The Holy Cross men's ice hockey team continues its homestand with a weekend series against American International College. The Crusaders will host the Yellow Jackets at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 8, before rounding out the weekend with a 5 p.m. matchup on Sunday, Jan. 9.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT HOLY CROSS (5-13-1, 3-6-1 AHA):

• Holy Cross defeated Vermont, 4-3, in its first contest of 2022 at the Hart Center Rink on Tuesday, Jan. 4.
• Sophomore center Matt Guerra scored the game-winning goal on the power play at 13:14 of the third period.
• Senior alternate captain Ryan Leibold had a three-point night for the Crusaders, with a goal and two assists. He extended his team-leading point total to 18 points on the season, ranking second in the conference.
• Leibold has recorded at least one point in each of his last five games; he has 10 points in his last seven games.
• Freshman right wing Liam Connors scored his first career goal and senior alternate captain Anthony Vincent scored his first goal of the year against the Catamounts.
• The win marks the first over Vermont in Holy Cross history; this also marks Holy Cross' first win over a Hockey East opponent this season and first since defeating No. 6/7 Providence on Oct. 11, 2019.
• Freshman goaltender Thomas Gale assisted on Leibold's goal; his assist is the second goalie assist for the Crusaders of the 2021-22 season, as junior Matt Radomsky also had an assist against Niagara on Dec. 4.
• Holy Cross owns a .239 power-play percentage, ranking tied for 11th nationally.

SCOUTING AIC (6-9-1, 6-4-0 AHA):

• The Yellow Jackets swept Air Force to open the New Year, winning 5-2 and 4-3 on Jan. 1 and 2.
• Two AIC players earned Atlantic Hockey weekly honors for their performances against Air Force. Luis Lindner was named Rookie of the Week after earning his first collegiate assist and first collegiate goal on the weekend, while Zak Galambos was named Defensive Player of the Week after a three-assist weekend.
• AIC has won its last three contests.
• Brian Rigali and Chris Dodero lead the Yellow Jackets with 12 points apiece this year; Jake Stella has scored a team-high seven goals on the year.
• Jake Kucharski has started 11 contests in net, recording a 2.91 goals-against average with a .898 save percentage.
• The Yellow Jackets have won three consecutive Atlantic Hockey regular season titles, and were conference tournament champions in 2019 and 2021; the tournament was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

LAST TIME THEY MET:

• The Yellow Jackets and Crusaders met three times in 2021, with AIC prevailing in all three contests, played over the span of 13 days.
• In a 1-0 road loss on Jan. 17, 2021, Erik Gordon made 30 saves for the Crusaders.