THE BASICS:

Score: Niagara 5, Holy Cross 3
Records: Holy Cross (14-18-5); Niagara (7-26-4)
Location: Worcester, Mass. (Hart Center)
Date: Sunday, March 8, 2015
Time: 8:05 p.m.            
The Lead: Chris Lochner broke a 3-3 tie early in the third period at 2:03 scoring the game-winner on a power play goal as the Holy Cross men's hockey team fell to Niagara, 5-3, in the final game of the best two-out-of-three Atlantic Hockey Tournament first round series at the Hart Center on Sunday night. Niagara won the series 2-1 and advances to the quarterfinal round against No. 1 seed Robert Morris next weekend, March 13-15. Niagara won the first game 2-1 and Holy Cross won the second game 2-1 in triple overtime.

 Video: Postgame Press Conference, Game Three

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Lawrence Smith grabbed the early 1-0 lead for Niagara at 3:48 in the first period beating senior captain and goalie Matt Ginn (Lindsay, Ontario) with a slap shot from the left point.
• The Crusaders moved the puck well on their man-advantage at 16:56 in the first period managing four shots but Niagara goalie, Jackson Teichroeb, came up big in net.
• Holy Cross outshot Niagara 14-10 but finished the first period down 1-0.
• Sophomore Mike Barrett (Orland Park, Ill.) brought the Crusaders right back into it scoring the equalizer at 1:30 in the second period. Freshman Scott Pooley (Granger, Ind.) sent a pass to a cutting freshman T.J. Moore (Edina, Minn.) who skated through center ice and dished the puck to Barrett who fired a wrister over the stick side of Teichroeb.
• Kevin Patterson regained the lead for Niagara as the Purple Eagles had the 5-3 advantage at 4:54 in the second period. T.J. Sarcona crossed the puck to Patterson in front of the net and he was able to beat Ginn on the glove side for the score.
• Sarcona earned his second assist of the night on a goal by Keegan Harper who scored at 12:28 while Niagara was on the power play. Patterson passed the puck to Sarcona who sent it to Harper waiting on the left point.  Harper drilled a slap shot that deflected off a Holy Cross stick and found the back of the net.
• Veteran play by seniors Tommy Dwyer (Ridgefield, Conn.), Nilan Nagy (Canonsburg, Pa.) and Jake Youso (International Falls, Minn.) brought the Crusaders to within one at 13:34 in the second. Youso passed the puck up to Nagy from the behind net who drilled a shot on Teichroeb, but Dwyer collected the rebound and beat Teichroeb for his first goal of the season.
• Junior Brett Lubanski (Farmington Hills, Mich.) evened the score for the Crusaders just under two minutes later at 15:15. Junior Karl Beckman (Okemos, Mich.) recovered the puck off the boards and forwarded it to Lubanski who fired a shot directly on frame beating Teichroeb.
• The second period did not end quietly as the two teams recorded seven shots in the final minute of play. Hugo Turcotte nailed a shot off the post for Niagara but Lubanski responded with two big shots landing on the pads of Teichroeb and Youso drilled a shot off the post.
• Holy Cross and Niagara entered the third period in a familiar situation with the game tied at 3-3.
• Niagara capitalized on an early power play in third scoring at 2:03. Smith crossed the puck to Vincent Muto on the blue line who sent a shot wide which deflected off the boards right onto the stick of a waiting Lochner beating Ginn on the stick side.
• The Crusaders threatened with a power play of their own at 3:25. Under a minute into the first penalty, Holy Cross went on the two-man advantage for 1:06. They were not able to net home the equalizer with the man-advantage.
• Holy Cross went with the empty net with 1:46 left in the game and managed three shots with the extra-man but Dan Kolenda recovered the puck for Niagara and passed it to a skating Turcotte for the score on the empty net making the final score, 5-3 Niagara.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Holy Cross outshot Niagara 50-26, doubling them in shots in both the second (18-9) and third period (18-7).
• Ginn had 21 saves on the night while Teichroeb made 47.
• The Crusaders won 41 face-offs while the Purple Eagles won 35.
• Niagara was 3-4 on the power play and Holy Cross was 0-5.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Ginn's 21 saves on the night move him into 17th place for all-time career saves in NCAA Division I history with 3,587. Ginn also holds the record for most career saves in Holy Cross history. With 888 saves on the 2014-2015 season, Ginn ranks third for all-time single-season saves. He ranks first for the 2013-2014 season (1076) and second for the 2012-2013 season (994).
• Ginn finishes his career with a .917 save percentage which ranks first all-time in school history. With a .931 save percentage on the season, Ginn ranks first for the all-time single season record.
• Ginn's 2.10 goals against average puts him in second place for the all-time single-season record and first in the school's Division I era.
• With 129 career games rank first for the all-time career record.
• Playing 7760:46 minutes in his career Ginn earns the top spot for minutes played by a goalie in a career.
• Dwyer's goal was his first of the season.
• Barrett was the team leader in points scored on the season with 26.

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.