The Worst Seasons in the Past 25 Years Part 24: Holy Cross
Welcome to the Worst Season in the Past 25 Years, a series in which r/CollegeHockey reviews the worst season for all 60 Division I teams over the summer to alleviate the crushing boredom known as the off-season and take a horrific tour down memory lane.
If you are interested in writing an entry for your team, please let me know via PM. I’ll be posting entries on weekdays at approximately at 6 pm Eastern time and will be going in alphabetical order. If an entry is not posted at that time, assume that “real life” has gotten in the way and that I am not able to post. If I am aware in advance that I will not post at 6 pm on a particular day, I will announce it in prior posts as a heads up.
And now.../r/CollegeHockey presents Holy Cross Crusaders! The Crusaders started their program in 1966. They remained as an independent team until they joined the Metro Atlantic in 1998. They were later part of the MAAC’s successor, Atlantic Hockey, where they are a member at this moment.
For the Crusaders, their worst season in the past 25 years is…
1999-2000 Record: 8-3-24 (W-D-L); MAAC: 8-3-16 (W-D-L; 7th/10th)
Wins: Canisius, Iona, @Fairfield, @UConn, @Fairfield, American International, Iona, Mercyhurst
Ties: @AIC, Bentley, @AIC
Losses: @Merrimack, Air Force (x2), Mercyhurst, @Bentley, @RPI, Army, Sacred Heart, @Quinnipiac, @UConn*, Findlay*, @Canisius (x2), @Niagara, Quinnipiac, @Quinnipiac, UConn, @Sacred Heart, Sacred Heart, @Bentley, Fairfield, @Iona, Mercyhurst, @Mercyhurst^
*UConn Classic
^ MAAC First Round
Biggest Beatdown: RPI 10 - HC 2
Head Coach: Paul Pearl
After winning the MAAC title the previous season, Pearl lead the Crusaders on a Crusade of the Lost, which they did a good job. Brian Akashian had the most goals (15); Brandon Doria and Jim Whelan had the most assists (19 a piece). In goal, Dan Bennett (4.71 GAA and .843 save percentage) and Matt Smith (4.07 GAA, .863 save percentage) shared duties nearly evenly (21 and 18 games, respectively).
The Crusaders began their season away to Merrimack. A home series against Air Force was a sweep for the Falcons. Holy Cross managed to get their first victory of the season against Canisius. A loss against Mercyhurst on Halloween Eve ended the month. November began with a loss to Bentley, a tie to American International and a win against Iona. That momentum was lost, as RPI shot 10 past the Crusaders’ net. Losses to Army West Point and Sacred Heart ended the month.
December was not busy, with two league games. A loss to Quinnipiac preceded a win over Fairfield. Some rest was followed by participating in the UConn Classic, losing to the hosts and to Findlay. The new year with a trip to Western New York, losing two to Canisius and one to Niagara. A home-and-home series with Quinnipiac ended in a sweep for the Bobcats. A home-and-home with UConn was split. Ending the month was Sacred Heart, sweeping their home-and-home with the Crusaders.
February saw a home-and-home with Bentley, where a tie was obtained. A home-and-home with Fairfield was split with each team winning the away game. Gathering some more momentum, a tie and a win with AIC was garnered. A home-and-home with Iona saw the series get split, as was a home series with Mercyhurst. To end the season, Holy Cross were drawn with Mercyhurst in the Metro Atlantic first round. The Lakers won, 10-3.
Pearl would continue to coach Holy Cross until 2014, guiding the Crusaders to 2 regular season titles and 2 conference titles. In 2006, HC stunned the college hockey world by defeating Minnesota in overtime to advance to the West regional final. Things dropped off from there for the Crusaders but they improved at the end of Pearl’s time as coach. David Berard was hired to replace Pearl who fucked off to left for Harvard (as an assistant) in 2014. Things under Berard seem to be consistently getting fourteen wins a season. We’ll see if that pattern can be improved for the Crusaders.
For Week 6 of this series, we will look at the worst seasons in recent memory for the following school: Lake Superior State, Maine, UMass Amworst, UMass Lowell, and Mercyhurst. Once again, if you are interested in doing the entry for your favorite school, shoot me a PM. Your school, name, and date will be added at the end of each post to serve as a reminder. So far, the following people have inquired about a spot:
| School | Username | Tentative Date |
|---|---|---|
| LSSU | u/binkelman | 7/10 |
| UML | u/LantisEscudo | 7/13 |
| Northeastern | u/therevengeance | 8/2 |
| Penn State | u/saucysalesman | 8/8 |
| RPI | u/Nicholas1227 | 8/16 |
| Union | u/azurearmor | 8/22 |
| Vermont | u/LocksTheFox | 8/23 |
Finally, a shoutout to u/saucysalesman who inspired the idea of this series for doing one for football over at r/cfb. Additionally, thanks to r/CollegeBasketball for the idea of the sub-par MS Paint logos for each school.
Previous Entries in the Worst Seasons Series:
Posted Jul 7, 2017, 9:57 PM UTC