March
20, 2004
Atlantic Hockey Championship
Holy
Smokes: Crusaders win Atlantic
| Holy
Cross 4, Sacred Heart 0 |
| Team |
Goal |
Str |
| Time |
Assists |
| First
Period |
| 1-HC |
Andrew
McKay (12) |
EV |
| 5:06 |
P.
Napert-Frenette |
| 2-HC |
Greg
Kealey (15) |
EV |
| 9:54 |
J.
Dams, J. Sixsmith |
| Second
Period |
| 3-HC |
Jeff
Dams (14) |
PP |
| 8:15 |
T.
Coskren, J. Sixsmith |
| 4-HC |
Andrew
McKay (13) |
PP |
| 16:15 |
P.
Napert-Frenette, R.J. Irving |
| Third
Period |
| No
Scoring |
| Goaltending |
| SH:
Kevin LaPointe, 60:00, 29 saves, 4 GA |
| HC:
Tony Quesada, 60:00, 28 saves, 0 GA |
| Penalties:
SH 7/14; HC 5/10 |
| Power
Plays: SH 0-3; HC 2-5 |
| Attendance:
1,428 |
All-Tournament
Team |
G:
Tony Quesada, Holy Cross
D: R.J. Irving, Holy Cross
D: Konn Hawkes, Sacred Heart
F: Jeff Dams, Holy Cross
F: Greg Kealey, Holy Cross (MVP)
F: Pierre-Luc O'Brien, Sacred Heart |
Holy Cross
led the Atlantic Hockey standings wire-to-wire, and everything
that happened in the conference's first tournament indicated that's
right where the Crusaders belonged.
Head coach
Paul Pearl's team captured the championship – and the NCAA
Tournament berth that goes with it – thanks to a convincing
4-0 victory over Sacred Heart Saturday night in West Point, N.Y.
It wrapped up a dominating tournament performance for the Crusaders,
who outscored opponents 13-1 in three games.
Greg Kealey,
who scored one goal Saturday, earned tournament MVP honors, as
five of the six all-tournament spots went to Holy Cross players.
Goaltender Tony Quesada posted 28 saves to earn his second shutout
in three games.
"We came
together all season and things seemed to get better for us as
the year went along," Pearl said. "We played hard, played
good defense and scored on our power plays like we have all year
and that was key to the win. It feels real good to be heading
to the NCAA Tournament, it is pretty exciting for us."
The Crusaders
jumped on the Pioneers early with Andrew McKay and Greg Kealey
denting the twine before the contest was 10 minutes old. McKay’s
shot glanced off Sacred Heart goalie Kevin LaPointe’s stick
and ricocheted into the net, putting Holy Cross on top 5:06 into
the game.
“I usually
put that puck in the corner,” LaPointe said. “But
for whatever reason, the angle of my stick was off and it rolled
right off my stick and into the net.”
“Holy
Cross came out with guns blazing,” Sacred Heart head coach
Shaun Hannah said. “I think they played a really solid game.”
Kealey showed
the Pioneers why he was named to the all-tournament team and voted
the MVP of the playoffs when he beat LaPointe at 9:54, opening
up a two-goal cushion after one period of play.
Holy Cross
added two power play markers in the second period as they built
an insurmountable four-goal lead that Crusaders’ goalie
Tony Quesada protected. The sophomore made 10 of his 28 saves
in the final frame.
“(Quesada)
was outstanding,” Holy Cross head coach Paul Pearl said.
“A lot of the saves that he makes do not look hard. But
it is his control of the rebounds and his ability to steer the
shots to the corner that make him a good goaltender.”
Jeff Dams
potted the first extra-man goal at 8:15 and McKay recorded his
second of the night, also on the power play at 16:15. The Crusaders
finished 2-for-5 with the man advantage, shutting out the Pioneers
on their three attempts.
“We
scored two goals on the power play and played great defense tonight,”
Holy Cross head coach Paul Pearl said.
“It
was great to see this team come in here and play as solidly as
they did. I think we seemed to get better as the season went along
and tonight was a fitting end.”
The NCAA Tournament
trip is a first for Holy Cross, which had won the first MAAC conference
tournament in 1999, before the league was awarded an automatic
bid.
