Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey
Current season
Holy Cross Crusaders athletic logo
UniversityCollege of the Holy Cross
ConferenceAHA
NCAA Division I Division
Head coachBill Riga
3rd season, 29–44–5 (.404)
Assistant coaches
  • Castan Sommer
  • Drew Michals
  • Connor Mauro
CaptainJack Ricketts
Alternate captain(s)
  • Tyler Ghirardosi
  • Jake Higgins
  • Jack Robilotti
ArenaHart Center
Worcester, Massachusetts
ColorsRoyal purple[1]
 
NCAA Tournament appearances
2004, 2006
Conference Tournament championships
1999, 2004, 2006
Conference regular season championships
2003–04, 2005-06
Current uniform

The Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the College of the Holy Cross. The Crusaders are a member of the Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA). They play at the Hart Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.[2]

History

Holy Cross men's ice hockey began in 1966 and a year later it joined ECAC 2. The Crusaders played in the second tier of college ice hockey for ten years before they played their first playoff game, but once they made it they didn't go very far. Over a six year period Holy Cross wen 2–5 in the conference postseason and never really got close to an NCAA tournament berth. When Division II ice hockey was abandoned in 1984 Holy Cross dropped down to Division III and was placed in ECAC East when ECAC 2 split. They made the ECAC tournament three out of four years under Peter Van Buskirk but couldn't manage a win. The team went through a down period under Bill Bellerose for six seasons but started winning again when Paul Pearl became head coach in 1994. After recording their best season in fifteen years Holy Cross promoted its program to Division I and joined the MAAC in 1998–99.[3]

In their first year of D–I play Holy Cross won its first Conference Tournament, winning the inaugural MAAC Championship. Unfortunately, because the NCAA did not offer the MAAC an automatic bid at that time the Crusaders did not make the NCAA tournament. The next season Holy Cross dropped to seventh in the conference and lost 24 games over the course of the season (a program worst). After missing out on the conference tournament the next season Holy Cross returned to the playoffs for the final two years of the MAAC's existence before joining with all former MAAC programs in founding Atlantic Hockey.

Similar to their start with the MAAC, Holy Cross produced a great season, winning 22 games, and were able to win their first conference title. They then swept through the Atlantic Hockey playoffs and captured their second tournament championship, though this time they received a berth into the NCAA tournament for the first time. Though their national championship experience was brief the Crusaders continued to play well and returned to the Championship in 2006 after winning both conference crowns. The met #2 overall seeded Minnesota in the first round and pushed the heavily favored Golden Gophers into overtime where Tyler McGregor scored 53 seconds in, winning what is usually noted as the biggest upset in tournament history.[4]

Holy Cross would decline after their miraculous 2006 season, posting losing records for four consecutive years, but the program began to recover in the second decade of the 20th century. Paul Pearl resigned in 2014 and was replaced by David Berard who saw middling regular season results.

In the 2022-2023 regular season Holy Cross won their first Atlantic Hockey playoff round since the 2006 season against American International College. They would later upset Rochester Institute of Technology in the semifinals of the tournament but lose in the championship to Canisius.[5]


Season-by-season results

Source:[6]

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

The Crusaders have appeared in the NCAA tournament two times. Their combined record is 1–2.

YearSeedRoundOpponentResults
2004#4West Regional semifinal#1 North DakotaL 3-0
2006#4West Regional semifinal
West Regional Final		#1 Minnesota
#2 North Dakota		W 4-3 (OT)
L 5-2

Coaches

As of completion of 2022–23 season

Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
2021–PresentBill Riga229–44–5.404
2014–2021David Berard784–116–34.432
1994–1996, 1997–2014Paul Pearl19297–293–69.503
1988–1994Bill Bellerose661–99–3.383
1979–1988, 1996–1997Peter Van Buskirk10167–146–8.533
1976–1979Mike Addesa349–31–1.611
1966–1976Bill Kane10122–104–2.539
Totals 7 coaches 57 seasons 809–833–122 .493

Awards and honors

NCAA

MAAC

Individual awards

Tournament Most Valuable Player

  • Mike Maguire, D: 1999

All-Conference teams

First Team All-MAAC

  • 1998–99: Scott Simpson, G; Chris Fattey, F
  • 2001–02: Patrick Rissmiller, F
  • 2002–03: Brandon Doria, F

Second Team All-MAAC

  • 1998–99: Mike Maguire, D
  • 1999–00: Jim Whelan, D
  • 2001–02: R. J. Irving, D; Brandon Doria, F

MAAC All-Rookie Team

  • 1998–99: Patrick Rissmiller, F
  • 2000–01: R. J. Irving, D; Greg Kealey, F
  • 2002–03: Tyler McGregor, F

Atlantic Hockey

Individual awards

All-Conference teams

First Team All-Atlantic Hockey

  • 2003–04: Jeff Dams, F
  • 2004–05: Tyler McGregor, F
  • 2005–06: Jon Landry, D; Tyler McGregor, F
  • 2006–07: Jon Landry, D; James Sixsmith, F
  • 2014–15: Matt Ginn, G
  • 2017–18: Paul Berrafato, G

Second Team All-Atlantic Hockey

  • 2003–04: Tony Quesada, G
  • 2004–05: Pierre Napert-Frenette, F
  • 2005–06: Tony Quesada, G; Pierre Napert-Frenette, F
  • 2011–12: Adam Schmidt, F
  • 2020–21: Matt Slick, D
  • 2022–23: Jack Ricketts, F

Third Team All-Atlantic Hockey

  • 2007–08: Matt Burke, D; Brodie Sheahan, F
  • 2016–17: Spencer Trapp, D; Danny Lopez, F
  • 2021–22: Ryan Leibold, F
  • 2022–23: Nick Hale, D

Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team

  • 2003–04: James Sixsmith, F
  • 2007–08: Mark Znutas, D; Everett Sheen, F
  • 2010–11: Jeffrey Reppucci, F
  • 2011–12: Matt Ginn, G
  • 2012–13: Karl Beckman, D
  • 2018–19: Matt Slick, D; Anthony Vincent, F
  • 2022–23: Mack Oliphant, D

Statistical leaders

Source:[7]

Career points leaders

Player Years GP G A Pts PIM
Joe Lunny 1982–1986 103 116 219
Jerry DeLeo 1982–1986 101 117 218
Larry Murphy 1966–1970 119 88 207
Matt Muniz 1982–1986 87 120 207
Glenn Graves 1973–1977 75 122 197
Gerry Curley 1977–1981 93 98 191
Bill Butler 1966–1969 91 89 180
Bill Bellerose 1973–1977 71 81 152
James Sixsmith 2003–2007 142 48 104 152
John Powell 1977–1981 147

Career goaltending leaders

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Minimum 1000 minutes

Player Years GP Min W L T GA SO SV% GAA
Tony Quesada2002–20061056034613382517.9152.50
Paul Berrafato2014–2018114667746471928111.9112.51
Matt Ginn2011–201512977595955133248.9172.51
Scott Simpson1995–199938196021102822.9032.51
Ben Conway2002–2006452411181551032.9092.56

Statistics current through the start of the 2018-19 season.

Holy Cross Varsity Club Hall of Fame

The following is a list of people associated with the Holy Cross men's ice hockey program who were elected into the Holy Cross Varsity Club Hall of Fame (induction date in parentheses).[8]

  • Larry Murphy (1981)
  • Gerry Curley (1996)
  • Jim Stewart (1998)
  • Joe Lunny (1999)
  • Glenn Graves (2000)
  • Bill Bellerose (2002)
  • Dean Casagrande (2002)
  • Matt Muniz (2005)
  • Patrick Rissmiller (2010)
  • Tyler McGregor (2013)
  • Tony Quesada (2014)
  • James Sixsmith (2017)
  • Terrence Butt (2018)

Current roster

As of September 14, 2023.[9]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Wyoming Louden Hogg Sophomore G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 2002-10-18 Cheyenne, Wyoming Fargo (USHL) —
2 New York (state) Jack Robilotti (A) Senior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-07-18 New York, New York Fargo (USHL) —
3 British Columbia Brody Gagno Freshman D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-07-29 South Surrey, British Columbia Surrey (BCHL) —
4 Massachusetts Jake Higgins (A) Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2001-06-09 Hingham, Massachusetts Deerfield (USHS–MA) —
5 Minnesota Will Troutwine Freshman D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 2002-06-23 Eveleth, Minnesota Janesville (NAHL) —
8 Massachusetts Charlie Spence Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-03-18 Medfield, Massachusetts Boston Jr. Bruins (NCDC) —
10 New York (state) Liam McLinskey Junior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2001-02-20 Pearl River, New York Quinnipiac (ECAC) —
12 Florida Matt Guerra Senior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1999-05-21 Orlando, Florida Robert Morris (AHA) —
13 Massachusetts Will Elias Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2003-01-28 Weston, Massachusetts Cowichan Valley (BCHL) —
14 Manitoba Matt Shatsky Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-04-29 Winnipeg, Manitoba Sherwood Park (AJHL) —
15 Ontario Jack Ricketts (C) Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-09-08 Oakville, Ontario Oakville (OJHL) —
17 Nevada Matt DeBoer Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-09-02 Las Vegas, Nevada Green Bay (USHL) —
18 British Columbia Ty Gagno Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2003-10-01 Langley, British Columbia Prince George (BCHL) —
19 Ontario Jack Stockfish Freshman F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 2002-09-30 North Bay, Ontario Prince George (BCHL) —
20 North Carolina Devin Phillips Sophomore F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2001-07-12 Raleigh, North Carolina Brooks (AJHL) —
21 New York (state) Alec Cicero Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-03-09 Williamsville, New York Buffalo (OJHL) —
22 Ontario Lucas Thorne Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-03-05 Dunnville, Ontario Bonnyville (AJHL) —
24 New Jersey John Gelatt Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-04-29 Middletown, New Jersey Johnstown (NAHL) —
27 Illinois Mack Oliphant Sophomore D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2002-12-28 Northbrook, Illinois Johnstown (NAHL) —
28 Quebec Jack Seymour Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 2001-04-06 Chelsea, Quebec Chilliwack (BCHL) —
29 Connecticut Conner Welsh Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2004-01-02 Greenwich, Connecticut Vernon (BCHL) —
30 Pennsylvania Jason Grande Sophomore G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1999-02-07 West Chester, Pennsylvania Bentley (AHA) —
33 Quebec Thomas Gale Junior G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2000-06-10 Kirkland, Quebec P. A. L. (NCDC) —
34 Massachusetts Joe Solimine Sophomore F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2002-03-03 Middleton, Massachusetts Boston Jr. Bruins (NCDC) —
37 New Jersey Nic Petruolo Junior (RS) D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-01-29 Neshanic Station, New Jersey Union (ECAC) —
39 British Columbia Tyler Ghirardosi (A) Senior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-10-01 Montrose, British Columbia Quinnipiac (ECAC) —
40 Alberta Michael Hodge Junior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 157 lb (71 kg) 2000-05-30 Calgary, Alberta Union (ECAC) —

Crusaders in the NHL

As of July 1, 2023.

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