WORCESTER, Mass. - The Holy Cross men's ice hockey team will continue its quest for an Atlantic Hockey Championship when it hosts no. 5 seeded Army for the semifinal round this weekend. The best-of-three series is set for Friday, March 14, Saturday, March 15, and, if necessary, Sunday, March 16 at the Hart Center Rink. 
 
Friday and Saturday's matchups are set for 7 p.m., with the if needed tie-breaking game on Sunday at 5 p.m. All three games will stream on FloSports.   
 
Holy Cross finished the regular season with a 20-12-2 overall record, while going 19-5-2 in conference play, good for the Atlantic Hockey Regular Season Championship title and no. 1 seed in the Atlantic Hockey tournament. The Crusaders have won 15 of their last 17 games, taking down no. eight-seed AIC in the quarterfinal round last weekend, falling in game one on Friday, 3-2, before taking game two, 3-2, and game three, 4-3 in overtime. The Crusaders benefitted from ten different points-getters over the three games - including seven different goal scorers.  
 
Holy Cross received multiple postseason honors following the end of the regular season, with senior forward Liam McLinskey and senior goaltender Thomas Gale being named to the All-Atlantic Hockey First Team, junior defenseman Mack Oliphant earning a spot on the Second Team, junior forward Devin Phillips on the third team, and freshman Matt Kursonis being named to the All-Rookie team. On Thursday, McLinskey was named a finalist for Forward of the Year, Gale for Goaltender of the Year, Oliphant for Best Defenseman, and head coach Bill Riga a finalist for Coach of the Year.

Army finished the regular season with a 14-17-2 overall record with a 14-10-2 conference record, good for the no. 5 seed in the Atlantic Hockey tournament. The Black Knights took three games against No. 4-seed Niagara to move on to the semifinal round, winning on Friday, 3-2, in double overtime, and Sunday, 4-3, in overtime. Their single loss came on Saturday, 4-3 in regulation.

Army is led on offense by defenseman Mac Gadowsky, who has recorded a team-leading 40 points this season on 15 goals and 25 assists. Netminder JJ Cataldo holds a team-best 14-12-2 record, 2.33 goals-against average, and .924 save percentage.

The Crusaders enter the matchup 14-2-1 against Atlantic Hockey opponents since the turn of the calendar, while the Black Knights went 11-4-2 in the same frame.

All time, Holy Cross is 39-49-12 against Army. The two teams have met three times this season, in which Holy Cross held the edge, 2-1-0. In October, the two teams split the series at the Hart Center, with Army winning the first night on a last-minute goal, 1-0, and Holy Cross winning the second night, 5-3. At West Point in November, Holy Cross won the single game meeting, 5-3.
 
The two teams have met just four times in the postseason, with the all-time series split at 2-2. Holy Cross swept the series on March 2-3, 2012 by scores of 3-2 and 5-2 at the Hart Center, while Army swept the series on March 11-12, 2016 by scores of 2-1 and 3-0 at Tate Rink.

The winner of the series will move on to the AHA Championship game next Saturday, March 22.

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