WORCESTER, Mass. — The Holy Cross men's ice hockey team defeated Bentley, winning 2-1 on Saturday, Feb. 26 at the Hart Center Rink. This marked a series sweep for the Crusaders after their 3-2 overtime win on Friday, Feb. 25 at Bentley.

Before the game, Holy Cross held a ceremony to honor the five seniors in the program: Bryce Dolan, Erik Gordon, Ryan Leibold, Anthony Vincent and Matt Slick.

Sophomore left wing Lucas Thorne scored the game-winning goal to lead the Crusaders (12-21-2, 10-14-2 AHA) to victory. Holy Cross goaltender Gordon made 21 saves on the day.

Cooper Connell led the day for the Falcons (12-18-2, 10-14-2 AHA) with a goal in the first period. Goaltender Evan DeBrouwer made 24 saves in the game.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Freshman right wing Liam Connors scored the first goal of the evening at 7:05 of the first period with assists from Slick and sophomore center Bobby Young.
• At 12:55 of the first period, Connell tied the score for the Falcons on a power play, making the game 1-1.
• Thorne netted the game-winning goal at 19:38.9 of the second period with assists from junior right wing Grayson Constable and junior center Alex Peterson to secure the 2-1 victory.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• The Crusaders held the edge in shots, 26-22.
• In the matchup, Connors netted his second career goal with his first coming on Jan. 4, 2022, against Vermont.
• Holy Cross also held a slight edge in faceoff wins, 24-22.

UP NEXT:

• Holy Cross will hit the road to face Mercyhurst in the first round of the Atlantic Hockey playoffs.
• The series will be a best-of-three series beginning on Friday, March 4.