Box Score MILFORD, Conn. – The Holy Cross Crusaders scored early and often and held on to beat Sacred Heart 5-2 on Senior Night Friday at the Milford Ice Pavilion.
Holy Cross (17-11-5, 15-7-5 AHC) came out strong, scoring just 47 seconds into the first period when T.J. Moore took a rebound off a Mike Barrett shot and converted a wrist shot past Brett Magnus for a 1-0 lead. Sacred Heart (12-17-4, 10-14-3 AHC) responded with 17:40 remaining when the puck was stuck in front of Holy Cross goalie Paul Berrafato and came free just in time for Adam Durkee to slap it into the back of the net. The Crusaders made it 2-1 as Danny Lopez took a pass from T.J. Moore in the corner and was able to beat Magnus from the top of the crease with 9:19 left in the period.
Holy Cross continued the attack in the second period. With 14:21 remaining, Scott Pooley shot the puck from the top of the crease, got his own rebound and finished by wristing the puck by Magnus for a 3-1 lead. The Crusaders added to that lead with 7:06 left as Ryan Ferrill took a shot from the high slot that was initially gloved by Magnus but trickled out and into the goal to make it 4-1.
Sacred Heart cut the deficit to two, 4-2, with two minutes remaining in the third period when
Evan Jasper's wrist shot from the left circle found the top corner of the goal moments after the Pioneers had pulled Magnus from the net for an extra attacker. Holy Cross put the game away with 0:54 remaining when Scott Pooley scored his second goal of the night, this time on the power play to make the final score 5-2.
Holy Cross outshot the Sacred 27-25 for the game. The Crusaders were 1-for-9 on the power play in the game while Sacred Heart went 0-for-1. Freshman Jackson Barliant had two assists on the night for his first multi-point game of his career. Prior to the game, SHU honored seniors Jacob Brightbill, Zach Luczyk, Jake Lynes, and Josh Phillips for Senior Night.
The Pioneers conclude the regular season tomorrow night when they travel to Holy Cross for a 7:05 p.m. faceoff. Sacred Heart can still clinch home ice for the first round of the Atlantic Hockey tournament Saturday. The Pioneers need a win with a Bentley tie tomorrow night, or a tie and a Bentley loss.
FIRST PERIOD
- Both teams scored goals on their first shots of the period.
- With 2:54 remaining, Justin Danforth's open backhander was sticked aside by Berrafato.
- Durkee's goal was his third of the season and has scored in consecutive games.
- Jackson Barliant's assist on Durkee's goal was his first point in 11 games.
SECOND PERIOD
- Holy Cross outshot Sacred Heart 9-7 in the period.
- Holy Cross was 0-for 2 on the power play, Sacred Heart was 0-for-1.
THIRD PERIOD
- Zach Luczyk's open slapshot from the left circle was kicked aside with 17:44 remaining.
- With 14:34 left, Tommy Muratore's breakaway chance was thwarted by Magnus.
- Jasper's goal was his 12th of the season and his fifth in the last five games.
- Sacred Heart outshot Holy Cross 11-9 in the period
