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Women's Ice Hockey
The 2002-03 women’s ice hockey team continued the success
that began the season in November. Head Coach Peter Van
Buskirk led the Lady Crusaders to a 17-7-1 overall record,
their best in the four-year varsity history of the sport,
and earned Holy Cross’ first-ever ECAC Open Championship.
The Crusaders could attribute much of their success this
season to a first-year trio that produced 134 of the team’s
228 points this season. Kolt Bloxson ’06 (Fitchburg,
Mass.), Sarah Wetherbee ’06 (Canton, Mass.),
and Kate Remsberg ’06 (Arlington, Mass.) gave
the Purple the firepower they needed for a third-place finish,
their best in the ECAC Division III East since joining the
league.
The Lady Crusaders started off 2003 with a four-game winning
streak, sweeping the Dutchwomen of Union College (4-3 and
6-2) and the Seahawks of Salve Regina (6-0 and 9-2). Assistant
captain Erin Williams ’03 (Ashland, Mass.) joined
Wetherbee for ECAC Player of the Week honors during the run.
Williams had a three-goal weekend against Union, while Wetherbee
had a nine-point weekend against Salve Regina. The team dropped
the next three games to Wesleyan and Rensselaer on the road.
The Crusaders rebounded at home however, reeling off another
three straight with wins over Amherst, 5-2, and a sweep of
Saint Michael’s College, 4-1, and, 7-3. Holy Cross next
traveled to Gorham, Maine, to take on Southern Maine. For
the first time, the Crusaders were able to steal a game from
the Huskies, 4-2, behind a Wetherbee hat trick.
The Crusaders welcomed Rochester Institute of Technology
to the Hart Center Rink the following weekend and continued
to play well. Holy Cross upset the Tigers, 5-2, and, 2-1,
respectively. Wetherbee and Bloxson both tallied four points
on the weekend to lead the Crusader effort. It was the first
time the team had beaten RIT. The following Monday morning,
Holy Cross received a vote in the U.S. College Hockey Online
Top 10 Division I Poll for the first time in school history.
USCHO.com also honored Bloxson, naming her USCHO.com Offensive
Player of the Week. The Crusaders dropped the next battle
with Amherst on the road, 3-1, but were able to finish up
the regular season with a sweep of Sacred Heart in Fairfield,
Conn., and secured the top seed and a first round bye in
the ECAC Open Championship.
The Lady ’Saders met Sacred Heart in the Championship
Game on March 2. Bloxson, who was a First Team All-Conference
and All-Rookie Team selection in the ECAC, netted two goals
for the team and finished off her first year scoring the
most goals in a single season (26) for any Holy Cross women’s
hockey player. Bloxson, along with classmate Wetherbee, who
tallied one assist in the game, finished tied for the team
lead in points this season with 47, also a new school record.
Captain Jenelle Disanto ’03 (North Reading, Mass.)
finished up her career at Holy Cross with 30 saves and her
17th win of the season in the 3-1 triumph over the Pioneers.
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