CRUSADERS ARE UNBEATEN IN SIX, BUT FIT TO BE TIED

This story first appeared on the Worcester Telegram and Gazette website.  To view the story by Steve Kendall click here.

Steve KENDALL College Hockey

Heading into tonight's game with Rochester Institute of Technology (7 p.m., Hart Center), Holy Cross has one of the nation's longest unbeaten streaks at six games. However, it is not a typical unbeaten streak.

Back-to-back 1-1 ties with Vermont and Western Michigan at the Catamount Cup last weekend extended the Crusaders' streak to six games, though five of those games have ended in a tie.

"I haven't experienced anything like it before," Holy Cross coach Paul Pearl said. "But the way goal scoring is down across college hockey, it's inevitable that there are going to be more ties. The number of 1-1 and 2-2 games this season across the board has gone up."

Both games in Vermont were exciting contests. On Saturday, Vermont's Peter Leanes scored a power-play goal with 32 seconds left to tie the game. The Catamounts eventually won in a shootout. In Sunday's consolation game, Everett Sheen scored a short-handed goal with 1:01 to play to tie up Western Michigan, which also eventually won in a shootout.

The Crusaders (5-4-6, 4-3-3 Atlantic Hockey) have tied three straight games with nonconference opponents, starting the streak with a 2-2 tie with Merrimack.

Sheen scored once in that game, as well as the Vermont game, giving him three of Holy Cross' last four goals. He was named the Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week on Monday.

The freshman from Lethbridge, Alberta, has 10 goals and two assists for the Crusaders this year. Sheen, sophomore Brodie Sheahan (6-10-16) and senior Dale Reinhardt (3-12-15) have formed a potent offensive unit for the Crusaders.

"Everett is doing a good job finishing," Pearl said. "He's getting a lot of scoring opportunities, which also shows how well Brodie and Dale have also been playing."

As well as those three have been playing, the play of the Crusaders' goaltenders has been even better. Freshman Adam Roy made 36 saves, including 15 in the first period, in the tie with Vermont, while sophomore Ian Dams had 28 stops in the tie with Western Michigan. Dams was named Atlantic Hockey Goalie of the Week for his efforts.

Roy (3-3-3, 2.58 GAA, .921 save percentage) and Dams (2-1-3, 2.43, .919) have been outstanding for the Crusaders and have been integral to the solid start the team has enjoyed.

"Our goaltending has definitely been a strength for us," Pearl said. "They have both been incredibly consistent, and both played very well (in Vermont)."

Despite leaving Vermont without a victory, Pearl was pleased with his team's overall play.

"We did a lot of things well - obviously our defense and goaltending was very solid," he said. "To hold teams like Vermont and Western Michigan to one goal apiece is excellent."

Like Vermont and Western Michigan, RIT is a quick, skilled team with an excellent power play and penalty kill. The Tigers (7-7-3, 5-4-3), who upset Minnesota in the Dodge Holiday Classic last week, currently sit in fourth place in Atlantic Hockey, two points ahead of the Crusaders, who have a game in hand.

RIT is led by the trio of Simon Lambert, Matt Smith and Matt Crowell, who have scored 26 of RIT's 47 goals this year. Sophomore Louis Menard will likely be in goal for both games, as he has started all but one game for RIT this season. Menard has a 7-6-3 record with a 2.55 goals-against average.

"They are quick and they move a lot in the offensive zone," Pearl said. "We're going to have to be prepared in the defensive zone. We have to stay with our guys and win the one-on-one battles if we're going to have success this weekend."

One positive note for the Crusaders is that the Tigers seem to lose a bit of steam as the game wears on.

While RIT has outscored its opposition, 36-31, through two periods, the Tigers have been outscored 24-10 in third periods.

Holy Cross is 3-3 when trailing after two periods and has outscored its opposition 16-14 in the third.

Both games are at 7 p.m. at the Hart Center.