Holy Cross puts Prep on ice

In what became a battle of attrition, the Holy Cross hockey team defeated their ‘B’ division rivals, St. Francis Prep, 7-5 on Monday night in Flushing.
A relatively low scoring affair for the first two periods, both teams exploded offensively for a combined seven goals in the third to close out a game heavy with playoff implications.
St. Francis Prep’s Aaron Acosta opened the scoring in the first, but was answered less than two-minutes later by Cross’ captain, Anthony Yacovone, with a power play goal. Prep was able to regain the lead early in the second with a hot shot by Patrick Schule, but then Cross unleashed an offensive onslaught that gave them control of the game.
Cross would score four unanswered goals, pushing Prep back on their skates and into desperation mode early in the third.
Prep coach Mike Watts said his Terriers played with a lot of heart, but in the end Cross displayed the determination necessary to pull out the victory.
“We got ourselves into a hole we couldn’t get out of, that’s the bottom line,” said Prep coach Mike Watts. “We let an opportunity slip away.”
However, Cross’ fore-check failed them in the third and Prep was able to penetrate the zone and apply sustained pressure.
Acosta scored three more goals for the Terriers (8-6-1) in the third for a game-high four, but that only served to bend the Knights, not break them.
Senior forward Yacovone contributed five points to the Knights’ attack and forward Alan Mook notched two goals, including a crucial gritty goal late in the third to seal the February 8 win for Holy Cross.
With the playoffs on the horizon, Holy Cross (8-4-3) coach Kevin Goodspeed said that his seniors stepped up, knowing this was a make or break game.
As for their late-game sloppiness, Goodspeed attributed that to a low fuel tank and last-minute desperation on the part of St. Francis.
“This was a desperation game for both teams. We needed it to get into the playoffs,” said Goodspeed. “Prep played hard and we were a little burnt out at the end, but overall we had the better skates.”