Crusaders' NCAA hockey showing thrills campus community

The Holy Cross hockey team finished its most successful season ever with a 27-10-2 record and their first win in the NCAA Tournament. The 4-3 overtime victory over Minnesota on Friday, March 24 in the West Regional Semifinals in Grand Forks, N.D., marked the first time that a No. 4 seed defeated a No. 1 seed in NCAA action.

The Holy Cross community was with the Crusaders every step of the way. Among those traveling to North Dakota for the games in the 11,000-seat Ralph Engelstad Arena were President Michael C. McFarland, S.J., Senior Vice President Frank Vellaccio, Athletic Director Richard Regan, Associate Athletic Director Rose Shea, Holy Cross student journalists, families of the players, and many more.
 
Meanwhile, back at Mount St. James, hundreds of students, faculty, administrators, and parents jammed into Crossroads in the Hogan Campus Center to view a live satellite broadcast of Friday’s game.

Here are some of the impressions of this historic win:

"Broadcasting the game made it difficult to watch. I was trying to maintain an air of professionalism and keep my composure on the air, but I was dying inside with the ebb and flow of the game. It was hard not to get immersed in the atmosphere inside the arena, with the North Dakota fans supporting the Crusaders in unison. I screamed in exultation when Tyler McGregor put in the game winner, releasing everything that I had to keep inside during the game. It was a fantastic moment. I've covered a few significant sporting events while I’ve been at Holy Cross, but this is the one I’ll cherish the most because it was so unexpected and so thrilling."
Kyle McCarthy ’07

"I was at Crossroads on Friday night and I thought the game was exhilarating! Watching it made me proud to be a Holy Cross student and I think it will be great for the future of the program and the entire school."
John Feeney-Coyle ’06

"It was awesome. So thrilling. I still get goose pimples thinking about it. Everyone was jumping up and down. There was so much excitement, we might as well have been there. I only wish the team could have seen us celebrating with them. It’s so great to see how far our team has come."
Jacqueline Peterson
Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students

"You can’t imagine how much noise there was in the arena — and so much excitement. When we won, it was so unreal and so quick. With an overtime goal, the game is just over; there’s no counting down of the clock. In the arena, there are TVs everywhere, showing highlights of the ESPN broadcast. Everyone just kept stopping and watching it over and over. And on the flight back, attendants put in a DVD of the game, so we all got to watch it again."
Rose Shea
Associate Athletic Director

"What was it like when Holy Cross won on Friday? 11,000 people went nuts! In hockey, you wrestle and poke and pass, and only 2 or 3 shots actually have a chance to score. Our team never backed down. As Tyler McGregor said at the press conference after Friday’s game, Holy Cross came to win. That attitude, their talent, and Paul Pearl’s great coaching all worked together. I was also happy that so many players’ families — who had never seen their sons play for Holy Cross — were able to come to the game."
Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J.
President

"It was one of the most amazing atmospheres that I have ever seen. Not only was the arena the most lavish that I’ve been at, but the North Dakota fans were fantastic and very friendly, and the team played the best game of hockey that I've ever seen from them. When Tyler McGregor scored the OT winner, it was the most excited I have ever been, not just for broadcasting a game, but for any sporting event. I can only hope that this will translate into even more success for the HC hockey program in the future."
Craig Lowell ’06

"In my 32 years of watching Holy Cross sporting events it was the most stunning upset I ever observed. It was no fluke we beat the second best hockey team in the country by outplaying them. Quesada and the rest of the team were brilliant. I can only compare it to the USA beating Russia in the 1980 Olympics."
Frank Vellaccio
Senior Vice President

"After the win and we finished our broadcast, I got the chance to walk out onto the rink again with the house lights dimmed, and just the glow of the luxury boxes surrounding the rink lighting things up.  I had a purple and white Holy Cross jacket on and people started cheering for Craig Lowell (who had walked out with me) and myself.  When I said that I wasn't on the team, but was here with the school they shouted, 'We don't care, you guys rock.  Holy Cross is our new favorite team.'  They saw our commitment and shared a respect and admiration for it.  Other sports writers quipped: 'Yesterday, Minnesota thought they were going to play at least one more game.  Today, they went home and looked up 'Woo-ster' on a map.'"
Robert Maccariello '08