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Men's Ice Hockey
The 2002-03 Holy Cross men’s ice hockey team has experienced
a series of highs and lows so far this season. In the middle
of this roller-coaster ride, however, the Crusaders find
themselves in second place in the MAAC Hockey League at the
halfway point of the season.
The team began the season with a tough loss to defending
MAAC Champion Quinnipiac, 6-1. In the following game, Head
Coach Paul Pearl led the Purple to a 3-2 victory over
Connecticut, picking up his 100th coaching victory. Pearl
became just the third coach in Holy Cross varsity ice hockey
history to reach the 100-victory plateau. Holy Cross then
split a two-game series with Air Force. A furious third-period
comeback by the Falcons helped them defeat the Crusaders,
6-4, in the first game. The Crusaders poured on the offense
the next night and assured there would be no repeat comeback,
picking up a 7-2 win. The Air Force win proved to be a catalyst
for the Crusaders’ six games. Holy Cross went on the
road and defeated MAAC opponents Army and Iona on consecutive
nights, thanks to solid play from captain Brandon Doria ’03 (Bayonne,
N.J.) and goaltender Tony Quesada ’06 (South
Freeport, Maine). Doria had four points in the two games,
including scoring the game-winner against Army. Quesada solidified
his spot as the team’s starting goalie after these two
impressive performances. He notched 21 and 20 saves respectively
in the two games, picking up two wins. Also in the Iona game,
forward Tyler McGregor ’06 (Ajax, Onatario) tallied
his first collegiate hat trick in the 6-3 win. Doria and
Quesada earned Itech MAAC Player and Goalie of the
Week honors for their efforts.
The Crusaders then took their four-game winning streak into
Schenectady, N.Y. to face ECAC foe Union College. Forward Jeff
Dams ’04 (Manotick, Ontario) had a hand in all four
Crusader goals of the evening, scoring two and assisting
on two others in the 4-1 win. The win marked the first time
in the 37-year history of the men’s varsity ice hockey
program that Holy Cross had defeated an ECAC opponent. Dams
was named Itech MAAC Player of the Week, and Quesada
was named Itech Rookie of the Week. Holy Cross also
garnered two votes in the U.S. College Hockey Online Division
I Poll for the first time in program history. It would be
the first of three consecutive weeks that the Crusaders received
two votes.
Holy Cross returned home with their five-game winning in
hand to face MAAC opponent Canisius. Quesada played a flawless
game in net, grabbing 28 saves and posting his first career
shutout in the 3-0 win. The team then used a 4-1 win at American
International to claim the nation’s longest current
winning streak at six games. Then, after falling behind 2-0
in the second period at home against Fairfield, the Purple
reeled off four straight goals by four different players
to preserve a victory and the winning streak. A 3-2 loss
to Connecticut on Nov. 22 ended the winning streak at seven
games. It was the longest streak by Holy Cross since the
1998-99 season when, from Jan. 16 to Feb. 13, the ’Saders
rolled up nine straight victories. That season, Holy Cross
won the inaugural MAAC Hockey League Championship.
The team closed out the month of November with two road
losses to the University of Findlay, but goaltender Quesada
earned honorable mention accolades for the Commissioners’ Choice
awards as Division I men’s college hockey’s top
rookie for the month of November.
In its first game of December and third straight non-conference
road match-up, the Crusaders dropped a 5-2 decision to Colgate.
Then, in the final game before the semester break, Holy Cross
fell to 6-3 in the MAAC with a 2-0 loss to the Bentley Falcons
at the Hart Center.
The roller-coaster ride continued on the morning of Dec.
23, when the team learned of the passing of one of their
own teammates, forward Glenn Crane ’05 (Sterling
Heights, Mich.). Crane succumbed to a two-year battle with
Hodgkin’s disease (see obituary on Page 77).
He had been an active member of the team in his two years
at Holy Cross despite undergoing hours of treatment for his
cancer. Last November, the players shaved their heads in
a show of emotional support for Glenn when he began chemotherapy.
The team will honor Glenn’s memory by wearing black
arm bands on their jerseys for the rest of the season.
The Crusaders are eager to return to action in 2003 with
a record of 8-7-0 and 6-3 in the MAAC, with many players
among the league leaders in many categories. Doria ’03
leads the team in scoring with 19 points on 11 goals and
eight assists. He is currently 25th on the Holy Cross all-time
scoring list with 118 career points. Doria is tied for second
in overall point scoring, first in overall goals and sixth
overall in power play goals in the MAAC. Dams is in second
place in points for the Crusaders with 17 on three goals
and 14 assists. He is fourth in the MAAC in overall point
scoring and tied for second in overall assists. Pierre
Napert-Frenette ’06 (Bathurst, New Brunswick) is
currently leading all freshmen in scoring in the MAAC with
11 points on five goals and six assists. Tony Quesada ’06
is third overall in the MAAC with a 2.59 goals-against average.
He also ranks fifth overall in save percentage (90.9 percent).
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