Men's Hockey Ranked #20 In USCHO National Poll
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WORCESTER, Mass. – The Holy Cross men's hockey team is ranked No. 20 in the latest USCHO.com Division I Men's National Poll released on Monday afternoon. The Crusaders received 65 points as last week Holy Cross had 16 points which were the second most of other teams receiving votes. This is only the third time that the Crusaders have ever been ranked in this poll as Holy Cross was No. 20 on March 13, 2006 and No. 19 on March 20, 2006.
Holy Cross is 10-4-2 overall (6-3-2 Atlantic Hockey) and are 3-0-1 over its last four contests including three straight victories. The Crusaders' 10-4-2 record is their best after 16 games since the 2003-2004 season when they were 11-4-1. Holy Cross is averaging 3.50 goals scored per game which are tied for fourth in the nation. Also the Crusaders' .688 team winning percentage is ninth in the country.
The Crusaders defeated No. 15 Yale on Dec. 30 by a 5-4 score at the New England Sports Center. This was the first ever win for Holy Cross over Yale as the Crusaders were 0-4-0 versus the Bulldogs entering the game. This was also the third win for Holy Cross over a ranked team in its Division I era as the Crusaders also defeated No. 3 Minnesota, 4-3, on March 24, 2006 in the NCAA Tournament, and No. 7 Boston University, 5-4, on Oct. 22, 2011
The Crusaders return to action on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 4-5, when they travel to Grand Forks, N.D., to take on No. 7 North Dakota at the Ralph Engelstad Arena. Friday's game is at 8:30 p.m. (ET) and Saturday's contest is at 8:00 p.m. (ET).
USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
December 31, 2012
| Team (First Place Votes) | Record | Points | Last Week |
| 1. Minnesota (35) | 13-3-3 | 977 | 4 |
| 2. Boston College (5) | 12-3-1 | 922 | 1 |
| 3. Notre Dame (9) | 14-4-0 | 913 | 3 |
| 4. New Hampshire | 11-3-2 | 843 | 2 |
| 5. Quinnipiac | 14-3-2 | 769 | 9 |
| 6. Miami | 12-4-4 | 730 | 5 |
| 7. North Dakota | 10-5-3 | 720 | 7 |
| 8. Dartmouth (1) | 8-2-2 | 661 | 10 |
| 9. Boston University | 10-6-0 | 612 | 6 |
| 10. Western Michigan | 11-5-2 | 513 | 8 |
| 11. Denver | 10-6-3 | 478 | 14 |
| 12. Cornell | 7-4-2 | 425 | 11 |
| 13. Union | 9-4-4 | 375 | 13 |
| 14. Minnesota State | 12-6-2 | 336 | 18 |
| 15. St. Cloud State | 12-8-0 | 291 | 16 |
| 16. Nebraska-Omaha | 11-8-1 | 276 | 12 |
| 17. Yale | 7-4-2 | 213 | 15 |
| 18. Niagara | 10-3-4 | 124 | 17 |
| 19. Robert Morris | 9-4-2 | 120 | NR |
| 20. Holy Cross | 10-4-2 | 65 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Colgate 50, Ferris State 47, Providence 12, Harvard 10, Michigan Tech 5, Massachusetts 4, Massachusetts-Lowell 4, Northern Michigan 4, Colorado College 1.
