SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Holy Cross men's ice hockey team defeated American International College, winning 5-4 on Sunday, Jan. 30 at the MassMutual Center.

Sophomore left wing Jack Ricketts tallied three points on the day with two goals and an assist for the Crusaders (7-18-2, 5-11-2 AHA). Holy Cross junior goaltender Matt Radomsky made 23 saves on the day.

Blake Bennett had a goal and an assist to lead AIC (14-10-1, 13-5-0 AHA). 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Chris Dodero scored for an early 1-0 lead for AIC at 5:30 of the first period.
• Sophomore center Matt Guerra scored a goal with assists from freshman left wing John Gelatt and Ricketts at 10:24 of the first period to tie things up.
• Junior left wing Alex Peterson scored the second goal for Holy Cross at 15:17 of the opening frame with assists from freshman right wing Liam Connors and Radomsky.
• Senior alternate captain Ryan Leibold capitalized on a power-play opportunity at 16:21 of the first period. Less than a minute later, Ricketts tacked on another power-play goal at 17:08, increasing Holy Cross' lead to 4-1.
• Ricketts earned his second goal of the day at 15:22 of the second period to make it 5-1 Holy Cross.
• AIC pulled its goaltender midway through the third period, and Matt Rickard scored with 7:25 remaining. Bennett also managed to score with an extra skater with 2:53 left in the period, bringing the Yellow Jackets within two.
• With 16 seconds left in the third, AIC's Justin Young brought his team's deficit to one. However, the Crusaders managed to hold off the Yellow Jackets' rally and held on for the win.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• Holy Cross ended AIC's 11-game winning streak.
• The Crusaders' total of five goals is tied for their most goals scored in a game this season. They also scored five against Mercyhurst on Nov. 13 and Brown on Nov. 26.

UP NEXT:

• Holy Cross will play a pair of home contests against Sacred Heart on Friday, Feb. 4 and Saturday, Feb. 5. 
• Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. both nights at the Hart Center Rink.