Box Score
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Junior James Sixsmith (Alexandria, Va.) scored two goals as the Holy Cross men's hockey team defeated Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 4-2, in non-conference action in the third place game of the Ohio Hockey Classic at Nationwide Arena. With the win, the Crusaders improve to 10-4-1 overall (7-2-1 AHA), while the Engineers fall to 8-8-3 overall (2-1-3 ECACHL).
The Crusaders got on the board just one minute into the first period when sophomore Dale Reinhardt (Livingston, N.J.) sent a long pass to Sixsmith who carried the puck to the top of the left faceoff circle, and then blasted a shot pass RPI goaltender Mathias Lange (Klagenfurt, Austria/New York Apple Core). At the 14:33 mark Holy Cross extended its lead to 2-0 when sophomore Cal St. Denis (Freelton, Ontario) scored a power-play goal for his second of the season. Senior Marc Bianchi (Ithaca, N.Y.) fired a shot wide of the net hitting the boards and reflecting out to St. Denis at the left side of the goalie box, where he then put it into the net.
The Engineers cut the lead in half at the 17:03 mark when Holy Cross senior goaltender Ben Conway (South Hadley, Mass.) stopped a shot from Jake Luthi (Palmer, AK/Sioux Falls Stampede) but could not control the rebound as Kevin Broad (Humboldt, SK/Chilliwack Chiefs) knocked it in. Senior defenseman Keith MCWilliams (Valencia, CA/Omaha Lancers) was credited with the second assist. The Crusaders went 1-3 on the power play, while the Engineers went 1-2.
Senior co-captain Tyler McGregor (Ajax, Ontario) made the score 3-1 when he scored a power-play goal for his 12th of the season at the 14:43 mark of the second period. Senior Blair Bartlett (Dryden, Ontario) sent a quick crossing pass from the low right side of the goal to McGregor in front of net who then lifted it into the goal. RPI answered back just under a minute later when Kurt Colling (Ripley, ONT/Vernon Vipers) tallied his first career goal off a pass from MCWilliams to make it a 3-2 game. The Engineers registered 18 shots, while the Crusaders had five.
With under two minutes to play in the third period the Engineers went on a power play and went with an empty net, but Sixsmith put the game out of reach when he scored a shorthanded empty net goal for his second of the game and fourth of the season. Conway made 39 saves to earn the win and improve to 4-1-0 on the season, while Lange stopped 20 shots and is 7-6-3.
Rensselaer returns to action on January 6th and 7th, when it hosts ECAC Hockey League rivals Dartmouth and Harvard at the Houston Field House. Both games begin at 7pm and can be heard live on WRPI, 91.5 FM, and www.wrpi.org. The Crusaders also returns to action next weekend, when they face Atlantic Hockey opponent Sacred Heart in a home-and-home series.
