THE BASICS
Score: Holy Cross 3, St. Anselm 1
Records: Holy Cross (17-7-3); St. Anselm (17-6-2)
Location: Cairns Arena (Colchester, Vt.)
Time: 1:00 p.m.
The Lead: Freshman Kara Violette (Biddeford, Maine), sophomore Erin Hall (Pembroke, Mass.) and senior Nicole Giannino (Bay Shore, N.Y.) led a three-goal third period surge for the Crusaders as Holy Cross defeated St. Anselm by a final of 3-1 in the ECAC Open Tournament semifinal game on Saturday afternoon at Cairns Arena.

• Holy Cross and St. Anselm were no strangers to one another as the two teams faced off three times during the regular season with the Crusaders coming away with the victory two games out of three.
• Both teams could not connect to find the net in the first period as St. Anselm outshot Holy Cross 13-3. The Crusaders went 0 for 0 in power-play opportunities as the Hawks went 0 for 1.
• Entering the second period with a 0-0 tie, it was a battle between the two teams to see who would get on the board first. With two minutes remaining in the stanza, St. Anselm struck first.
• Alex Kazmer took the first shot, but the puck was saved by senior goalie Alexandra Stevenson (Norwood, N.Y.). The puck bounced off of Stevenson and found its way to the stick of Alison Quinn, who handed it off to Alex Starzyk and punched it into the left side of the net. The goal gave St. Anselm the 1-0 (18:26) lead going into the locker room.
• Beginning the final stanza down by a goal, Holy Cross did not let St. Anselm get the better of them and launched a three-goal attack on Hawks goalie Lindsey Brown.
• Violette launched a shot from the top of the right circle that trickled its way through Brown's legs and put the Crusaders right back into the game as the score evened at 1-1 just two minutes into the period (18:06). The helper was credited to senior Mary Klimasewiski (Cochester, Conn).  
• Holy Cross broke the 1-1 tie six minutes later (12:55) on an unassisted goal by Hall. St. Anselm attempted to clear the puck out from the defensive zone, but Hall intercepted the pass and fired a shot that beat Brown from the blocking side. The goal put the Crusaders up 2-1 and gave them their first lead of the game.
• The Crusaders gave themselves a two-goal advantage on Giannino's 14th goal of the year (12:52). Giannino streaked down the left side of the boards and snapped a shot past Brown's blocker side with the assists credited to senior Chelsea Monahan (Cherry Hill, N.J.) and senior assistant captain Kate Reilly (Natick, Mass.).
• St. Anselm managed two more shots after Brown was pulled from the game with two minutes remaining in the third period, but both were outside shots and failed to get the puck past Stevenson.
• Holy Cross sealed the 3-1 victory over St. Anselm and improved to 17-7-3 as St. Anselm fell to 17-6-2.

• Stevenson had 31 saves for the Crusaders, while Brown had 22 saves for the Hawks.
• St. Anselm outshot Holy Cross (32-25).
• Both Holy Cross and St. Anselm went 0 for 3 in power-play opportunities.

• This is Stevenson's first game of the season where she recorded 30 or more saves.
• Giannino is now tied for first on the team in goals with senior Mary Klimasewiski (Cochester, Conn.) at 14.
• Violette's 13th goal of the year lands her second on the team and first among the freshmen.

• The Crusaders return to the ice tomorrow, Mar. 1, for the ECAC Open championship game where they will take on the winner of the No. 1 Franklin Pierce vs. No. 5 St. Michael's semifinal game at 4:00 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 at http://www.goholycross.com/list-signup.