WORCESTER, Mass. - The No. 19 Holy Cross men's ice hockey team will play in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament Championship Game for the second time in three seasons when it hosts Bentley on Saturday, March 22. The winner-takes-all game between the Crusaders and Falcons is set for 7 p.m. at the Hart Center Rink in Worcester, Mass., and will stream live on FloHockey. 
 
Holy Cross, the top seed in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament, defeated eight seed AIC in the quarterfinals and five seed Army in the semifinals to earn its spot in the title game. Following their sweep of Army, the Crusaders were ranked No. 19 in the USCHO poll.
 
Senior Liam McLinskey enters the matchup as the first two-time Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year, and first two-time Hobey Baker Top 10 Finalist in Atlantic Hockey and Holy Cross history. McLinskey, who has recorded eight points in the Crusaders' five playoff games, carries a career-high 51 points on 23 goals and 28 assists into the matchup.
 
Senior netminder Thomas Gale, the Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Year and All-Atlantic Hockey First Team selection, was named Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week for his play in the semifinals round against Army. Gale broke and extended the Crusaders' single-season victories record over the weekend with his 23rd and 24th wins on the season, finishing the series with an incredible 1.46 goals-against average and .960 save percentage. Gale made a career-high 45 saves in the overtime game on Friday, following it up with a 29 save performance on Saturday
 
Following the season, head coach Bill Riga was named the Atlantic Hockey Coach of the Year, while junior defenseman Mack Oliphant earned a spot on the All-Atlantic Hockey Second Team, junior forward Devin Phillips was named to the Third Team, and freshman Matt Kursonis was named to the All-Rookie Team.
 
Bentley finished the regular season with a 18-14-2 overall record with a 16-9-1 conference record, good for the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Hockey tournament. The Falcons swept both of their quarterfinal and semifinal matchups to earn a spot in the championship game.
 
In the quarterfinals, Bentley faced sixth-seeded Canisius, sweeping the series behind 4-0 and 2-0 results. In their semifinal matchup against two seed Sacred Heart, the Falcons swept the series behind 5-2 and 3-0 scores.

The Falcons are led on offense by Ethan Leyh, who has recorded a team-high 38 points this season. Netminder Connor Hasley holds a team-best 20-12-2 record, 1.92 goals-against average, and .925 save percentage, as well as an NCAA-leading 11 shutouts this season.

The Crusaders enter the matchup 16-2-1 against AHA opponents since the turn of the calendar, while the Falcons went 11-7-0 in the same frame.

Holy Cross is 46-32-10 all-time against Bentley. The two teams have met three times this season, in which Holy Cross held the slight edge, going 2-1-0. In Waltham in January, the Crusaders swept the series behind a 3-2 overtime win and a decisive 5-1 win on the second night. In Worcester in February, Bentley was victorious, 3-0.
 
The two teams have met just one other time in the postseason: the 2006 Atlantic Hockey championship game, which Holy Cross won, 5-2.

The winner of the matchup will earn Atlantic Hockey's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.

VOTE LIAM FOR HOBEY!
For the second consecutive year, senior Liam McLinskey is a finalist for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. From now until March 30, fans can vote for McLinskey once a day on the Hobey Baker website.

FOLLOW THE CRUSADERS 
Be sure to follow the Holy Cross men's ice hockey team — and all things Crusader Athletics — on social media!
X - @HCrossMHockey | @goholycross
Instagram - @hcrossmhockey | @goholycross
Facebook - Holy Cross Men's Ice Hockey | Holy Cross Athletics
YouTube - GoHolyCross