Box Score

WALTHAM, Mass. – The Holy Cross men's hockey team downed Bentley, 5-3, on Friday night. Five Crusaders had multi-point games, led by Kevin Darrar who tallied two goals. The Crusaders improve to 9-18-4 overall and 9-13-3 in league play while Bentley moves to 15-13-3 and 14-9-2 in Atlantic Hockey action.

Holy Cross jumped out to a 1-0 lead just over two minutes into the game when Mitch Collett scored his eighth of the season. Bentley added the first period equalizer on a power play just over the midway point of the period. The Crusaders outshot the Falcons, 13-6, in the opening frame.

Bentley went ahead, 2-1, early in the second period but the Crusaders did not relinquish. Holy Cross capitalized on a five-on-three opportunity as Kevin Darrar teed-up a slap shot to even the game once more, 2-2. The second period shot totals were even, 7-7.

Holy Cross went ahead with two goals in the first half of the third period. The Crusaders recorded a power play goal 17 seconds into the period from Logan Ferguson. Darrar scored his second of the day at the midway point to give Holy Cross a two goal lead, 4-2. With two minutes remaining, Bentley pushed the game to 4-3 with a goal on six-on-five.

Anthony Vincent sealed the game off of an empty netter with 30 seconds remaining, 5-3.

Tommy Nixon earned his third win of the season and second-consecutive win with a 21 save performance.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

1-0 HC (1^st – 2:03, EV): From the corner, Logan Ferguson sent a pass up the half wall to Matt Slick on the point. Slick fired off a low shot through traffic and towards the goal where Mitch Collett got a stick on the puck and tipped it past Bentley's Aidan Pelino.

1-1 BEN (1^st – 11:37, PP): After a pass from behind the net to the slot, Luke Santerno was waiting on the back post for a back-door goal.

2-1 BEN (2^nd – 5:32, EV): Bentley's Jake Kauppila stole the puck behind the goal and scored on the wrap around shot.

2-2 HC (2^nd – 9:48, PP): On a five-on-three power play, Mitch Collett chipped the puck up the boards to Dalton Skelly on the point. Skelly quickly moved the puck over to Kevin Darrar at the center point. Darrar wound up for a one-time slap shot that sailed through a screen and into the back of the net.

3-2 HC (3^rd – 0:17, PP): Peter Crinella stickhandled around the scrum in front and sent a quality shot on net that rebounded to the near post. Logan Ferguson chipped the puck in from just off the goal line.

4-2 HC (3^rd – 9:59, EV): Anthony Vincent broke the puck out and Johnny Coughlin rushed it up the neutral zone along the boards. Coughlin stretched a pass across the ice to Darrar on the opposite board, who received the puck and used some stickhandling to get around the Bentley defense. Darrar moved towards the goal and roofed the puck under the cross bar and in.

4-3 BEN (3^rd – 17:59, EX): With the goalie pulled, Tanner Jago's center point shot snuck through traffic in front of Nixon and just inside the post.

5-3 HC (3^rd – 19:24, EN): The Crusaders broke the puck out of the defensive zone and Vincent rushed over the red line to send the puck into the open net.

NOTES & NUMBERS:

• Dalton Skelly has now recorded four assists in his last three games.
• Johnny Coughlin and Anthony Vincent both notched their 21^st points of the season.
• Mitch Collett, Logan Ferguson, Vincent, and Coughlin added multi-point games, each with one goal and one assist.
• Holy Cross killed four-of-five power plays.

UP NEXT:

Holy Cross honor its seven graduating seniors at the Feb. 23 game against the Falcons at the Hart Center at 7:05 p.m.

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