The Holy Cross women’s hockey team understands the challenges that lie ahead — and is ready for all of them.
The 2018-19 season is head coach Peter Van Buskirk’s 19th with the Crusaders, but it is the team’s first as a member of Hockey East, as HC makes the substantial leap from Division 3 hockey to Division 1.
“It’s really a goal at least I had in my mind for the program in the future,” Van Buskirk said. “You hope that there’s a point where you go Division 1 down the road. We’re moving in the right direction now and it’s a big commitment. It’s a financial commitment from the school and a big commitment from the rest of us. I’m certainly happy we’re in Hockey East because geographically, it’s the right fit for the school as well. It cuts down the travel that we would have if we were in the ECAC, but they’re both premier leagues.”
Previously a dominant New England Women’s Hockey Conference team that went 22-5 during the 2016-17 season, the Crusaders were independent of a conference last season, which helped them transition divisions. They still played primarily a Div. 3 schedule but played 11 games against Div. 1 teams. In those, they went 2-7-2 and picked up wins over Harvard and Sacred Heart. Holy Cross’ lone game against a Hockey East opponent was a 9-1 loss to New Hampshire. In contrast, the team went 14-2-1 against Div. 3 opponents.
Regardless of the results, the experience is what mattered for the Crusaders.
“They got an idea of it,” Van Buskirk said of his team facing Div. 1 competition. “It’s like reality. Everything is better and more real when you see it live. I think the games we did have last year helped them prepare for it and gave them a better idea of what they needed to improve on during the offseason.”
And generally speaking, the Crusaders are an experienced squad this season. They will rely on defense and goaltending to compete at the Div. 1 level.
The Crusaders return a pair of starting goaltenders — Julia Pelletier (Pelham, Mass.; 1.47 goals against average in 12 games last season) and Marcia La Plante (0.66 GAA in nine games last season) — as well as a host of experienced defenders, including Tori Messina (Hingham, Mass.; eight goals, 12 assists), Antonia Matzka (four goals, 14 assists), Victoria Young (Hanson, Mass.; 13 points), Grace Peluso (11 points), Allison Attea (11 points) and Hannah Gillis (Northboro, Mass.; nine points).
Offensively, the team is lighter on experience after graduating a pair of double-digit goal scorers, but Katie MacCuaig (14 goals, four assists), Julie Matthias (11 goals, 15 assists) and Maeve Reilly (eight goals, 20 assists) are expected to be cogs this season after strong showings last season.
If the first three games of the Crusaders season this year were any indication, then the defense-first dynamic still stands. They went 0-1-2 in that span, allowed four goals and scored just two. Their games came against ECAC opponents: two against RIT (2-0 loss on Sept. 28 and a 1-1 tie one day later) and another against Rensselaer (1-1 tie on Oct. 6).
As the season progresses, however, the Crusaders will receive opportunities to play strong Div. 1 competition on a regular basis and will face a number of teams for the first time in school history.
“We know it will take a number of years to get the high-level players the other schools have,” Van Buskirk said, “but we get a play-in and we need to take advantage of it as best as we can and hope we can improve as we keep going. The game is going to be a lot faster, but I think we’re competing well.
“We’re just thrilled to be in this position,” he continued. “We try to go about it in the right way and now we’re in the thick of it. We’re getting more interest from more people now. You need to create the environment to attract the kind of athletes that you want. We’re ready to do it and are really looking forward to it.
“We just need to be able to go up the rungs. All of our girls are going to be better players at the end of this season regardless of what our record ends up being, because you constantly have to be playing your best game in this league, and that’s great. If we’re going to compete in this league, then every line and every shift needs to be our best.”
