Mid Massachusetts News

The Holy Cross men's ice hockey team will play in the Atlantic Hockey Association Tournament Championship game for the first time since 2006 when it travels to Canisius on Saturday, March 18. The winner-takes-all game between the Crusaders and Golden Griffins is set for 6 p.m. at the LECOM Harborcenter in Buffalo, N.Y., and will stream live on FloHockey. 
 
Holy Cross, the seven-seed in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament, went through the two-seed AIC in the quarterfinals, and one-seed RIT in the semifinals to earn their spot in the championship game. Following their win in three-games over RIT, the Crusaders received a vote in the most recent USCHO poll.
 
Sophomore Liam McLinskey continued his record-setting run, scoring four goals over the three games. His nine goals so far set a new Atlantic Hockey record for goals in a playoff run, which was previously set at 7. His overtime goal in game one of the RIT series accounted for his third game-winning goal of the playoffs.
 
In the game three win to send the squad to the championship, junior Jack Ricketts got the Crusaders on the board at the end of the first. Senior Grayson Constable netted his second shorthanded goal of the season, which proved to be the game-winner, before scoring his second of the game late in the second. Junior Alec Cicero and McLinskey tallied back-to-back empty net goals to seal the win.
 
Junior Jason Grande backstopped all three games, recording 102 saves in 196 minutes, including a 40 save shutout in game one of the series. The shutout was the first of the season, and first of his collegiate career.
 
McLinskey leads the squad in goals with 21 on the year, while Ricketts holds the team-lead in points with 32. Ricketts and junior Matt Guerra share the lead for assists with 16 each. Grande holds a team-best 12-6-1 record, 2.41 goals-against average, and .909 save percentage.
 
Canisius finished the regular season with a 15-16-3 overall record with a 13-10-3 conference record, good for the No. 4 seed in the AHA tournament. The Golden Griffins, much like the Crusaders, took their quarterfinal and semifinal matchups to three games each.
 
In the quarterfinals, Canisius faced five-seed Army West Point, winning game one decisively, by a 5-2 score. In game two, the Golden Griffins fell to the Black Nights, 1-0 in overtime, before bouncing back for a 3-0 game three win. In their semifinal matchup against local rival and six-seed Niagara, Canisius fell in game one, 2-1, before registering 5-1 and 4-2 wins in games two and three to earn a spot in the championship.

The Golden Griffins are led on offense by Keaton Mastrodonato, who has recorded a team-leading 35 points this season. Netminder Jacob Barczewski holds a team-best 15-14-1 record, 2.52 goals-against average, and .923 save percentage.

The Crusaders enter the matchup 14-7-2 against AHA opponents since December, while the Golden Griffins went 15-8-1 in the same frame.

All time, Holy Cross is 37-27-12 against Canisius. The two teams have met four times this season, in which Canisius held the slight edge, going 2-1-1. In Buffalo in November, the Crusaders won the first night, 3-1, before taking the second night in a shootout following a 2-2 tie. In Worcester in February, Canisius swept the series, outscoring Holy Cross 9-3 over the two nights. With the sweep, the Golden Griffins took the four seed in the playoff race, knocking the Crusaders down to seventh.
 
The two teams have met twice in the postseason. In the 2004 semifinals, Holy Cross won the matchup, 4-1. In the 2011 quarterfinals, the Crusaders took the three-game set, two games to one.

The winner of the series will earn Atlantic Hockey's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament, which begins on March 23. 

Original source can be found here.