Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey

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.
== 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.https://www.uscho.com/stats/history/holy-cross/mens-hockey/
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.
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 and while the team hasn't played poorly, they've yet to win a round in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament (as of 2018).
==Season-by-season results==
==Postseason==
===NCAA tournament results===
The Crusaders have appeared in the NCAA Tournament two times. Their combined record is 1–2.
Year	Seed	Round 	Opponent 	Results
2004	#4 	West Regional Semifinal 	#1 North Dakota 	L 3-0
2006	#4 	West Regional SemifinalWest Regional Final	#1 Minnesota#2 North Dakota	W 4-3 (OT)L 5-2
==Coaches==
As of completion of 2019–20 season
Tenure 	Coach 	Years 	Record 	Pct.
2014–present 	David Berard 	6 	80–104–34 	
1994–1996, 1997–2014	Paul Pearl 	19 	297–293–69 	
1989–1994 	Bill Bellerose 	6 	61–99–3 	
1979–1988, 1996–1997	Peter Van Buskirk	10 	167–146–8 	
1976–1979 	Mike Addesa 	3 	49–31–1 	
1966–1976 	Bill Kane 	10 	122–104–2 	
Totals 	6 coaches 	55 seasons	776–777–117	
==Awards and honors==
===NCAA===
Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award
*Matt Vidal: 2016
===MAAC===
====Individual Awards====
Offensive Player of the Year
*Patrick Rissmiller, F: 2002
*Brandon Doria, F: 2003
Goaltender of the Year
*Scott Simpson: 1999
Offensive Rookie of the Year
*Tyler McGregor, F: 2003
Coach of the Year
*Paul Pearl: 2002
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====
Player of the Year
*Tyler McGregor, F: 2006
Best Defensive Forward
*Greg Kealey, C: 2004
*Blair Bartlett, F: 2006
*Rob Linsmayer, F: 2011
Best Defenseman
*Rob Godfrey: 2006
*Jon Landry: 2007
Individual Sportsmanship Award
*Tim Coskren: 2004
*Tyler McGregor: 2006
*James Sixsmith: 2007
Regular Season Goaltending Award
*Ben Conway: 2005
*Tony Quesada: 2006
Regular Season Scoring Trophy
*Tyler McGregor: 2006
Coach of the Year
*Greg Kealey, F: 2004
*James Sixsmith, LW: 2006
Most Valuable Player in Tournament
*Tyler McGregor: 2006
====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 Berrafto, 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
Third Team All-Atlantic Hockey
*2007–08: Matt Burke, D; Brodie Sheahan, F
*2016–17: Spencer Trapp, D; Danny Lopez, F
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
==Statistical Leaders==
===Career points leaders===
Player	Years 	GP 	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
 	1982–1986	 	103	116	219	
 	1982–1986	 	101	117	218	
 	1966–1970	 	119	88 	207	
 	1982–1986	 	87 	120	207	
 	1973–1977	 	75 	122	197	
 	1977–1981	 	93 	98 	191	
 	1966–1969	 	91 	89 	180	
 	1973–1977	 	71 	81 	152	
 	2003–2007	142	48 	104	152	
 	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
 	2002–2006	105	6034	61	33	8 	251	7 	.915	2.50
 	2014–2018	114	6677	46	47	19	281	11	.911	2.51
 	2011–2015	129	7759	59	55	13	324	8 	.917	2.51
 	1995–1999	38 	1960	21	10	2 	82 	2 	.903	2.51
 	2002–2006	45 	2411	18	15	5 	103	2 	.909	2.56
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 parenthesis).
*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 August 31, 2020.
==Crusaders in the NHL==
Player 	Position 	Team(s) 	Years 	
Patrick Rissmiller	Left Wing 	SJS, NYR, ATL, FLA	2003–2011	0
Jim Stewart 	Goaltender	BOS 	1979–1980	0
File:Patrick Rissmiller 08.jpg|Patrick Rissmiller
==References==
==External links==
*Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey
 
Category:Ice hockey teams in Massachusetts
Category:1966 establishments in Massachusetts
Category:Ice hockey clubs established in 1966