COLUMBUS, Ohio- Junior James Sixsmith (Alexandria, Va.) scored two goals
as the Holy Cross men's hockey team defeated Rensselaer, 4-2, in
non-conference action in the third place game of the Ohio Hockey Classic
this afternoon at Nationwide Arena. With the win, the Crusaders improve
to 10-4-1 overall (7-2-1 AHA), while the Engineers fall to 8-8-3 overall
(2-1-3 ECACHL). The Crusaders are now 2-4-0 all-time against the
Engineers, including a 3-2 victory earlier this season on Nov. 25, at
the RPI Holiday Tournament. No. 2 Miami (Ohio) will take on tournament
host No. 19 Ohio State in the championship game this evening.

The Crusaders got on the board just one minute into the first period
when sophomore Dale Reinhardt (Livingston, N.J.) sent a long pass to
Sixsmith who carried the puck to the top of the left faceoff circle, and
then blasted a shot pass RPI goaltender Mathias Lange. At the 14:33 mark
Holy Cross extended its lead to 2-0 when sophomore Cal St. Denis
(Freelton, Ontario) scored a power-play goal for his second of the
season. Senior Marc Bianchi (Ithaca, N.Y.) fired a shot wide of the net
hitting the boards and reflecting out to St. Denis at the left side of
the goalie box, where he then put it into the net.

The Engineers cut the lead in half at the 17:03 mark when Holy Cross
senior goaltender Ben Conway (South Hadley, Mass.) stopped a shot from
Jake Luthie but could not control the rebound as Kevin Broad knocked it
in. Holy Cross outshot RPI, 13-11, in the period. The Crusaders went 1-3
on the power play, while the Engineers went 1-2.

Senior co-captain Tyler McGregor (Ajax, Ontario) made the score 3-1 when
he scored a power-play goal for his 12th of the season at the 14:43 mark
of the second period. Senior Blair Bartlett (Dryden, Ontario) sent a
quick crossing pass from the low right side of the goal to McGregor in
front of net who then lifted it into the goal. RPI answered back just
under a minute later when Kurt Colling netted the last goal of the
period to make it a 3-2 game. The Engineers registered 18 shots and went
0-2 on the power play, while the Crusaders had five shots and went 1-1
with a man advantage.

With under two minutes to play in the third period the Engineers went on
a power play and went with an empty net, but Sixsmith put the game out
of reach when he scored a shorthanded empty net goal for his second of
the game and fourth of the season. Conway made 39 saves to earn the win
and improve to 4-1-0 on the season, while Lange stopped 20 shots and is
7-6-3. Holy Cross went 2-5 on the power play and RPI went 1-5.

Sixsmith has now scored five goals in three games against RPI in his
career, including two last year in the 8-4 lost at RPI and one this
season in the 3-2 win.

The Crusaders will return to action next weekend, January 6-7, when they
face Atlantic Hockey opponent Sacred Heart in a home-and-home series. On
Friday, the Crusaders will travel to Fairfield, Conn., to take on the
Pioneers at the Milford Ice Pavillion, while on Saturday they will host
Sacred Heart at the Hart Center. Both game are set to start at 7:00 p.m.
Holy Cross is currently in second place in Atlantic Hockey with 15
points, while the Pioneers are third with a 6-5-1 record (13 pts.).
Sacred Heart plays at Bentley in conference action on January 3.