Crusaders to face off with BC, Merrimack

WORCESTER, Mass.- The Holy Cross women's ice hockey team will split the weekend with an away-home series to face two Hockey East opponents. The Crusaders will first head to the city for a mid-afternoon game at Boston College (BC) on Friday, Jan. 12. Holy Cross will then come home to host Merrimack on Saturday, Jan. 13. Puck drop is set for 2 p.m. at Conte Forum and 7 p.m. at Hart Center Rink at Luth Athletic Complex. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+.

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT HOLY CROSS (5-12-2, 2-9-2 Hockey East):

The Crusaders hosted Northeastern on Friday Jan. 5 for the final matchup of the regular season. The Huskies took home the 6-1 win.
Northeastern scored back-to-back goals to conclude the first period and netted three more to kick off the second period. It wasn't until late in the second period when the Crusaders scored with a powerplay goal by freshman forward Reghan Chadwick at 14:38. She was assisted by forwards senior Millie Sirum and sophomore Charlotte Sonntag. The Huskies struck one more time in the third period for the 6-1 win.
Sirum still leads the charge as Holy Cross's leading scorer with seven goals to rack up 15 points. Sophomore defenseman Casey Borgiel has racked up nine assists so far this season, the most of the Crusaders. Junior defensemen Emma Min, Emilie Fortunato and Carmen Elliott led the Crusaders defense in blocked shots. Min has made 27 blocks, the most of the team, followed closely by Fortunato and Elliott who have 24 apiece.
Sophomore goalie Brooke Loranger was in between the pipes for the game making 25 saves for a 3.18 goals against average and a .887 save percentage this season.

EYES ON THE EAGLES (11-7-2, 10-3-2 Hockey East):

Boston College (BC) concluded the 2022-23 season with a 20-15-1 overall record and 16-11-0 conference record. The Eagles finished in 4th place in the Hockey East and made it to the quarterfinals of the Hockey East Tournament to fall to Northeastern 3-0.
The Eagles kicked off 2024 with a road trip to Orono, Maine for a mid-afternoon game on Saturday, Jan. 6. BC came out with the 3-2 win over the Black Bears
BC got on the board first, netting a goal at 6:41 in the first period, scored by freshman forward Sammy Taber. She was assisted by graduate forward Sammy Smigliani and senior forward Caroline Goffredo for the 1-0 lead going into the second period.
The Black Bears answered back with an equalizing goal one second before time expired in the second period.
The Eagles reclaimed the lead with two goals by Goffredo just two minutes apart at 9:12 and 11:13 for the 3-1 result. She was assisted by Taber and senior defenseman Sidney Fess on the first goal and Smigliani and Taber on the second goal of the period. Maine got one last goal in at 18:54, but fell short for BC to come out with the 3-2 win.
Smigliani, junior forward Abby Newhook and senior forward Gaby Roy all have eight goals apiece to lead the Eagles scoring efforts. Taber has the most assists (17) and points (23) of anyone on the team. Junior defenseman Keri Clougherty is a defensive powerhouse with 34 blocks so far this year, 10 more to the nearest Eagle to follow.
Sophomore goalie Grace Campbell has become the go-to choice for BC and was in goal against Maine on Saturday. She made 39 saves and now has a 2.53 goals against average and a .919 save percentage.

WATCHING THE WARRIORS (6-12-2, 3-8-2 Hockey East):

Merrimack concluded the 2022-23 season with a 9-25-2 overall record and 5-20-2 conference record. The Warriors finished in last place in the Hockey East and fell to Northeastern 5-1 in the Hockey East tournament.
The Warriors are set to play UConn on Friday, Jan. 12 at 6pm before facing off with Holy Cross on Saturday. Merrimack most recently took on Wisconsin in a two game non-conference series on Friday Jan. 5 and Saturday Jan. 6. The Badgers swept Merrimack taking two 6-1 victories at home.
In game one, Merrimack scored first with a goal by senior forward Ally Qualley mid-way through the first period assisted by sophomore forward Sophie McKinley at 10:09. Wisconsin answered back with an equalizing goal 12 seconds later for the 1-1 result heading into the second period. The Badgers took over with two goals in the second period and three more in the third for the 6-1 win.
In game two, Wisconsin got things going with a hot start in the first period scoring right out the game and not letting up. The Badgers scored three goals all within the first six minutes of play and added a fourth before the end of first period. Wisconsin continued to control the game with another goal in the second period at 9:51 and one more halfway through the third period at 11:00. With a 6-0 lead, Merrimack managed to sneak one in with a powerplay goal scored by junior defenseman Haley Chang assisted by redshirt fifth year Celine Tedenby and McKinley at 16:01. The Badgers took the 6-1 win when time expired.
Tedenby is currently the Warriors' leading scorer with seven goals and most points with 15 on the year. Graduate forward Mary Edmonds and Chang are tied with the most assists on the season with eight each. Graduate defender Teghan Inglis has 33 blocks so far this year, the most of the Warriors.
Sophomore goalie Calli Hogarth made 42 saves in game one, a season high and 37 saves in game two. Hogarth has become Merrimack's go-to choice in net and now has a 2.75 goals against average and a .906 save percentage.

LAST TIME THEY MET:

Holy Cross and BC met earlier this season with the Eagles taking a 2-1 close win over the Crusaders on Oct. 20. Holy Cross rallied with a 2-2 tie on Oct. 21 ending with BC losing the shootout 1-0 and the Crusaders taking home the extra conference point.
The Crusaders and the Warriors last encounter was earlier this season with the two tying 2-2 on Nov. 10 and Holy Cross taking the extra conference point home with a 2-0 shootout win. Merrimack claimed the second game on the weekend with a 4-3 win on Nov. 11.
Holy Cross holds a 1-15-0 all-time series record against the Eagles.
The Crusaders own a 5-10-1 all-time series and conference record against Merrimack.

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