Beware the Cru-skaters
HC could be upset special

This story first appeared on the Boston Herald website.  To view the orginal story by John Connolly click here.

By John Connolly / College Hockey


Two years ago, Holy Cross electrified college hockey with a dramatic 4-3 overtime upset of Minnesota in the NCAA West Regional on a Tyler McGregor goal. Future Bruins [team stats] forward Phil Kessel [stats] had a breakaway tally in the losing cause.

While there is plenty of hockey yet to be played this season, don't be surprised if the Crusaders make similar noise come March and April.

"I think we have the makings to be a good, competitive club and win some big games, but you never know," said HC coach Paul Pearl, a Winthrop native who is four victories shy of 200 over a 13-year career (196-172-40).

"We're doing well. We've had a fairly consistent first half (5-4-4, 4-3-3 Atlantic Hockey) and I think the guys are coming around. We defend better and keep the puck out of the net. We haven't played as many games as some of the other teams in our league, so we have games in hand. We've had some good wins, too. We beat Providence (6-4), and got three points (out of four) against Mercyhurst."

Sophomore Ian Dams (2-1-2, 2.73 goals-against average, .911 save percentage) and freshman Adam Roy (3-3-2, 2.82, .913) of Springfield have been solid in net.

"They've been very consistent with stopping the puck, and that's given us a chance," Pearl said. "Our goals-against is way down."

At the other end of the ice, HC leads Division 1 with a 29.6 percent success rate on the power play (21-of-71).

The Lethbridge, Alberta, duo of sophomore Brodie Sheahan (6-9-15) and freshman Everett Sheen (8-2-10) has provided timely scoring, while senior Dale Reinhardt (3-11-14) directs the offense with his playmaking. Reinhardt, HC's assistant captain, is one of 20 candidates for the 2007-08 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award as college hockey's top Div. 1 senior student-athlete.

Also, sophomore Ryan Driscoll of Dorchester and Thayer Academy could be HC's best two-way center. Senior captain Matt Burke of Milton anchors the defense.

Falcons rising

Another much-improved Atlantic Hockey club is Bentley. The Falcons (5-11-2) are .500 (5-5-2) in league play and getting excellent efforts from juniors Dain Prewitt (8-8-16) and Jeff Gumaer (7-5-12), sophomore Marc Menzione (8-6-14), and freshmen Dustin Cloutier (3-9-12) and Erik Peterson (4-7-11). Freshman Joe Calvi had a career-high 42 saves in a recent 2-2 tie with RIT.

American International College has shown significant progress, and freshman Dan Ramirez (4-5-1, 2.57, .913) is a prime reason. Seniors Jereme Tendler (6-10-16) and Mark Pavli (4-7-11), sophomore Mike McMillan (7-9-16) and freshman Steve McLeod (4-6-10) have also made huge contributions.