'We just can’t get over the hump': Holy Cross hockey falls short of AHA title, NCAA berth with loss to Bentley in final

WORCESTER — It took all of two minutes for tickets to sell out for the Holy Cross men’s hockey team’s Atlantic Hockey America championship game versus Bentley University.

The passionate and proud purple puck followers were lined up outside the Hart Center more than 90 minutes before the opening faceoff, and once they entered the rink, they made sure the boards were shaking and the ice was quaking.

The top-seeded Crusaders fed off the enthusiasm and energy early, but were outplayed and outscored over the final two periods as the third-seeded Falcons rolled to a 6-3 win Saturday night to secure the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division 1 Tournament before a standing-room only crowd.

Coach Bill Riga offers his thoughts on the Crusaders’ season-ending loss to Bentley in the Atlantic Hockey championship at the Hart Center Rink. ⁦@tgsports⁩ ⁦@HCrossMHockey⁩ pic.twitter.com/xnLLJnEWCX
— Rich Garven (@RichGarvenTG) March 23, 2025

“Disappointing for us, especially for all of our seniors,” said fourth-year coach Bill Riga, who hails from Westborough.

"They left if all on the ice and had a great year, and tonight our fans, our crowd, our campus, everything. It was just a tremendous, tremendous event for all of us to be a part of.

“Not the outcome we wanted, but I’m extremely proud of our season and these guys and all of our seniors here for continuing to build this program so far from where we were four years ago.”

The Crusaders, who were seeking to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history and the first time since 2006, finished 24-14-2, including 2-2 versus Bentley.

They finished under .500 in seven of the eight seasons prior to Riga’s arrival.

“We just found out winning is fun, and winning is contagious, and we decided we wanted to buy in,” senior right wing Liam McLinskey said. “We had some success, we just can’t get over the hump, though.”

The AHA Player of the Year gets @HCrossMHockey on the board first in the Championship Game! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/gBvZb7Rhbx
— Atlantic Hockey America (@Atlantic_Hockey) March 22, 2025

It was the second time in three years the Crusaders lost in the Atlantic Hockey title tilt, having dropped a 3-0 decision to Canisius in Buffalo, New York, in 2023.

The Crusaders took a 2-0 lead on power-play goals by McLinskey and freshman Matt Kursonis of West Boylston — each assisting on the other’s strike — 2 seconds shy of three minutes apart beginning at 13:54 of the first period.

The goals were the 24th of the season for McLinskey, a Hobey Baker finalist from Pearl River, New York, and the 10th for Krursonis, who honed his game with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs in the British Columbia Hockey League.

Matthew Kursonis makes it 2-0 for @HCrossMHockey in the first! pic.twitter.com/AyUq0MacSo
— Atlantic Hockey America (@Atlantic_Hockey) March 22, 2025

But the Falcons surged to the lead in the second, scoring three even-strength goals on four shots on net in a span of 4:04.

“The team that deserved to win today won,” Riga said. “Our power play was excellent, kept us in it, but we lost our identity, especially in the second period. And it cost us.

“Three goals on uncharacteristic turnovers and missed a block on the fourth one.”

Devin Phillips knots the score at 3-all with a PPG with 13:07 left in the third. ⁦@tgsports⁩ ⁦@HCrossMHockey⁩ pic.twitter.com/g089K2RGGX
— Rich Garven (@RichGarvenTG) March 23, 2025

The Crusaders, who were outshot, 30-20, tied it up on a power-play goal — they were 3 for 3 with the man advantage — on a strike by junior Devin Phillips at 6:53 of the third.

The mood on the home team’s bench was one of unbridled optimism.

“We were pretty goosed,” said McLinskey, who finished with a goal and two assists to give him 54 points in 40 games this winter. “(Thirteen) minutes left, tie game, it’s a brand-new hockey game. It was pretty exciting; we just couldn’t stay after it.

“I think they were just kind of taking it to us our entire game. Getting pucks in our end, we weren’t winning lines, and they were able to get one.”

The Falcons (23-14-2) regained the lead about 2½ minutes later on a puck senior defensemen Sam Duerr put on net from the left point that found its way between the pads of senior goalie Thomas Gale.

They added an empty-netter and a late goal to close out the scoring in a final most puck prognosticators thought would be a low-scoring, defensive-minded contest.

“We don’t give up five goals in a game five-on-five,” Riga said. “We just don’t, and to do that tonight is very disappointing.

“They forced a lot of it, and like I said, maybe we got up in trying to score more. Their will to win was great, and it was a little better than ours tonight.”

Bentley junior goalie Connor Hasley was named the tournament MVP at the end of a game that was delayed for close to 20 minutes after an official was injured 37 seconds after the opening faceoff.

—Contact Rich Garven at rgarven@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @RichGarvenTG.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Holy Cross hockey falls short of AHA title, NCAA berth with loss to Bentley

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