2023–24 Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey season

The 2023–24 Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey season was the 58th season of play for the program, the 26th at the Division I level and the 21st in Atlantic Hockey. The Crusaders represented the College of the Holy Cross, played their home games at the Hart Center and were coached by Bill Riga in his 3rd season.

2023–24 Holy Cross Crusaders
men's ice hockey season
Conference2nd Atlantic Hockey
Home iceHart Center
Rankings
USCHONR
USA HockeyNR
Record
Overall21–14–4
Conference13–10–3
Home14–9–0
Road7–5–4
Coaches and captains
Head coachBill Riga
Assistant coachesCastan Sommer
Drew Michals
Connor Mauro
Captain(s)Jack Ricketts
Alternate captain(s)Tyler Ghirardosi
Jake Higgins
Jack Robilotti
Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey seasons
« 2022–23 2024–25 »
Holy Cross vs. American International in the AHA semifinals

Season

edit

With most of its team returning, Holy Cross was well-positioned for a good season. Even so, it was a surprise when the Crusaders started the season with a sweep of a ranked Connecticut squad and were ranked #1 in the PairWise, albeit very briefly. Unfortunately for the Crusaders, nominal starter Jason Grande had a few week outing at the end of October. When Thomas Gale was inserted into the goal, the situation didn't immediately resolve itself and the team stumbled to a sub-.500 record by mid-November. With their season spinning out of control, a pair of shutouts by Gale over Bentley just before Thanksgiving halted their descent.

As the goaltending resolved itself, the offense was still in the process of rounding into form. The forward unit hadn't been bad in the first two months of the season but they had failed to take advantage of their chances. By early December, Holy Cross had lost five 1-goal games and were wallowing at the bottom of the Atlantic Hockey standings. A less than satisfactory slate of non-conference games around Christmas wiped away their early gains and did not portend well for the second half of the year.

When they returned to their conference schedule, the team had a good weekend against American International but then followed that up with probably their worse game of the season. Against bottom-dwelling Army, Holy Cross was shutout for the first time on the year and took numerous penalties. The game ended with Mack Oliphant receiving a match penalty for grabbing a face mask.[1] emotions seemed to boil over in the rematch when leading scorer Liam McLinskey was ejected for abuse of the officials, though he managed to avoid a suspension. The following week, the team struggled through another 1-goal loss where they were assessed a major penalty.

The second game with Sacred Heart earned the team a weekend split but, most importantly, began a resurgence for the offense. From January 20 through February 16, Holy Cross scored at least 5 goals in each game. The suddenly high-powered offense was spearheaded by McLinskey who averaged 2 points per game in that stretch and shot up the program's all-time scoring list. The seven game winning streak propelled the team towards the top of the conference standings, enabling the Crusaders to finish second behind RIT. It also saw a return to form of Jason Grande, who regained the starting role at the beginning of February and never relinquished the crease.

When the conference tournament began, Holy Cross was given a bye into the quarterfinal round and were allowed to rest for a week before continuing. The team looked prepared for Canisius in the first game, outshooting the Griffins nearly 2-to-1. Unfortunately, they still found themselves down 2–3 entering the third period. After McLinskey tied the game, Jack Stockfish scored the winning goal on the power play and gave the Crusaders a bit of breathing room. The second match saw Canisius fight back and outshoot CHC in regulation. Penalties were largely responsible with two minors in the third giving the Griffins a chance to take the rematch. Fortunately, Grande had recovered from his subpar performance in game one and he surrendered just 1 goal on 35 shots to force overtime. The Crusaders took over the game in extra time, widely outshooting Canisius 14–3 in the first session. While they weren't able to score in that 20-minute stretch, the pressure they put on Canisius eventually led to defensive breakdown at the beginning of the fifth period.[2]

In the semifinals, Holy Cross found itself opposite American International. A solid first period staked CHC to a lead that they would not relinquish, however, it was also the last time their offense would function properly. Over the succeeding two games, Holy Cross managed just a single goal on 77 shots. The Crusaders went 0 for 6 on the power play and were unable to solve the Yellow Jackets' goaltender. Their season was brought to an shocking finish with the failure of their previously stable offense.

In spite of the end, Liam McLinskey still managed to tie for the second best scoring performance in program history.[3] While he scored 2 goals fewer than the year before, he had septupled his assist total to finish just outside the top-10 in the entire NCAA. This was also the first 20-win season for the program in over a decade and their best record since 2006.

Departures

edit
Player Position Nationality Cause
Jonathan Balah Defenseman   Canada Transferred to Oswego State
Liam Connors Forward   United States Left program (retired)
Grayson Constable Forward   Canada Graduate transfer to Long Island
Nick Hale Defenseman   United States Graduate transfer to Ferris State
Conner Jean Forward   United States Graduation (signed with Fort Wayne Komets)
Jackson MacNab Forward   United States Graduation (retired)
Alex Peterson Forward   United States Graduate transfer to Massachusetts Lowell
Bobby Young Forward   Canada Graduation (signed with Hull Seahawks)

Recruiting

edit
Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Will Elias Defenseman   United States 20 Weston, MA
Brody Gagno Defenseman   Canada 21 South Surrey, BC
Ty Gagno Forward   Canada 19 Langley, BC
Michael Hodge Forward   Canada 23 Calgary, AB; transfer from Union
Nick Petruolo Defenseman   United States 23 Neschanic, NJ; transfer from Union
Jack Stockfish Forward   Canada 21 North Bay, ON
Will Troutwine Defenseman   United States 21 Eveleth, MN
Connor Welsh Forward   United States 19 Greenwich, CT

Roster

edit
 
Liam McLinskey

As of September 14, 2023.[4]

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

Standings

edit
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OW OL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#17 RIT †* 26 18 7 1 3 2 0 54 102 64 40 27 11 2 156 96
Holy Cross 26 13 10 3 0 3 1 46 78 62 39 21 14 4 116 93
Sacred Heart 26 14 10 2 2 2 1 45 75 70 36 14 19 3 91 113
Air Force 26 15 10 1 3 0 1 44 88 75 38 18 19 1 115 119
American International 26 12 10 4 1 1 2 42 79 68 40 20 16 4 119 111
Bentley 26 12 12 2 1 2 2 41 69 58 35 16 17 2 95 82
Niagara 26 13 10 3 3 1 1 41 78 79 39 18 18 3 111 122
Canisius 26 10 12 4 2 1 0 33 73 87 37 12 21 4 103 126
Mercyhurst 26 7 15 4 0 1 4 30 77 91 35 9 22 4 98 126
Army 26 8 16 2 0 1 1 28 66 96 35 10 23 2 93 139
Robert Morris 26 7 17 2 0 1 1 25 60 95 39 11 25 3 94 142
Championship: March 23, 2024
† indicates conference regular season champion (DeGregorio Trophy)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

edit
Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
October 8 7:00 pm Long Island* Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Grande W 5–2  830 1–0–0
October 13 7:00 pm #20 Connecticut* Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey, NESN+ Grande W 2–1  1,100 2–0–0
October 14 7:00 pm at #20 Connecticut* Toscano Family Ice ForumStorrs, Connecticut ESPN+ Grande W 2–0  2,296 3–0–0
October 20 7:00 pm at Robert Morris Clearview ArenaNeville Township, Pennsylvania FloHockey Grande W 3–1  807 4–0–0 (1–0–0)
October 21 5:00 pm at Robert Morris Clearview ArenaNeville Township, Pennsylvania FloHockey Grande T 3–3 SOL 604 4–0–1 (1–0–1)
October 27 7:00 pm RIT Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Grande L 2–3 OT 923 4–1–1 (1–1–1)
October 28 7:00 pm RIT Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Grande L 2–3  979 4–2–1 (1–2–1)
November 3 7:00 pm at Canisius LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Grande L 3–5  826 4–3–1 (1–3–1)
November 4 7:00 pm at Canisius LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Gale T 3–3 SOW 1,152 4–3–2 (1–3–2)
November 9 7:05 pm at American International MassMutual CenterSpringfield, Massachusetts FloHockey Gale L 1–4  352 4–4–2 (1–4–2)
November 10 7:05 pm American International Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Gale L 2–3  631 4–5–2 (1–5–2)
November 17 7:00 pm Bentley Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Gale W 2–0  817 5–5–2 (2–5–2)
November 17 4:05 pm at Bentley Bentley ArenaWaltham, Massachusetts FloHockey Gale W 2–0  775 6–5–2 (3–5–2)
November 21 7:00 pm Army Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Gale L 2–3  807 6–6–2 (3–6–2)
November 24 7:00 pm Brown* Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Grande W 6–3  647 7–6–2
December 1 7:00 pm Niagara Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Gale L 2–3 OT 737 7–7–2 (3–7–2)
December 2 4:00 pm Niagara Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Grande W 4–1  807 8–7–2 (4–7–2)
December 8 7:15 pm at Massachusetts Lowell* Tsongas CenterLowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Grande T 2–2 OT 4,783 8–7–3
December 9 7:00 pm Massachusetts Lowell* Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Gale W 4–2  1,008 9–7–3
December 30 7:00 pm at #3 Quinnipiac* M&T Bank ArenaHamden, Connecticut ESPN+ Gale L 2–5  3,312 9–8–3
January 2 7:00 pm Merrimack* Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Gale L 3–4 OT 714 9–9–3
January 5 1:05 pm at American International MassMutual CenterSpringfield, Massachusetts FloHockey Gale T 3–3 SOL 179 9–9–4 (4–7–3)
January 6 7:05 pm American International Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Gale W 6–2  589 10–9–4 (5–7–3)
January 12 7:00 pm at Army Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Gale L 0–3  1,625 10–10–4 (5–8–3)
January 13 4:00 pm at Army Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Gale W 3–1  2,269 11–10–4 (6–8–3)
January 19 7:00 pm at Sacred Heart Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Gale L 1–2 OT 3,817 11–11–4 (6–9–3)
January 20 7:00 pm Sacred Heart Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Gale W 5–2  824 12–11–4 (7–9–3)
January 26 7:00 pm at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, Pennsylvania FloHockey Gale W 5–2  1,034 13–11–4 (8–9–3)
January 27 5:00 pm at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, Pennsylvania FloHockey Gale W 5–3  1,074 14–11–4 (9–9–3)
February 2 7:00 pm Air Force Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Grande W 6–3  1,906 15–11–4 (10–9–3)
February 3 7:00 pm Air Force Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Grande W 5–2  1,812 16–11–4 (11–9–3)
February 16 7:00 pm Sacred Heart Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Grande W 5–1  1,368 17–11–4 (12–9–3)
February 17 7:00 pm at Sacred Heart Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Grande W 2–1  3,688 18–11–4 (13–9–3)
February 22 7:00 pm Bentley Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Grande L 1–5  1,167 18–12–4 (13–10–3)
Atlantic Hockey Tournament
March 8 7:00 pm Canisius* Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts (Quarterfinal Game 1) FloHockey Grande W 4–3  444 19–12–4
March 9 7:00 pm Canisius* Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts (Quarterfinal Game 2) FloHockey Grande W 2–1 2OT 559 20–12–4
March 15 7:00 pm American International* Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts (Semifinal Game 1) FloHockey Grande W 5–2  796 21–12–4
March 16 7:00 pm American International* Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts (Semifinal Game 2) FloHockey Grande L 0–3  787 21–13–4
March 17 5:00 pm American International* Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts (Semifinal Game 3) FloHockey Grande L 1–3  656 21–14–4
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[5]

Scoring statistics

edit
Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Liam McLinskey F 39 19 28 47 32
Jack Ricketts C 39 19 16 35 78
Tyler Ghirardosi F 39 14 13 27 23
Jack Stockfish C 32 9 16 25 10
Matt Guerra F 38 8 17 25 51
Matt Shatsky D 37 2 19 21 28
Matt DeBoer W 39 4 15 19 65
Alec Cicero F 39 11 7 18 35
Jack Seymour RW 37 5 10 15 25
John Gelatt F 38 6 7 13 20
Ty Gagno F 33 3 10 13 16
Mack Oliphant D 38 2 8 10 19
Jake Higgins D 31 5 4 9 17
Jack Robilotti D 35 3 6 9 35
Lucas Thorne C 33 2 6 8 20
Joe Solimine C 32 3 3 6 26
Michael Hodge F 33 0 4 4 18
Devin Phillips F 5 1 2 3 2
Brody Gagno D 38 0 3 3 14
William Troutwine D 18 0 2 2 2
Nic Petruolo D 37 0 2 2 39
Charlie Spence D 14 0 1 1 4
Connor Welsh F 13 0 1 1 4
Jason Grande G 22 0 0 0 0
Thomas Gale G 19 0 0 0 0
Will Elias D 1 0 0 0 10
Total 116 200 316 583

[6]

Goaltending statistics

edit
Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Jason Grande 22 1280:38 13 6 2 43 551 1 .928 2.01
Thomas Gale 19 1093:31 8 8 2 44 485 2 .917 2.41
Empty Net - 17:49 - - - 6 - - - -
Total 39 2391:58 21 14 4 93 1036 3 .918 2.33

Rankings

edit
Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 (Final)
USCHO.com NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
USA Hockey NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 and 25.[7]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

Awards and honors

edit
Player Award Ref
Liam McLinskey AHCA East Second Team All-American [8]
Liam McLinskey Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year [9]
Liam McLinskey Atlantic Hockey Regular Season Scoring Trophy [9]
Jason Grande Atlantic Hockey Regular Season Goaltending Award [9]
Liam McLinskey Atlantic Hockey First Team [10]
Jason Grande Atlantic Hockey Second Team [10]
Jack Ricketts
Jack Stockfish Atlantic Hockey Rookie Team [10]

References

edit
  1. ^ "FRIDAY, JANUARY 12, 2024". College Hockey Inc. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  2. ^ "WATCH: Holy Cross Wins Game 2 In Double Overtime Thanks To Jack Seymour And Liam McLinskey". FloHockey. March 9, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  3. ^ "D1 Records" (PDF). Holy Cross Crusaders. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  4. ^ "2023-24 MEN'S ICE HOCKEY ROSTER". Holy Cross Crusaders. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  5. ^ "2023-24 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". Holy Cross Crusaders. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  6. ^ "College of the Holy Cross 2023-2024 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  7. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  8. ^ "Top 25 men's college hockey players earn distinction as CCM/AHCA Hockey All-Americans for 2023-24 season". USCHO.com. April 12, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c "Atlantic Hockey Announces 2023-24 Regular Season Awards". Atlantic Hockey. March 19, 2024. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c "Atlantic Hockey unveils three all-conference teams, one all-rookie team for 2023-24 season". USCHO.com. March 12, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.