THE BASICS:

Score: Holy Cross 3, Air Force 1
Location: Worcester, Mass. (Hart Center)
Records: Holy Cross (8-6-5, 7-1-5 AHC); Air Force (5-13-3, 4-6-2 AHC)
Date: Saturday, January 3, 2015
Time: 7:05 p.m.

THE LEAD: Junior Jake Bolton (Ellington, Conn.) led the team with one goal and one assist for two points as the Holy Cross men's hockey team defeated Air Force, 3-1, in Atlantic Hockey action at the Hart Center on Saturday evening. Holy Cross takes the two game series as the teams tied 1-1 on Friday night. The Crusaders' 7-1-5 (19 points) Atlantic Hockey record is their best after the first 13 AHC games since the 2005-2006 season when they were 9-3-1 (19 points). The Crusaders are in second place in the AHC standings behind No. 19 Robert Morris (21 points).

Postgame Press Conference & Highlights: 

Check out the postgame press conference and highlights here with head coach David Berard and Jake Bolton.

 HOW IT HAPPENED: 

• Bolton opened the scoring at 14:42 of the first period, as he received a drop pass from junior captain Matt Vidal (Manorville, N.Y.) at the top of the right circle, and Bolton's slap shot from the blue line found the back of the net. Also, sophomore Logan Smith (Littleton, Colo.) recorded an assist on the goal.
• At 14:56 of the first period, Air Force's Chad Demers was issued a five-minute major penalty for boarding, yet the Crusaders were unable to capitalize on the five-minute man advantage.
• The Crusaders outshot the Falcons 9-4 in the first period, while Holy Cross went 0-2 on the power play.
• At 12:29 of the second period, Bolton took a shot from the left point, which was saved by Chris Truehl, but the rebound bounced right to freshman T.J. Moore (Edina, Minn.) and he buried it on the backhand over Truehl's stick side. Freshman Brett Mulcahy (Kelowna, British Columbia) was also credited with an assist on the goal.
• The Crusaders outshot the Falcons 8-6 in the second period, as Holy Cross went 0-1 and Air Force went 0-2 on the power play.
• At 11:45 of the third period, Air Force cut the lead in half as Cole Gunner fired a cross-ice pass from the right circle that found Scott Holm open in front of the net to make it a 2-1 game.
• With 5:44 remaining in the third period, freshman Ryan Ferrill (Havertown, Pa.) extended the lead to 3-1, on a two-on-one rush, as senior Jake Youso (International Falls, Minn.) sent a crossing pass right to Ferrill's stick and he buried it in the open side. Senior Nilan Nagy (Canonsburg, Pa.) also recorded his first point of the season, as he received an assist on the goal.
• With 2:51 remaining in the game, Air Force went with an empty net as it trailed by two goals.
• With 34.8 seconds remaining in the game, Air Force went on a power play giving the Falcons a six-on-four man advantage, yet they were unable to capitalize as time wound down.

• Air Force outshot Holy Cross 16-5 in the third period, and 26-22 in the game.
• Senior Matt Ginn (Lindsay, Ontario) recorded 25 saves, while Truehl recorded 19 for the Falcons.
• Holy Cross went 0-4 on the power play as Air Force went 0-3.

• Bolton's goal was his fifth of the season.
• Moore recorded his first collegiate game-winning goal.
• Bolton earned the first star of the game, while Moore was named the second star and Ginn received the third.
• Holy Cross has outscored its opponents 21-10 in the last seven games.

• The Crusaders return to action on Friday, Jan. 9 as they face Canisius at HARBORCENTER in Buffalo, N.Y., at 11:05 a.m.

BE PART OF THE ACTION THIS SEASON:

• To purchase tickets for the 2014-2015 Holy Cross men's hockey season go to GoHolyCross.com/Tickets or call (508) 793-2573.

KEEP CONNECTED:

• There are numerous ways to stay connected with the Holy Cross men's hockey team. Follow the Crusaders on Twitter @HCrossMHockey and on Facebook. You can also get the latest news and results on the team sent directly to your e-mail. To sign up for e-mail alerts go here: http://www.goholycross.com/list-signup.