Holy Cross Crusaders men's ice hockey

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.[3]

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.[4]

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 who saw middling regular season results.

In the 2022-2023 regular season Holy Cross won their first Atlantic Hockey playoff round since the 2006 season against American International College. They would later upset Rochester Institute of Technology in the semifinals of the tournament but lose in the championship to Canisius.[5]

Season-by-season results

Source:[6]

As of completion of 2022–23 season

Source:[7]

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 parentheses).[8]

As of September 14, 2023.[9]

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1		Louden Hogg	Sophomore	G	5' 11" (1.8 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	2002-10-18	Cheyenne, Wyoming	Fargo (USHL)	—
2		Jack Robilotti (A)	Senior	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2001-07-18	New York, New York	Fargo (USHL)	—
3		Brody Gagno	Freshman	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2002-07-29	South Surrey, British Columbia	Surrey (BCHL)	—
4		Jake Higgins (A)	Senior	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	2001-06-09	Hingham, Massachusetts	Deerfield (USHS–MA)	—
5		Will Troutwine	Freshman	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	2002-06-23	Eveleth, Minnesota	Janesville (NAHL)	—
8		Charlie Spence	Sophomore	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2002-03-18	Medfield, Massachusetts	Boston Jr. Bruins (NCDC)	—
10		Liam McLinskey	Junior	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2001-02-20	Pearl River, New York	Quinnipiac (ECAC)	—
12		Matt Guerra	Senior	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	1999-05-21	Orlando, Florida	Robert Morris (AHA)	—
13		Will Elias	Freshman	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2003-01-28	Weston, Massachusetts	Cowichan Valley (BCHL)	—
14		Matt Shatsky	Junior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2001-04-29	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Sherwood Park (AJHL)	—
15		Jack Ricketts (C)	Senior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1999-09-08	Oakville, Ontario	Oakville (OJHL)	—
17		Matt DeBoer	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2002-09-02	Las Vegas, Nevada	Green Bay (USHL)	—
18		Ty Gagno	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2003-10-01	Langley, British Columbia	Prince George (BCHL)	—
19		Jack Stockfish	Freshman	F	6' 4" (1.93 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	2002-09-30	North Bay, Ontario	Prince George (BCHL)	—
20		Devin Phillips	Sophomore	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2001-07-12	Raleigh, North Carolina	Brooks (AJHL)	—
21		Alec Cicero	Senior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2001-03-09	Williamsville, New York	Buffalo (OJHL)	—
22		Lucas Thorne	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-03-05	Dunnville, Ontario	Bonnyville (AJHL)	—
24		John Gelatt	Junior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2001-04-29	Middletown, New Jersey	Johnstown (NAHL)	—
27		Mack Oliphant	Sophomore	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2002-12-28	Northbrook, Illinois	Johnstown (NAHL)	—
28		Jack Seymour	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	2001-04-06	Chelsea, Quebec	Chilliwack (BCHL)	—
29		Conner Welsh	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2004-01-02	Greenwich, Connecticut	Vernon (BCHL)	—
30		Jason Grande	Sophomore	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1999-02-07	West Chester, Pennsylvania	Bentley (AHA)	—
33		Thomas Gale	Junior	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2000-06-10	Kirkland, Quebec	P. A. L. (NCDC)	—
34		Joe Solimine	Sophomore	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2002-03-03	Middleton, Massachusetts	Boston Jr. Bruins (NCDC)	—
37		Nic Petruolo	Junior (RS)	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2000-01-29	Neshanic Station, New Jersey	Union (ECAC)	—
39		Tyler Ghirardosi (A)	Senior	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-10-01	Montrose, British Columbia	Quinnipiac (ECAC)	—
40		Michael Hodge	Junior	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	157 lb (71 kg)	2000-05-30	Calgary, Alberta	Union (ECAC)	—

As of July 1, 2023.