2022–23 Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey season

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2022–23 Holy Cross Crusaders
men's ice hockey season
Conference7th Atlantic Hockey
Home iceHart Center
Rankings
USCHONR
USA TodayNR
Record
Overall17–21–3
Conference12–12–2
Home6–8–1
Road11–13–2
Coaches and captains
Head coachBill Riga
Assistant coachesEric Sorenson
Castan Sommer
Bobby Butler
Captain(s)Grayson Constable
Nick Hale
Alternate captain(s)Alex Peterson
Jack Ricketts
Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey seasons
« 2021–22 2023–24 »

The 2022–23 Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey season was the 57th season of play for the program, the 25th at the Division I level, and the 20th in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Crusaders represented the College of the Holy Cross and were coached by Bill Riga, in his 2nd season.

Season[edit]

Due in part to having to find a new starting goaltender, Holy Cross got off to a poor start. The Crusaders won just 2 out of their first 15 games. By the end of November, the team was one of the worst clubs in college hockey both on offense and defense. The Crusaders had scored more than 2 goals in a game on just 2 occasions, which coincidentally were their only wins to that point. Jason Grand got a third turn in goal as the team's starter and that seemed to work like a charm. Beginning with their match against New Hampshire, the Crusaders suddenly found life and won three games in a row. Their inspired play continued and the club lost just once over an 8-game stretch. On offense, Jack Ricketts began taking over as the team's primary scorer and, seemingly overnight, Holy Cross was managing to score goals as well.

Though there were some hiccups, Holy Cross posted a winning record over the second half of the season and crept up to 7th in the conference standings. The Crusaders faced American International in the quarterfinals, who had won every league championship over the previous 4 seasons. After dropping the opening game, Holy Cross was facing the end of their season when the Yellow Jackets score the first two goals of the rematch. Just before the end of the second, Liam McLinskey scored to cut the lead in half and began a run of 4 consecutive goals from the Crusaders. McLinskey notched the last of those markers which turned out to be the game-winner after AIC potted a third goal after pulling their goalie.[1] McLinskey again opened CHC's scoring in the deciding game before AIC and the Crusader power play began to trade goals. A scoreless third period ended with the score tied 3–3 but Holy Cross was controlling the pace of the game. The Crusaders continued to press in overtime and attacked the AIC cage. Eventually McLinskey managed to stop a clearing attempt and then scored off of a rebound to quiet a nearly empty arena.[2]

Holy Cross had made the conference semifinal for the first time since 2006 and their reward was facing the best team in the conference, RIT. In front of a much more boisterous and hostile crowd, Jason Grande had probably the best game of his career and stopped all 36 shots from the Tigers in regulation. The Crusaders, on the other hand, were limited to just 7 shots in the first two periods but began to warm up in the third. They more than doubled their shot total in the final 20 minutes but were unable to score themselves, sending the Crusaders into overtime once more. The play was a little more even in the extra session and, 8 minutes into the frame, Liam McLinskey got behind the defense and broke in alone on the RIT cage. After a deke, he slid the puck into the Tiger net for his sixth goal of the postseason and third consecutive game-winning goal.[3]

Ordinarily, that goal would have sent Holy Cross to the title game, however, Atlantic Hockey had changed their postseason format that year and converted the semifinal round into a best-of-three series.[4] Despite the reprieve for RIT, McLinskey gave the Crusaders a lead in the second game after scoring twice during a 5-on-3 power play. RIT was able to push Holy Cross into overtime yet again but this time the Crusaders came out on the losing end. While the series was tied, Holy Cross didn't panic and scored twice in the first period of the deciding game. RIT cut into the lead in the second but the Crusaders reestablished their 2-goal advantage before the start of the third. The defense held firm over the last 20 minutes, stifling the Tigers and preventing them from getting a second goal. When RIT pulled their goaltender, all that served to do was give the Crusaders an empty net to shoot at and they scored twice more, the last being McLinskey's 9th of the postseason, to cap a huge upset over the heavily favored Tigers.[5]

With Holy Cross 1 win away from their first league championship in 17 years, The Crusaders ran into the only goalie in the conference as hot as Jason Grande. No matter how hard they tried, the Crusaders could not get a puck past Jacob Barczewski. Even after pulling Grand for an extra attacker, CHC was unable to score and lost the championship game 0–3.

Departures[edit]

Player Position Nationality Cause
Daniel Colabufo Forward  United States Transferred to Oswego State
Bryce Dolan Defenseman  United States Graduation (retired)
Erik Gordon Goaltender  United States Graduation (retired)
Michael Higgins Defenseman  United States Signed professional contract (HC ZUBR Přerov)
Jack Hillman Defenseman  United States Left program (retired)
Michael Kane Forward  United States Left program (retired)
Ryan Leibold Forward  United States Graduate transfer to Merrimack
Ryan Pineault Defenseman  United States Left program (retired)
Matt Radomsky Goaltender  United States Transferred to Alaska
Matt Slick Defenseman  United States Graduate transfer to Ferris State
Erkka Vänskä Forward  Finland Graduation (retired)
Anthony Vincent Forward  United States Graduate transfer to Long Island

Recruiting[edit]

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Jonathan Balah Defenseman  Canada 21 Barrie, ON
Matt DeBoer Forward  United States 20 Madison, NJ
Jason Grande Goaltender  United States 23 West Chester, PA; transfer from Bentley
Louden Hogg Goaltender  United States 19 Cheyenne, WY
Conner Jean Forward  United States 25 Oakland, MI; transfer from Carleton
Liam McLinskey Forward  United States 21 Pearl River, NY; transfer from Quinnipiac
Mack Oliphant Defenseman  United States 19 Northbrook, IL
Devin Phillips Forward  United States 21 Raleigh, NC
Jack Seymour Defenseman  Canada 21 Chelsea, QC
Joe Solimine Forward  United States 20 Middleton, MA
Charlie Spence Defenseman  United States 20 Boston, MA

Roster[edit]

As of August 4, 2022.[6]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Wyoming Louden Hogg Freshman G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 158 lb (72 kg) 2002-10-18 Cheyenne, Wyoming Fargo (USHL) —
2 New York (state) Jack Robilotti Junior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 2001-07-18 New York, New York Fargo (USHL) —
4 Massachusetts Jake Higgins Junior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2001-06-09 Hingham, Massachusetts Deerfield (USHS–MA) —
6 Ontario Jonathan Balah Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 2001-08-15 Barrie, Ontario Wellington (OJHL) —
7 North Carolina Nick Hale (C) Junior D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1999-05-07 Raleigh, North Carolina Brooks (AJHL) —
8 Massachusetts Charlie Spence Freshman 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 Sophomore F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2001-02-20 Pearl River, New York Quinnipiac (ECAC) —
12 Florida Matt Guerra Junior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1999-05-21 Orlando, Florida Robert Morris (AHA) —
13 Alberta Grayson Constable (C) Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 1998-05-05 Lethbridge, Alberta Bonnyville (AJHL) —
14 Manitoba Matt Shatsky Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-04-29 Winnipeg, Manitoba Sherwood Park (AJHL) —
15 Ontario Jack Ricketts (A) Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-09-08 Oakville, Ontario Oakville (OJHL) —
17 Nevada Matt DeBoer Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-09-02 Las Vegas, Nevada Green Bay (USHL) —
18 Ontario Bobby Young Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-11-08 Kitchener, Ontario Bonnyville (AJHL) —
19 Pennsylvania Alex Peterson (A) Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 1998-03-27 Lansdale, Pennsylvania Amarillo (NAHL) —
20 North Carolina Devin Phillips Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2001-07-12 Raleigh, North Carolina Brooks (AJHL) —
21 New York (state) Alec Cicero Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-03-09 Williamsville, New York Buffalo (OJHL) —
22 Ontario Lucas Thorne Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-03-05 Dunnville, Ontario Bonnyville (AJHL) —
23 Indiana Jackson MacNab Senior F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1998-07-03 Indianapolis, Indiana Notre Dame (Big Ten) —
24 New Jersey John Gelatt Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-04-29 Middletown, New Jersey Johnstown (NAHL) —
26 Massachusetts Liam Connors Sophomore F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2001-02-01 Westborough, Massachusetts Connecticut (NCDC) —
27 Illinois Mack Oliphant Freshman D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2002-12-28 Northbrook, Illinois Johnstown (NAHL) —
28 Quebec Jack Seymour Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 2001-04-06 Chelsea, Quebec Chilliwack (BCHL) —
29 Michigan Conner Jean Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1997-02-15 Oakland, Michigan Carleton (OUA) —
30 Pennsylvania Jason Grande Junior (RS) G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1999-02-07 West Chester, Pennsylvania Bentley (AHA) —
33 Quebec Thomas Gale Sophomore G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2000-06-10 Kirkland, Quebec P. A. L. (NCDC) —
34 Massachusetts Joe Solimine Freshman F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2002-03-03 Middleton, Massachusetts Boston Jr. Bruins (NCDC) —
39 British Columbia Tyler Ghirardosi Junior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-10-01 Montrose, British Columbia Quinnipiac (ECAC) —

Standings[edit]

2022–23 Atlantic Hockey Standings
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OW OL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
RIT † 26 18 7 1 1 3 0 57 85 55 39 25 13 1 127 100
American International 26 14 8 4 2 0 3 47 87 62 39 18 14 7 124 98
Sacred Heart 26 14 9 3 2 0 2 45 87 72 37 17 17 3 107 112
Canisius * 26 13 10 3 3 1 1 41 76 71 42 20 19 3 118 119
Army 26 12 12 2 3 3 1 39 72 81 37 14 19 4 98 119
Niagara 26 10 13 3 0 3 2 38 73 86 40 19 18 3 119 129
Holy Cross 26 12 12 2 3 1 1 37 73 71 41 17 21 3 98 119
Mercyhurst 26 9 14 3 1 5 1 35 77 80 36 10 23 3 98 122
Bentley 26 8 16 2 1 1 1 27 61 89 34 11 21 2 81 124
Air Force 26 8 17 1 1 0 0 24 63 87 36 12 22 2 95 128
Championship: March 18, 2023
† 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
Exhibition
October 1 7:30 PM Boston College* Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts (Exhibition)     W 3–2   
Regular Season
October 7 8:07 PM at #3 North Dakota* Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota Midco Grande L 0–6  11,181 0–1–0
October 8 7:07 PM at #3 North Dakota* Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota Midco Hogg L 1–4  11,376 0–2–0
October 13 7:00 PM Sacred Heart Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Gale L 2–3  327 0–3–0 (0–1–0)
October 14 7:00 PM Sacred Heart Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Hogg L 1–5  246 0–4–0 (0–2–0)
October 18 7:00 PM at American International MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts FloHockey Grande W 7–3  254 1–4–0 (1–2–0)
October 22 7:00 PM at Vermont* Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont ESPN+ Grande L 0–6  3,047 1–5–0
October 28 7:00 PM at RIT Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York FloHockey Gale L 2–5  2,716 1–6–0 (1–3–0)
October 29 7:00 PM at RIT Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York FloHockey Gale L 2–3 OT 1,905 1–7–0 (1–4–0)
November 4 7:00 PM at Canisius LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York FloHockey Gale W 3–1  707 2–7–0 (2–4–0)
November 5 4:00 PM at Canisius LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York FloHockey Gale T 2–2 SOW 919 2–7–1 (2–4–1)
November 15 7:00 PM at American International MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts FloHockey Gale L 1–4  193 2–8–1 (2–5–1)
November 18 6:00 PM Mercyhurst Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Gale L 1–3  517 2–9–1 (2–6–1)
November 19 2:30 PM Mercyhurst Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Gale L 1–4  307 2–10–1 (2–7–1)
November 22 4:00 PM at #13 Merrimack* J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts ESPN+ Hogg L 1–5  1,468 2–11–1
November 25 7:00 PM at Brown* Meehan Auditorium • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Gale L 0–3  574 2–12–1
November 26 7:00 PM New Hampshire* Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Grande W 3–2  408 3–12–1
December 2 9:00 PM at Air Force Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado FloHockey Grande W 4–1  1,427 4–12–1 (3–7–1)
December 3 7:00 PM at Air Force Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado FloHockey Grande W 2–1  1,493 5–12–1 (4–7–1)
December 30 7:00 PM #2 Quinnipiac* Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Grande L 1–4  750 5–13–1
January 7 4:00 PM Clarkson* Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Grande T 1–1 OT 379 5–13–2
January 13 7:00 PM Air Force Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Grande W 5–2  462 6–13–2 (5–7–1)
January 15 4:00 PM Air Force Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Grande W 4–1  321 7–13–2 (6–7–1)
January 20 7:00 PM at Sacred Heart Martire Family Arena • Fairfield, Connecticut FloHockey, SNY Gale T 2–2 SOL 4,223 7–13–3 (6–7–2)
January 21 7:00 PM at Sacred Heart Martire Family Arena • Fairfield, Connecticut FloHockey, SNY Gale L 1–4  4,296 7–14–3 (6–8–2)
January 27 7:00 PM #19 RIT Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Grande L 3–4  598 7–15–3 (6–9–2)
January 28 7:00 PM #19 RIT Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Grande W 4–3 OT 517 8–15–3 (7–9–2)
February 3 7:00 PM at Bentley Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts FloHockey Grande W 4–1  1,678 9–15–3 (8–9–2)
February 4 4:00 PM at Bentley Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts FloHockey Gale W 3–2 OT 1,246 10–15–3 (9–9–2)
February 10 7:00 PM at Army Tate Rink • West Point, New York FloHockey Gale L 2–5  2,129 10–16–3 (9–10–2)
February 11 4:00 PM at Army Tate Rink • West Point, New York FloHockey Hogg W 7–0  1,976 11–16–3 (10–10–2)
February 17 7:00 PM Niagara Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Hogg W 4–3  475 12–16–3 (11–10–2)
February 18 7:00 PM Niagara Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Gale W 3–0  480 13–16–3 (12–10–2)
February 24 7:00 PM Canisius Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Gale L 0–3  576 13–17–3 (12–11–2)
February 25 7:00 PM Canisius Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Gale L 3–6  304 13–18–3 (12–12–2)
Atlantic Hockey Tournament
March 3 1:05 pm at American International* MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts (Quarterfinal Game 1) FloHockey Grande L 1–3  147 13–19–3
March 4 1:05 pm at American International* MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts (Quarterfinal Game 2) FloHockey Grande W 4–3  264 14–19–3
March 5 1:05 pm at American International* MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts (Quarterfinal Game 3) FloHockey Grande W 4–3  297 15–19–3
March 10 7:05 PM #20 RIT* Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York (Semifinal Game 1) FloHockey Grande W 1–0 OT 2,442 16–19–3
March 11 7:05 PM #20 RIT* Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York (Semifinal Game 2) FloHockey Grande L 3–4 OT 2,622 16–20–3
March 12 5:05 PM #20 RIT* Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York (Semifinal Game 3) FloHockey Grande W 5–1  1,932 17–20–3
March 18 7:05 PM at Canisius* LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York (Championship) FloHockey Grande L 0–3  1,805 17–21–3
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[7]

Scoring statistics[edit]

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Jack Ricketts C 41 16 16 32 32
Liam McLinskey F 40 21 4 25 22
Matt Guerra F 41 7 16 23 28
Alex Peterson F 38 5 14 19 37
Devin Phillips F 38 7 11 18 22
Alec Cicero F 40 4 14 18 30
Nick Hale D 36 7 10 17 28
Tyler Ghirardosi F 37 8 8 16 31
Matt Shatsky D 41 1 13 14 29
Grayson Constable F 40 6 6 12 12
Mack Oliphant D 41 2 10 12 10
Lucas Thorne C 36 5 6 11 12
Bobby Young C 36 0 9 9 32
Matt DeBoer W 39 3 5 8 18
Jake Higgins D 41 1 5 6 45
Jack Robilotti D 41 1 4 5 55
Conner Jean C 11 1 2 3 4
Charlie Spence D 30 1 2 3 12
John Gelatt F 38 0 3 3 19
Joe Solimine C 13 1 1 2 5
Jack MacNab RW 30 0 2 2 4
Jack Seymour RW 8 1 0 1 4
Jonathan Balah D 17 0 1 1 2
Louden Hogg G 7 0 1 1 0
Liam Connors F 3 0 0 0 0
Thomas Gale G 18 0 0 0 0
Jason Grande G 20 0 0 0 10
Total 98 164 262 503

[8]

Goaltending statistics[edit]

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Jason Grande 20 1131:51 12 7 1 44 453 1 .911 2.33
Thomas Gale 19 990:01 3 11 2 43 397 1 .902 2.61
Louden Hogg 8 365:03 2 3 0 20 137 1 .873 3.29
Empty Net - 30:35 - - - 12 - - - -
Total 41 2519:22 17 21 3 119 987 3 .902 2.58

Rankings[edit]

Main article: 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings
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 27 (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 Today 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 NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26.[9]

Awards and honors[edit]

Player Award Ref
Jack Ricketts Atlantic Hockey Second Team [10]
Nick Hale Atlantic Hockey Third Team [10]
Mack Oliphant Atlantic Hockey Rookie Team [10]
Jack Robilotti Atlantic Hockey All-Tournament Team [11]
Liam McLinskey

References[edit]

  1. ^ "SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 2023". College Hockey Inc. March 4, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  2. ^ "This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Down to final four in conference postseason with semifinals on tap this weekend". USCHO.com. March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  3. ^ "FRIDAY ROUNDUP: Playoffs in full swing for Atlantic Hockey, ECAC Hockey, NCHC as Holy Cross downs RIT, Colorado College upsets Western Michigan, Quinnipiac blanks Yale to start busy weekend". USCHO.com. March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  4. ^ "2023 Atlantic Hockey Postseason". Atlantic Hockey. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  5. ^ "SUNDAY, MARCH 12, 2023". College Hockey Inc. March 12, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  6. ^ "Crusaders Men's Ice Hockey — 2019–20 Roster". GoHolyCross.com. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  7. ^ "2022-23 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". Holy Cross Crusaders. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  8. ^ "College of the Holy Cross 2022-2023 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  9. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  10. ^ a b c "Atlantic Hockey Announces 2022-23 All-Conference Teams". Atlantic Hockey. March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  11. ^ "Canisius Wins the 2023 Atlantic Hockey Championship". Atlantic Hockey. March 18, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
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