WORCESTER, Mass. – The Holy Cross men's ice hockey team is set to head to Waltham, Mass. for a two-game set against Atlantic Hockey opponent Bentley on Friday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 18 at 6 p.m. Both games will stream live on FloHockey.

THE CRUSADERS (9-11-2, 8-4-2 AHA):

• Holy Cross will begin a two-week road trip with a two-game set at Bentley.
• The Crusaders earned five out of six points last weekend, defeating Robert Morris, 4-1, on Friday before tying 2-2 through overtime on Saturday and winning the shootout, 1-0, for the extra point.
• Ten Crusaders recorded a point in the series, with five picking up multi-point performances. Seniors Liam McLinskey and John Gelatt led the team with three points each (1-2-3).
• McLinskey enters this weekends' games with an AHA-leading ten goals in conference play, and is currently sitting at 93 career points.
• Senior Thomas Gale was named the Holy Cross Crusader of the Week following the weekend series. Gale posted a 1.44 goals-against average and .958 save percentage while making 46 saves with just three goals allowed in 125 minutes of play.
• Gale was also one of 35 goaltenders, including one of five from Atlantic Hockey, named to the 2025 Mike Richter Award Watch List on Wednesday afternoon.
• Gale carries a 2.33 goals-against average and .921 save percentage on the season with a 9-10-2 record in 21 games. Gale has held opponents to two or fewer goals on 12 occasions and picked up a shutout in an overtime matchup against AIC on Dec. 6.
• Gale's .921 save percentage ranks fifth nationally among goaltenders who have played 20+ games this season, while his 2.33 goals-against average ranks fourth. His save percentage ranks fifth in Atlantic Hockey, while his goals-against ranks fourth.
• Holy Cross' kill percentage of 90.8% is the second-best mark in Atlantic Hockey and ranks fourth in the nation, posting a 79-for-87 success rate. Over the weekend, Holy Cross held Robert Morris, who holds the nations' no. 13-ranked power play, to one-for-eight over the two-game set.
• On the other side, the Crusaders have converted on 19.2% of their power play opportunities, which ranks fifth in Atlantic Hockey.
   

SCOUTING BENTLEY (12-8-2, 10-5-1 AHA):

• Bentley enters the contest with a 10-5-1 record in Atlantic Hockey contests, placing them in second in the standings, eight points ahead of Holy Cross.
• Bentley has played four conference games already in the new year, travelling to Niagara to open 2025, before travelling to Air Force this past weekend.
• Against Niagara, the Falcons fell in overtime on Friday, 3-2, before losing in regulation on Saturday, 4-2. At Air Force, Bentley shutout the Academy on Friday, 1-0, before falling on Saturday, 4-1.
• Graduate student Ethan Leyh leads the team with 21 points and is tied with freshman Oskar Bakkevig for the team lead in goals with eight. Leyh also leads in assists with 13.
   

ALL TIME SERIES:

• The two teams have met 85 times, with the Crusaders leading the all-time series, 44-31-10. The Crusaders also lead the all-time series at Bentley Arena, 21-13-6.
• The two teams met three times last season, with Holy Cross taking the season series, 2-1.
• Holy Cross swept the home-and-home set on Nov. 17-18, 2023, thanks to back-to-back 2-0 shutouts. Senior Thomas Gale recorded 52 saves over the two games, becoming the first Holy Cross netminder to recorded back-to-back shutouts in program history, earning his first career Atlantic Hockey weekly honor in the process.
• Bentley won the third meeting of the season for the two squads, taking the final game of the regular season on Feb. 22 5-1 at the Hart Center Rink.

 
FOLLOW THE CRUSADERS 
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