2021–22 Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey season

The 2021–22 Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey season was the 56th season of play for the program, the 24th at the Division I level, and the 19th season in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Crusaders represented the College of the Holy Cross and were coached by Bill Riga, in his 1st season.

2021–22 Holy Cross Crusaders
men's ice hockey season
Conference10th Atlantic Hockey
Home iceHart Center
Rankings
USCHONR
USA TodayNR
Record
Overall12–23–2
Conference10–14–2
Home6–10–1
Road6–11–1
Neutral0–2–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachBill Riga
Assistant coachesEric Sorenson
Castan Sommer
Bobby Butler
Captain(s)Matt Slick
Alternate captain(s)Ryan Leibold
Anthony Vincent
Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey seasons
« 2020–21 2022–23 »

Season

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Under their new head coach, the Crusaders started the season poorly, winning just one of their first ten matches. The offense slowly improved as the season went along, but Holy Cross couldn't keep the puck out of their own net, allowing at least 3 goals in fifteen of their eighteen games in the first half of the year. It was no coincidence that they won all three of those games.

The second half of the year was going much like the first and Holy Cross found itself mired in at the bottom of the Atlantic Hockey standings. Throughout January, the defense played much better but the team's scoring dried up. However, the Crusaders seemed to turn things around when the defeated the top team in the conference, American International, at the end of the month. In the final four weeks of the regular season, Holy Cross won nearly as many games as they had through the first four months. While they were too far back in the standings to move up, the late surge gave the team hope that they could advance in the postseason.

Holy Cross opened at Mercyhurst and outplayed the Lakers in both games. Unfortunately, while they outshot Mercyhurst 76–35, they lost both games 1–2.

Departures

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Player Position Nationality Cause
Frank Boie Defenseman   Canada Graduation (retired)
Andrew Dumaresque Forward   Canada Graduation (retired)
Logan Ferguson Forward   Canada Graduation (retired)
Conner Jean Forward   United States Transferred to Carleton
Peter Kessel Forward   United States Graduation (retired)
Logan Milliken Defenseman   Canada Graduation (signed with Siksika Buffaloes)
Jake Pappalardo Forward   United States Graduation (signed with Tulsa Oilers)

Recruiting

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Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Daniel Colabufo Forward   United States 20 Camillus, NY
Liam Connors Forward   United States 20 Southborough, MA
Thomas Gale Goaltender   Canada 21 Kirkland, QC
John Gelatt Forward   United States 20 Middletown, NJ
Tyler Ghirardosi Forward   Canada 21 Montrose, BC; transfer from Quinnipiac
Matthew Guerra Forward   United States 22 Orlando, FL; transfer from Robert Morris
Jack Hillman Defenseman   United States 20 Zionsville, IN
Mathew Shatsky Defenseman   Canada 20 Winnipeg, MB

Roster

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As of August 31, 2021.[1]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
2   Jack Robilotti Sophomore D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 2001-07-18 New York, New York Fargo (USHL)
3   Daniel Colabufo Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2001-06-19 Camillus, New York Maryland (NAHL)
4   Jake Higgins Sophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2001-06-09 Hingham, Massachusetts Deerfield (USHS–MA)
5   Mike Higgins Junior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2000-04-06 Needham, Massachusetts Northeast (NAHL)
6   Bryce Dolan Senior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-02-13 Barrington, Rhode Island Kimball Union (USHS–NH)
7   Nick Hale Junior D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1999-05-07 Raleigh, North Carolina Brooks (AJHL)
8   Michael Kane Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-04-01 Guilford, Connecticut Jersey (NCDC)
11   Ryan Pineault Sophomore D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 2001-02-10 Glastonbury, Connecticut Westminster (USHS–CT)
12   Matt Guerra Sophomore F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1999-05-21 Orlando, Florida Robert Morris (AHA)
13   Grayson Constable Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 1998-05-05 Lethbridge, Alberta Bonnyville (AJHL)
14   Matt Shatsky Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-04-29 Winnipeg, Manitoba Sherwood Park (AJHL)
15   Jack Ricketts Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-09-08 Oakville, Ontario Oakville (OJHL)
17   Ryan Leibold (A) Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1998-11-03 Ashburn, Virginia Sioux City (USHL)
18   Bobby Young Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-11-08 Kitchener, Ontario Bonnyville (AJHL)
19   Alex Peterson Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 1998-03-27 Lansdale, Pennsylvania Amarillo (NAHL)
20   Jack Hillman Freshman D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-07-04 Zionsville, Indiana Maryland (NAHL)
21   Alec Cicero Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-03-09 Williamsville, New York Buffalo (OJHL)
22   Lucas Thorne Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-03-05 Dunnville, Ontario Bonnyville (AJHL)
23   Jackson MacNab Junior F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1998-07-03 Indianapolis, Indiana Notre Dame (Big Ten)
24   John Gelatt Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-04-29 Middletown, New Jersey Johnstown (NAHL)
26   Liam Connors Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2001-02-01 Westborough, Massachusetts Connecticut (NCDC)
27   Matt Slick (C) Senior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 1999-03-13 Buffalo, New York Chilliwack (BCHL)
29   Erik Gordon Senior G 5' 10" (1.78 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 1999-01-05 Duluth, Georgia Calgary Canucks (AJHL)
30   Matt Radomsky Junior G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-06-21 Winnipeg, Manitoba Steinbach (MJHL)
33   Thomas Gale Freshman G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2000-06-10 Kirkland, Quebec P. A. L. (NCDC)
34   Anthony Vincent (A) Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1997-08-12 Wilton, Connecticut Chilliwack (BCHL)
39   Tyler Ghirardosi Sophomore F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-10-01 Montrose, British Columbia Quinnipiac (ECAC)
40   Erkka Vänskä Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 168 lb (76 kg) 1998-02-15 Espoo, Finland Fairbanks (NAHL)

Standings

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Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OW OL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#18 American International †* 26 17 7 2 1 2 0 54 97 61 38 22 13 3 134 95
Canisius 26 13 11 2 2 1 1 43 76 67 35 16 16 3 99 97
Army 26 12 11 3 0 1 2 42 75 68 35 14 17 4 98 100
RIT 26 12 10 4 1 3 3 41 69 82 38 18 16 4 92 115
Sacred Heart 26 11 12 3 0 1 3 40 72 70 37 15 18 4 95 100
Air Force 26 11 12 3 3 2 2 37 76 80 36 16 17 3 99 127
Mercyhurst 26 10 12 4 0 1 1 36 75 79 39 16 19 4 114 129
Niagara 26 10 13 3 2 2 1 34 70 79 36 11 22 3 82 122
Bentley 26 10 14 2 1 2 1 34 70 78 36 14 20 2 94 117
Holy Cross 26 10 14 2 3 0 0 29 56 72 37 12 23 2 77 108
Championship: March 19, 2022
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

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Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 2 7:30 PM at #10 Boston University* Walter Brown ArenaBoston, Massachusetts (Exhibition)     L 1–6  1,922
Ice Breaker Tournament
October 8 7:30 PM vs. #18 Northeastern* DCU CenterWorcester, Massachusetts (Ice Breaker Game 1)   Radomsky L 0–3  1,627 0–1–0
October 9 7:30 PM vs. #6 Boston College* DCU CenterWorcester, Massachusetts (Ice Breaker Game 2) NESN Gordon L 1–6  2,052 0–2–0
Regular Season
October 15 7:05 PM at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, Pennsylvania   Radomsky T 4–4 SOL 813 0–2–1 (0–0–1)
October 16 3:05 PM at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, Pennsylvania   Gale L 2–5  512 0–3–1 (0–1–1)
October 21 7:05 PM Bentley Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts   Radomsky L 2–4  537 0–4–1 (0–2–1)
October 22 4:05 PM at Bentley Bentley ArenaWaltham, Massachusetts   Gale W 3–2  1,761 1–4–1 (1–2–1)
October 26 7:00 PM at #5 Quinnipiac* People's United CenterHamden, Connecticut   Gale L 2–5  2,502 1–5–1
November 4 7:30 PM at #17 Notre Dame* Compton Family Ice ArenaNotre Dame, Indiana NBCSN Radomsky L 2–5  2,480 1–6–1
November 5 7:30 PM at #17 Notre Dame* Compton Family Ice ArenaNotre Dame, Indiana NBCRN Gale L 1–4  4,521 1–7–1
November 12 7:05 PM Mercyhurst Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts   Radomsky L 2–3  435 1–8–1 (1–3–1)
November 13 5:05 PM Mercyhurst Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts   Radomsky W 5–4 OT 302 2–8–1 (2–3–1)
November 19 7:05 PM at RIT Gene Polisseni CenterHenrietta, New York   Radomsky L 2–3  2,027 2–9–1 (2–4–1)
November 20 5:05 PM at RIT Gene Polisseni CenterHenrietta, New York   Gordon L 3–4  1,853 2–10–1 (2–5–1)
November 23 7:00 PM at Merrimack* J. Thom Lawler RinkNorth Andover, Massachusetts   Gordon L 2–3  214 2–11–1
November 26 2:05 PM Brown* Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts   Radomsky W 5–1  261 3–11–1
November 27 7:00 PM at New Hampshire* Whittemore CenterDurham, New Hampshire   Radomsky L 2–3 OT 2,919 3–12–1
December 3 7:05 PM Niagara Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts   Radomsky L 1–3  322 3–13–1 (2–6–1)
December 4 7:05 PM Niagara Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts   Radomsky W 3–2  245 4–13–1 (3–6–1)
January 4 7:05 PM Vermont* Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts   Gale W 4–3  483 5–13–1
January 7 7:05 PM American International Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts   Gordon L 0–2  0 5–14–1 (3–7–1)
January 8 5:05 PM American International Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts   Gordon L 2–5  0 5–15–1 (3–8–1)
January 14 7:05 PM Canisius Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts   Radomsky T 1–1 SOL 77 5–15–2 (3–8–2)
January 15 7:05 PM Canisius Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts   Radomsky L 1–2  89 5–16–2 (3–9–2)
January 21 7:05 PM at Army Tate RinkWest Point, New York   Radomsky W 3–1  1,302 6–16–2 (4–9–2)
January 22 4:05 PM at Army Tate RinkWest Point, New York   Radomsky L 1–4  1,538 6–17–2 (4–10–2)
January 28 5:05 PM at American International MassMutual CenterSpringfield, Massachusetts   Radomsky L 1–3  191 6–18–2 (4–11–2)
January 29 12:05 PM at American International MassMutual CenterSpringfield, Massachusetts   Radomsky W 5–4  191 7–18–2 (5–11–2)
February 4 7:00 PM Sacred Heart Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts   Radomsky W 1–0  197 8–18–2 (6–11–2)
February 5 7:00 PM Sacred Heart Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts   Radomsky L 1–4  798 8–19–2 (6–12–2)
February 11 9:05 PM at Air Force Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Gordon W 3–2  1,327 9–19–2 (7–12–2)
February 12 7:05 PM at Air Force Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Radomsky W 3–2  1,542 10–19–2 (8–12–2)
February 18 7:00 PM Army Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts   Radomsky L 1–2  207 10–20–2 (8–13–2)
February 19 7:00 PM Army Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts   Radomsky L 1–3  350 10–21–2 (8–14–2)
February 25 7:00 PM at Bentley Bentley ArenaWaltham, Massachusetts   Radomsky W 3–2 OT 1,250 11–21–2 (9–14–2)
February 26 7:00 PM Bentley Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts   Gordon W 2–1  650 12–21–2 (10–14–2)
Atlantic Hockey Tournament
March 4 7:05 PM at Mercyhurst* Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, Pennsylvania (First Round game 1)   Radomsky L 1–2 OT 687 12–22–2
March 5 7:05 PM at Mercyhurst* Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, Pennsylvania (First Round game 2)   Gordon L 1–2  704 12–23–2
Holy Cross Lost Series 0–2
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[2]

Scoring statistics

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Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Ryan Leibold F 35 10 16 26 24
Nick Hale D 35 4 18 22 20
Jack Ricketts C 35 10 8 18 28
Matt Guerra F 35 7 11 18 45
Lucas Thorne C 35 7 10 17 6
John Gelatt F 36 2 10 12 8
Anthony Vincent F 31 5 7 12 21
Matt Slick D 37 4 7 11 16
Alec Cicero F 35 4 7 11 23
Alex Peterson F 35 2 9 11 34
Grayson Constable F 32 7 1 8 23
Mike Higgins D 36 4 4 8 23
Tyler Ghirardosi F 23 3 4 7 34
Bobby Young C 31 4 1 5 12
Liam Connors F 22 2 2 4 6
Jackson MacNab RW 35 1 3 4 6
Jake Higgins D 33 1 3 4 20
Matt Shatsky D 34 0 4 4 2
Matt Radomsky G 24 0 1 1 0
Thomas Gale G 9 0 1 1 0
Michael Kane F 11 0 0 0 0
Erik Gordon G 11 0 0 0 0
Jack Hillman D 12 0 0 0 5
Daniel Colabufo F 15 0 0 0 4
Jack Robilotti D 33 0 0 0 43
Bryce Dolan D 35 0 0 0 4
Total 77 127 204 407

[3]

Goaltending statistics

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Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Matt Radomsky 26 1436 8 14 2 59 566 1 .906 2.47
Erik Gordon 12 429 2 6 0 19 172 0 .901 2.65
Thomas Gale 9 338 2 3 0 21 171 0 .891 3.72
Empty Net - 40 - - - 9 - - - -
Total 37 2244 12 23 2 108 909 1 .894 2.89

Rankings

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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 (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

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 24.[4]

Awards and honors

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Player Award Ref
Ryan Leibold Atlantic Hockey Third Team [5]

References

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  1. ^ "Crusaders Men's Ice Hockey — 2019–20 Roster". GoHolyCross.com. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  2. ^ "Holy Cross 2021-22 Team Schedule". College Hockey Inc. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "College of the Holy Cross 2021-2022 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  4. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  5. ^ "Atlantic Hockey Announces 2021-22 All-Conference Teams". Atlantic Hockey. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.