WORCESTER, Mass. - The #4 seed Holy Cross men's ice hockey team defeated #5 seeded RIT, 2-1, in overtime on Friday night at the Hart Center Rink.

Holy Cross takes the 1-0 lead in the best-of-three Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinal round with the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Neither team was able to score in the first two periods with Holy Cross holding the edge in shots through the two frames, 25-15.
• RIT broke the scoreless tie 2:24 into the third period on a five-on-three opportunity.
• Finding themselves with a five-on-three chance of their own with 1:26 to play, Holy Cross pulled their netminder in favor of the extra attacker. 30 seconds after one of the Tigers were released from the penalty box, sophomore Noah Eyre picked up a loose puck in the slot, sending a wrist shot through traffic and over the shoulder of the RIT netminder to tie things up with 52.9 seconds to play in regulation.
• Putting on the pressure in overtime, junior Jack Stockfish drew two defenders into a battle along the boards before sneaking the puck out to senior Devin Phillips. Phillips sent a centering pass to a streaking junior Will Elias, who sent a one-timer past the Tigers' netminder for the overtime win just over halfway through the extra period.

BEYOND THE BOX:

• Freshman Danick Leroux recorded 33 saves, tied for his second-highest mark this season.
• The Crusaders held the slight edge in blocked shots, 15-11, while RIT held the edge at the faceoff dot, 34-26.

UP NEXT:

• The two teams will face off tomorrow night, Saturday, March 7, at 7 p.m. for game two of the series.
• Tickets are available to the matchup at goholycross.com/ahaqf

 
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