THE BASICS:
Score: Holy Cross 8, AIC 1
Location: Worcester, Mass. (Hart Center)
Records: Holy Cross (15-11-5, 13-7-5 AHC); AIC (6-26-2, 6-18-2 AHC)
Date: Friday, Feb. 19, 2016
Time: 7:05 p.m.
THE LEAD: Sophomore forward Danny Lopez (Barrington Hills, Ill.) led the Crusaders with two goals and one assist as the Holy Cross men's hockey team defeated American International, 8-1, in Atlantic Hockey action on Friday evening as the Crusaders hosted Pink the Rink. Tonight marks the Crusaders' highest scoring game since Feb. 5, 2011 when Holy Cross defeated AIC 8-4 at the Hart Center. With three regular season games remaining, the Crusaders are now tied for second place with 31 points with Air Force and RIT. Robert Morris is in first with 36 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- At 10:04 in the first period, the Crusaders struck first as freshman Johnny Coughlin (Fairpoint, N.Y.) scored his first career goal. Sophomore T.J. Moore (Edina, Minn.) sent a pass from the right face off circle to Coughlin who blasted the puck to the top left corner of the goal to give the Crusaders a 1-0 lead.
- Just a little over a minute later at 11:14, the Crusaders struck again with a goal from freshman Mitch Collett (Calgary, Alberta). Senior assistant captain Joe McNamara (Chestnut Hill, Mass.) sent a pass from behind the Crusader net to freshman Michael Laffin (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) who passed the puck to Collett who had a one-on-one with AIC goalie Alex Murray and was able to sneak the puck under his legs to the bottom left corner of the net for his first collegiate goal.
- Holy Cross outshot AIC 16-5 in the first period.
- Just 22 seconds into the second period, the Crusaders scored off a wrist shot in the slot by sophomore Ryan Ferrill (Havertown, Pa.). Senior Karl Beckman (Okemos, Mich.) sent a pass to McNamara who passed the puck up to Ferrill who fired a shot to the bottom left corner of the net to make the score 3-0 Crusaders.
- At 10:04, sophomore Scott Pooley (Granger, Ind.) scored on a power play. Senior Castan Sommer (Shrewsbury, Mass.) sent a pass to senior captain Matt Vidal (Manorville, N.Y.) who passed the puck to Pooley at the crease who then knocked it in to make the score 4-0 Crusaders.
- Shortly after, at 11:28, Lopez wristed a shot from the slot to the top half of the net to increase the Crusader lead to 5-0. Ferrill also recorded an assist on the goal.
- AIC struck back at 12:10 in the second period with a goal from Marc Dubeau, who sent a backhand shot from right in front of the goal to make the score 5-1.
- Then, at 14:40 in the second period, the Crusaders increased their lead to 6-1 with a slap shot goal from Moore. Lopez sent a pass to sophomore Brett Mulcahy (Kelowna, British Columbia), who passed it to Moore in the left face off circle, who then converted the goal.
- Holy Cross outshot AIC 17-7 in the second period, going 1-4 on the power play.
- At 13:54 in the third period, Sommer wristed a shot from the left face off circle to make the score 7-1. Pooley also recorded an assist on the play.
- Then, at 17:44, Lopez scored his second goal of the game with a shot from the slot off a pass from Moore to make the final score 8-1.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Holy Cross outshot AIC 45-18 in the contest.
- Sophomore Paul Berrafato (Williamsville, N.Y.) recorded 16 saves, while Murray recorded 20 in the first 31:45 and Jacob Caffrey recorded 17 in the final 28:08.
- The Crusaders went 1-4 on the power play, while AIC went 0-2.
- Holy Cross won 38 face-offs, while the Yellow Jackets won 20.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- The eight goals by the Crusaders tonight are their most since Feb. 5, 2011 when they defeated AIC 8-4 at the Hart Center.
- Coughlin and Collett both scored their first collegiate goal tonight.
- Berrafato's 14 wins are tied for sixth all-time for a season in the program's Division I history.
- Senior assistant captain Brett Lubanski (Farmington Hills, Mich.) has played in 144 career games, which are tied for fifth all-time in program history.
- Senior Castan Sommer (Shrewsbury, Mass.) has played in 143 games, which are tied for seventh all-time.
- McNamara now has 19 assists this season, which are tied for fourth by a defenseman in the program's Division I history.
- The Crusaders are now 10-4-1 at home this season.
- The Crusaders are now 10-3-0 when they are leading after the first period and 12-0-2 when leading after the second period.
- The Crusades are 3-0-0 against AIC this year and have outscored the Yellow Jackets by a 13-1 margin.
PINK THE RINK
- The Holy Cross men's hockey program held it seventh annual “Pink the Rink” event tonight. “Pink the Rink” was sponsored by Saint Vincent Hospital. The team wore special edition light gray jerseys with pink and white trim to show their support for breast cancer awareness. The jerseys were auctioned off throughout the game to benefit Pink Revolution, which is an alliance of dedicated individuals with a unified commitment to those touched by breast cancer.
- Breast cancer survivor Robin Batchelder sang the National Anthem and a ceremonial puck drop featured breast cancer survivor Maura Power and the co-founders of Pink Revolution, Rebecca Soulliere and Audrey Kurlan-Marcy.
- Special edition Pink the Rink t-shirts were sold and there was also a chuck-a-puck competition during the second intermission.
- For the fifth straight season, the Crusaders are participating in Power Play Points For Pink. Every time the Holy Cross men's hockey team scores a power play goal at home or on the road, money pledged will benefit PINK Revolution. For more information or to pledge contact senior captain Matt Vidal at mcvida16@g.holycross.edu.
UP NEXT
- The Crusaders will conclude the series against AIC tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 20 when they travel to West Springfield Mass., to take on the Yellow Jackets at the Olympia Ice Center.
BE PART OF THE ACTION THIS SEASON
- To purchase tickets for the 2015-2016 Holy Cross men's hockey season, call 1-844-GOCROSS or visit GoHolyCross.com/Tickets.
STAY CONNECTED
