WORCESTER, Mass. - The Holy Cross women's ice hockey team hosted Boston University (BU) for the final game of the season series. After a hard fought battle the Crusaders came out with the 3-2 win to take the whole series 2-1 over the Terriers.
Senior forward Millie Sirum ripped a shot into the top shelf with seven seconds left in the first period to put the Crusaders ahead ending the opening frame. The Terriers answered with an equalizing goal just five minutes into the second period. Freshman forward Emily Crovo had a putback goal for her career first to reclaim the lead 2-1 at 14:26. A short lived lead with BU tying the game back up 26 seconds later. Crovo struck again sneaking the puck past the goalie with a great find from fellow freshman forward Lulu Rourke. The Crusaders held on for the remainder of the game to take home the 3-2 win and the series victory.
"There. We faced a lot of adversity this season and I think right now we're turning things around and it's showing on the ice as a team collectively and scoring," said Crovo. "My first goal was like a dream come true. I've been dreaming of this since I was a kid, and then scoring the second was unreal. Especially against a good team like BU. It just takes a lot of grit and relentless work as a team, and I think we accomplished that this weekend. I'm very proud of all of us together as a group."
Sophomore goalie Brooke Loranger had a tremendous performance between the pipes earning the win. Loranger made a total of 37 saves in the outing and now owns a 2.86 goals against average with a .906 save percentage.
"A really fantastic effort the whole weekend. We're getting a little slim here with some injuries and we just had a lot of heart and compete factor, and that's the things that we've been talking about all week. The young ladies did a great job of really taking that in and correcting a lot of things and just playing their hearts out," said head coach Katie Lachapelle. "Emily Crovo, just her going to the net, she's getting rewarded for how hard she's been playing. Same thing with Lulu Rourke, she's been playing hard and getting a lot of good plays in there. It was nice to see Millie Sirum get one on the board here. We had a great defense. Brooke Loranger played a fantastic game. We're really looking forward to just getting that next test and making sure we can move forward with our play and keep that going every game. Good job this week."
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Holy Cross got on the board first with a goal by Sirum 19:53 in the first period. She was assisted by sophomore forwards Charlotte Sonntag and Lane Lewis.
- BU equalized with a goal at 5:51 in the second period. Holy Cross responded with a goal by Crovo at 14:26 assisted by forwards freshman Reghan Chadwick and Bryn Saarela. The Terriers tied the game at 2-2 with a goal at 14:52
- Crovo netted the game winner at 8:35 in the third period assisted by Rourke and freshman forward Manny Gendron. Holy Cross took the 3-2 win.
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE:
- Crovo netted her first career goals, including the game winner.
- Loranger had back-to-back Hockey East wins, the first two of her career.
UP NEXT:
The Crusaders return to action on Friday, Feb. 2 for a game one on the road at Vermont (UVM) at 6 pm. in Gutterson Fieldhouse.
