Crusaders Ready To Turn Corner2009-11-27
Despite two tough losses this past weekend against William Paterson University and Montclair State University, "road" weekend proves productive and valuable for Holy Cross.
It has been a tough road thus far for the Crusaders, still working out lingering and new kinks alike, wins have been hard to come by. Lately however, the strides that the boys in purple have been taking towards improvement have been coming together quickly and at an important point in the season.
This past weekend, Holy Cross (0-8) travelled to New Jersey to battle against William Paterson University (4-2) and Montclair State University (4-2-1). Right from the drop of the puck Saturday night, the Crusaders came out hungry and scored three goals against a surprised William Paterson team. Freshman stickhandling sensation Doug "Danglefest" Dromey would strike first for the 'Saders firing a shot that would re-direct itself past the Pioneer's goaltender giving Holy Cross an early 1-0 lead. Staying discipline with their newly renovated systems the Crusaders would continue to frustrate the Pioneers and quickly score again off a quick odd man rush led by a lightning fast Steve Cardinal. It would be off a beautiful pass by Mr. Cardinal past a desperate defenseman that Piero "Gooner" Iberti would be able to complete the two-on-one by lighting the lamp and conducting a celebration worthy of the ESPN Top Ten. With a 2-0 lead, the Crusaders were playing with confidence. Looking to get out of the period without letting up a goal, the Crusaders unfortunately took a penalty and surrendered a power-play goal, cutting their lead to a mere one goal. Playing to the buzzer, an unrelenting Doug Dromey delivered again sniping a slapshot off a beautiful drop pass by Junior Mike Fask. The boys in purple would take that 3-1 lead into the locker room.
The Second Period proved to be a tougher task for Holy Cross as they scored none and went down 4-3 going heading into the locker room awaiting the Third Period.
In an exciting Third Period the teams would exchange goals, with William Paterson striking first. With a two goal deficit to fight back from, Matt "Tyk" Tyksinki would soon net one in a wonderful display of reflexes off a rebound assisted by Chuck "The Clapper" MacKenzie" and Matt "The Hammer" Krebs who would record his first point of the season on the play. Showing their conditioning and strength in a grueling Third Period the Crusaders would again score off an absolute display of pure talent by Doug Dromey who, in a historic night, would have the first hat-trick in Holy Cross Club Hockey history in three years (unfortunately there were no hats graced the ice). Mike Fask also recorded his third assist on the play, and Freshman Dan Moynihan got in on the action contributing with an assist as well.
With the score tied, the Pioneers would again score to lead 6-5 with only precious few minutes to play, and as a result the Crusaders found themselves fighting to tie the score in the closing minutes of the game. Holy Cross certainly had their fair share of opportunites in the final minutes, but could not bury any pucks as the Pioneers would hold on for a 6-5 victory.
Freshman Goalie Jim "Slinky" Pantano kept his Crusaders in the game recording an outstanding 54 saves on 60 shots. Sophomore Goaltender Kyle "K-Rod" Rodriguez would go on to receive the undisputed "chirping" award of the evening.
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