THE BASICS
Score: Holy Cross 4, Sacred Heart 1
Records: Holy Cross (16-7-3); Sacred Heart (7-15-3)
Location: Hart Center (Worcester, Mass.)
Time: 5:00 p.m.
The Lead:  Sophomore Isabela Bagi (Branford, Conn.) racked up two points on a goal and assist while junior assistant captain Taylor McGee (Pearl River, N.Y.) tallied three assists as the Holy Cross Crusaders defeated Sacred Heart by a final of 4-1 to open the ECAC Open Tournament at the Hart Center on Wednesday night.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Holy Cross took full control over the first period as the puck slipped past the reach of Sacred Heart goalie Amanda Fontaine two times. The Crusaders outshot the Pioneers 18-3 as well.
• Senior Nicole Giannino (Bay Shore, N.Y.) netted her 13th of the season at 13:40 to put the Crusaders up to an early 1-0 lead over the Pioneers. McGee found senior assistant captain Kate Reilly (Natick, Mass.) open behind the net as Reilly passed the puck up to Giannino. Giannino sent a slap shot into the bottom right hand corner of the net by Fontaine.
• With the man advantage, Holy Cross increased its lead to 2-0 (16:55). Bagi sent a wrist shot from the blue line through a sea of Sacred Heart defenders with a pile them forming in front of the net. Through all the chaos in front of Fontaine, junior Mackenzie Boardman (Anchorage, Alaska) managed to find an opening as the puck made its way over the line. Holy Cross entered the locker room with the 2-0 advantage.
• The Crusader offense carried their momentum into the second period as they continued to pressure the Pioneers. Holy Cross grabbed a hold of the 3-0 lead (5:12) on another power-play opportunity, this time by Bagi. On McGee's second assist of the game, she sent a pass from the middle lane to Bagi in the right wing. Bagi fired a shot as she watched it whip past Fontaine.
• McGee passed the puck from behind the blue line up to freshman Kara Violette (Biddeford, Maine) as she carried it up the left side, crossed over to the right wing and backhanded a shot that softly made its way past Fontaine, increasing the Crusader lead to 4-0 (16:33).
• On the defensive side, Holy Cross was able to keep the Sacred Heart sticks quiet until Hanna Skelly's first goal of the year put the Pioneers back in the game. Skelly received a pass from Brittany Smith from the left side and crossed the puck to Megan Finlay. Finlay sent the puck up as the puck deflected off Skelly and into the bottom right hand corner of the net past senior goalie Alexandra Stevenson (Norwood, N.Y.), cutting the lead to 4-1 (4:14).
• With the help of her teammates, Stevenson was able to shut down the Pioneers for the remainder of the game as Holy Cross went on to win by a final of 4-1 in the opening game of the ECAC Open Tournament.

• Stevenson had 14 saves for the Crusaders, while Fontaine had 41 saves for the Pioneers.
• Holy Cross held the advantage over Sacred Heart in shots on goal (45-15) as well as in the face-off circle (41-25).
• The Crusaders went 2 for 4 in power-play opportunities as the Pioneers went 0 for 5.

• Holy Cross has swept the season series 3-0 and is now 19-12-2 all-time versus Sacred Heart.
• Bagi leads the defensemen with seven goals and 21 points and is tied in second with McGee with 11 assists.

• The Crusaders return to the ice as they head to Colchester, Vt. for the ECAC Open Tournament, hosted by St. Michael's, on Saturday, Feb. 28 and will take on St. Anselm at 1:00 p.m.

• There are numerous ways you can stay connected with the Holy Cross women's hockey team. Follow Holy Cross Athletics on Twitter @GoHolyCross as well as the women's hockey team @HCrossWHockey and on Facebook. 
• You can also get all the latest news and results on the Holy Cross women's hockey team sent directly to your e-mail athttp://www.goholycross.com/list-signup.