Crusaders travel to UConn for Hockey East quarterfinals

WORCESTER, Mass.- The 10th seeded Holy Cross women's ice hockey team will take a trip to Storrs, Conn. for the Crusaders first quarterfinal appearance in the Hockey East tournament at first seeded No. 11 UConn on Saturday, Mar. 2. Puck drop is set for 1 p.m. at the Toscano Family Ice Forum. Fans can watch the broadcast on NESN+.

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT HOLY CROSS (8-22-3, 4-19-3 Hockey East):

The 10th seeded Crusaders entered the post season drawing seventh seeded Boston University (BU) and shipping out to Boston for the midweek game. Holy Cross came out with the decisive 4-2 victory, the first Hockey East postseason win in program history on Wednesday, Feb. 28.
Just 29 seconds into the opening frame junior defenseman Carmen Elliott fired a shot off the faceoff taken by senior forward Bryn Saarela which was redirected into the back of the net by sophomore forward Lane Lewis. Holy Cross took an early 1-0 lead. The Terriers battled back covering on the powerplay at 7:02 and took the lead 2-1 with two minutes left in the period. Senior forward Lilly Feeney worked the puck out of the corner to Elliott who took another big shot which was redirected past the goaltender by sophomore forward Alexia Moreau with 32 seconds left in the first. The Crusaders ended the period tied 2-2 with BU. Midway through the second period, Moreau netted her second goal of the night at 9:13 to reclaim the lead for the Crusaders assisted by Lewis and sophomore defenseman Taylor Cantelon. Holy Cross extended their lead in the third period when senior forward Millie Sirum ripped a shot into the top shelf at 16:06 unassisted.
With Sirum's goal in the game she became the leading scorer in Hockey East Era history with 12 goals in a single season. Saarela now has the most assists on the team and tied the Hockey East Era record with 11 this season. Sirum still holds the most points of any Crusader with 22. Junior defensemen Emma Min, Emilie Fortunato and Elliott led the Crusaders defense in blocked shots. Min has made 57 blocks, the most of the team, followed by Fortunato with 45 and Elliott with 43.
Senior goalie Madison Beck was in between the pipes for the competition and earned her first postseason win with 37 saves for a 2.73 goals against average and a .910 save percentage this season.

HONING IN ON THE HUSKIES (22-7-5, 19-4-4 Hockey East):

The first seeded No. 11 UConn concluded the 2023-24 regular season with a final weekend of games against Boston University (BU). The Huskies swept the weekend taking a 4-0 win on Friday, Feb. 23 away and a close 1-0 win on Saturday, Feb. 24 at home over the Terriers.
The Huskies took home a tie and a win on the weekend against Providence with a 2-2 tie and the shootout loss on Friday, Feb. 2 and a close 2-1 overtime win on Saturday, Feb. 3.
In game one, it wasn't until there was 17 seconds left in the first period that UConn took the lead with a goal by sophomore forward Kyla Josifovic assisted by junior forward Brianna Ware and graduate defenseman Camryn Wong. Continuing their momentum into the second period with a goal at 2:51 scored by Ware assisted by senior forward Kathryn Stockdale and graduate defenseman Ainsely Svetek for the 2-0 lead. The Huskies netted another midway through the third period with a goal by senior forward Jada Habisch assisted by sophomore forward Brooke Campbell. Sophomore forward Megan Woodworth put the final goal in with less than three minutes left in the game for the 4-0 win. She was assisted by graduate defenseman Clare Peterson and Stockdale.
In game two, it wasn't until the second period that Wong cashed in on a power-play goal at 1:34 to give the Huskies the one-goal lead over the Terriers. She was assisted by forwards, freshman forward Maya Serdachny and junior Riley Grimley. UConn held onto their lead until the final horn to take the weekend sweep and the 1-0 win.
Habisch is UConn's leading scorer with 15 goals and has the most points with 25 this season. Graduate forward Tormala Coryn has 18 assists on the year to lead the Huskies. Svetek leads UConn in blocks with 48.
Junior goalie Tia Chan was in goal for both games of the BU series where she made 26 saves in game one and 32 in game two. Her efforts over the weekend earned her the Hockey East Player of the Week award. She now has a 1.26 goals against average and a .953 save percentage. Chan is one of the leading goalies in Hockey East ranked second with a conference goals against average of 1.05 and first with a .956 conference save percentage.

LAST TIME THEY MET:

The Crusaders and the Huskies last encounter was earlier this season Holy Cross hosting UConn for the final matchup of the regular season. The Huskies, ranked 11th in the nation during the game, claimed the 5-1 victory over the Crusaders on Saturday, Feb. 10.
Holy Cross holds a 6-16-0 all-time series and 1-16-0 all-time conference record against UConn.

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