WORCESTER, Mass. - The Holy Cross men's ice hockey hosts Niagara at the Hart Center Rink for a two-game Atlantic Hockey set on Friday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 8 at 2 p.m. Both games will broadcast live on FloHockey, while Friday's matchup will be simulcast on NESN+.

THE CRUSADERS (3-5-1, 3-1-1 AHA):

• Holy Cross enters the weekend on a three-game unbeaten streak.
• The Crusaders defeated Sacred Heart in game one of the two-game set last Thursday by a definitive 5-2 score.
• Nine different Crusaders recorded at least a point in the matchup, with senior Michael Abgrall leading the way with three points on two goals and an assist.
• In Saturday's 2-2 tie, junior Jack Stockfish netted both of the Holy Cross goals on full-ice plays. Senior Matt DeBoer was the hero in the shootout, netting the lone goal of the one-on-ones.
• Junior Connor Mackenzie backstopped both games over the weekend, finishing the series with a 1-0-1 record, a 1.92 goals-against average, .929 save percentage, and 52 saves in 125 minutes played. Of the four goals MacKenzie allowed, two were on the man-advantage.
• Senior Mack Oliphant was named Atlantic Hockey Defenseman of the Week for his play in the series, finishing the weekend with two points on a goal and an assist, two blocked shots, and a +2 rating. Oliphant netted a power play goal in the third period on Thursday to extend the Crusader lead to 4-2, and assisted on Abgrall's opening power play score in the contest. The accolade was the first weekly award for the assistant captain.

SCOUTING NIAGARA (3-4-0, 0-2-0 AHA):

• The Purple Eagles opened their season with three wins at home against St. Lawrence and Bowling Green, and outscored their opponents 12-4. Since then, Niagara has dropped four-straight regular season games - two at Union and a home-and-home sweep at the hands of Atlantic Hockey opponent Robert Morris - and have been outscored 17-7.
• Niagara returns 14 players from last year's squad while adding 11 new players to the mix.
• The Purple Eagles are led on offense by Marshall Finnie (5-1-6) and Maxim Muranov (4-1-5). Netminder Deivs Rolovs has backstopped all but one game for Niagara so far this season, posting a 2.37 goals-against average and .924 save percentage.

ALL TIME SERIES:

• The two squads have met 41 times since Jan. 3, 1999, with Holy Cross holding the series lead at 22-14-5, including a 5-3-2 mark in the last ten meetings.
• In their two meetings last season, the teams skated to a 3-3 tie the first night, before Niagara took the shootout, 1-0. In game two, Niagara was victorious, 3-2.

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