WHY WE NEED TO WORRY NOW !!!
THIS IS HCs FIRST HOME (HART RINK) GAME OF THE SEASON !!!! THEY ARE VERY GOOD !!!
All their games this year have been at the DCU Center or away. They will have the entire campus cheering for them and welcoming them home !!!! They are hungry to knock off top teams, prove that they are HE worthy.
WE ARE PLAYING WITH TWO DAYS REST !!!!
Our early season RPI's are about the same. However, Holy Cross has played a much much harder schedule. Their SOS is 18 to our 40. We are about the same with G and GA. If you take away the BC loss, they are better. BC and HC are both Jesuit (Catholic) schools. Intense rivalry.
RPI (Record) [SOS] Win
18 (6-1-1) 40 #11 Michigan
21 (3-1-1) 18 #14 Providence
Michigan lost two this weekend so expect them to drop. HC has a more impressive win.
Goals 3.75 vs 3.60
GA 2.75 vs 2.60
PP 13.3 vs 18.2
Goalies numbers are about the same but better if you take away BC.
Holy Cross: Last Year 18-13-5
The Crusaders return all four of their top scorers from last season, including Mike Barrett. Last season, Barrett scored 13 goals along with 13 assists for 26 points in 36 games played. The will be disappointed with the way last season concluded in an upset playoff series loss to Army in the AHA tournament. Prediction: Holy Cross returns a lot this season including Paul Berrafato who won 17 games last season. I expect the Crusaders to improve and challenge for the regular season title.
Regular Season Standing Prediction
1) Air Force
2) Holy Cross
3) RIT
4) Army
5) Robert Morris
6) Mercyhurst
7) Canisius
8) Bentley
9) Sacred Heart
10) American International
Offensive Success For Holy Cross
The Crusaders didn’t have a high-scoring player last year — the team’s top scorer was T.J. Moore, who netted 28 points, good for 21st in the conference — but Holy Cross had six players with 20 or more points and five players reach double digits in goals. All of Holy Cross’ top scorers are returning.
“Going into the second year (as head coach) that was a huge point of emphasis for our team to try to find a way to score more goals and manufacture more goals, because we knew 2.3 goals a game wasn’t going to get us many wins,” Berard said. “Last year, we scored over 3 goals a game. So we did a good job there, but we also maintained our team defensive structure and the quality of our team defense. So it led to more wins and a better success rate in the league. We want to continue to be tough to play against defensively and have that be a staple of our team. But also, the more goals you score, the more you have a chance to win.”
5 Players To Watch
Paul Berrafato, G, Holy Cross
The Crusaders improved their record to 18-13-5 last year and finished tied for second in Atlantic Hockey. Berrafato, a sophomore last season, split starts with freshman Tommy Nixon. But the more he played, the more he proved to Holy Cross the starting job was his.
“To me, being a goalie myself, you know, stats are great, goals against are great, save percentages are great,” Berard said. “But I think the true testament of whether you’re a good goalie is if you can win or lose games. Because there’s going to be games where you’re not going to have your best, but if you can make the good save at a critical moment. Paul has a way to do that. ... One of the questions we had last year was our goaltending, and I think that question isn’t there anymore because we have someone like Paul that’s coming back.”
IMO this is the most important game of the season. A win here and we pivot back home for a shot at more league points.
What a fun weekend for the Dutchmen and their fans! Hope Supinski is alright - I thought I saw him back out on the ice after the 5 minute major penalty but some other folks seemed to disagree after the game. Can anyone confirm?