WORCESTER, Mass. – The Holy Cross men's ice hockey team defeated LIU, 5-2, in their season opener Sunday night at the Hart Center Rink.
 
The two teams played an even, physical first period, with Holy Cross (1-0-0) leading in shots on goal, 9-7, and power play opportunities, 3-1, though it was Grayson Constable who opened the scoring for the Sharks (0-2-0) at the 9:30 mark of the first period as time expired on the lone LIU man-up advantage.
 
Junior Liam McLinskey scored the first goal of the season for the Crusaders 5:33 into the second frame on the power play to tie the game at one apiece. Junior Matt Shatsky sent a pass across the blue line to senior Jack Ricketts, who sent a shot towards the net that was blocked by an LIU defender. The rebound off the Sharks defense bounced right to an unmarked McLinskey, who sent a hard shot into the open net.
 
After a multitude of penalties to either side, senior Jake Higgins took the lead for the Crusaders with 13.5 seconds remaining. Senior Alec Cicero made a cross-ice pass to Higgins, who found freshman Brody Gagno at the point. Gagno sent a shot just wide of the net, where Higgins picked up the carom off the boards, sending it through the LIU defense and past the goaltender to take the 2-1 lead going into the third period.
 
Junior Matt DeBoer extended the lead to 3-1 with a power play goal six minutes into the third period. Sophomore Devin Phillips sent a pass to Ricketts below the goal line on the right of the net, who sent a pass across the goal to an open DeBoer, who jammed it past the goaltender's leg.
 
Constable scored a second goal on the afternoon six minutes later with a power play strike to cut the Crusaders lead to 3-2. With two minutes left to play and another power play opportunity, LIU pulled their goaltender in favor of an extra man, which senior Tyler Ghirardosi capitalized on twice, cutting off a Sharks pass each time and sending a shot into the empty net.

Senior netminder Jason Grande recorded 20 saves in the win, while LIU's Rico DiMattei posted 27 in the loss.
 
The Crusaders will return to the ice on Friday, Oct. 13, when they welcome Hockey East opponent UConn to the Hart Center at 7 p.m.
 
FOLLOW THE CRUSADERS 
Be sure to follow the Holy Cross men's ice hockey team — and all things Crusader Athletics — on social media!
Twitter - @HCrossMHockey | @goholycross
Instagram - @hcrossmhockey | @goholycross
Facebook - Holy Cross Men's Ice Hockey | Holy Cross Athletics
YouTube - GoHolyCross