one-goal lead. Army only saw one power play opportunity in the second that they did not convert on as Holy Cross' defense prevented them from taking any shots on goal with the man advantage.
The third period resulted in a Crusader insurance goal and a 2-0 Holy Cross victory. Army upped their offense as they outshot the Crusaders 12-11 in the final 20 minutes, but still could not break by a seemingly unstoppable Ginn who kept the Black Knights off the scoreboard. At 7:06, Army knocked on the Crusaders' door when Schultz wrapped around the right side of the net attempting to shovel the puck through Ginn as he hugged the post. After an initial save on the wrap-around, the puck freed into the open center of the crease, but freshman Logan Smith (Littleton, Colo.) quickly cleared the puck away from danger as Ginn was down on the ice. Holy Cross then notched its second score of the night at 11:02 off another rebound in front of the net. Sophomore Karl Beckman (Okemos, Mich.) rocketed a shot from the left point that made its way to the net where Gahagen made the initial save, but couldn't make a second on the rebound of senior Shayne Stockton (Rochester, N.Y.) for his sixth of the season. Holy Cross did not see any power play opportunities while Army went 0-1 in the third.
During the tilt, Ginn made 27 saves on 27 shots for Holy Cross while Gahagen tallied 31 saves on 33 shots for Army. Shots for the game were 33-27 in favor of Holy Cross. The Crusaders went 0-6 on the power play while the Black Knights went 0-3 with the man advantage. With his first shutout of the season, and fourth of his career, Ginn now owns sole possession of second place for career shutouts among Division I Holy Cross goaltenders. With 894 total saves this season, Ginn also now claims both first and second place in the all-time single season record books for saves, after he set the record last year with 994. Schmidt appeared in his 146th career game, moving him up to tie for third in career games played.
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