WORCESTER - In Holy Cross coach Paul Pearl's opinion, senior defenseman R.J. Irving played his two best games of the season in HC's Atlantic Hockey Tournament victories over AIC and Canisius last weekend.
"It was the best he's played in a long, long time," Pearl said. "He was fantastic. He was one of our best players. He made great decisions out there. He moved the puck really well. He got the puck out of our zone really well and just played good, solid defense."
With solid defense, fine goaltending and timely scoring, the top-seeded Crusaders outscored their first two tourney opponents, 9-1, and advanced to tomorrow's championship game (7 p.m.) against fourth-seeded Sacred Heart at Army's Tate Rink in West Point, N.Y. The winner gets an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. That would be a first for the HC hockey program.
Tickets ($10) for the title game are available at the Holy Cross ticket office until today. They can also be purchased at the door or by calling 1-800-TIX-ARMY.
"We're very, very excited," said Irving, who hails from Marlboro. "But the way Coach Pearl has had us all year, we're really not getting ahead of ourselves. We want to win this game, then we can think about everything else."
The Crusaders played three tight games against Sacred Heart this season. HC beat the Pioneers twice, 4-2 in the opening round of the Black Bear Classic in October and 6-5 in overtime at the Hart Center in November. Sacred Heart defeated HC, 2-1, the next night at its home rink. The Pioneers, 10-2-2 in their last 14 games, beat Connecticut and Mercyhurst to make the final.
Irving (3 goals, 8 assists, 11 points) has had a steady season, but as he has come back from the injuries that ended his junior campaign, it has taken him some time to return to his all-conference self of the last two years. In the 2002-03 regular-season finale, Irving tore three ligaments in his left ankle and broke his left leg in two places.
"I got hit, and the hit wasn't bad, but I landed funny," Irving said. "It was a pretty uncommon hockey injury. You'd think you'd blow out your knee before you did something like that, but I felt it pop as I went down on the ice."
With Irving sidelined, HC, which had won 16 games during the regular season, made an early exit from the conference tourney.
"You don't want to make excuses," Pearl said, "but there was a guy our power play went through and who played a lot and who was a leader on the team. All those things went out the door when he was gone. That was very difficult for us last year. It's great to have him here this year."
Irving was in a cast and on crutches for three months and spent just about the whole summer rehabilitating. He started to run the first week of August, skated again soon after and was ready for HC's opener in October.
"It's definitely weaker, but nothing too bad," Irving said. "It's felt better as the season has gone on."
Irving, who starred at Tabor Academy, played in every game his first two years at Holy Cross. He was a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Rookie team selection, and followed that with a super sophomore season in which he had 10 goals and 25 assists to lead the Crusaders and the league in scoring by defensemen. He had a goal and 17 assists last year. He has played in 130 games in four years at HC.
"He's meant a ton to this team," said Pearl, who had his eye on Irving early on. "He was a huge recruit when we got him, a local kid and a very good player. We worked very hard to get him here, and then he was everything we asked for. He's done great things for us for four years."
Irving, whose dad, Phil, is the Shrewsbury High coach, has been around hockey forever. He started playing when he was about 7, but even sooner than that he tagged along to his father's early-morning practices. Irving played for his father once, back during his first year of organized hockey. Staying close to home for college has given his ultra-supportive family a chance to see most of his games.
"If you asked me 10 years ago, I wouldn't have been going to college in Worcester, Massachusetts," Irving said. "But definitely the whole thing just worked out. It just felt right coming here. I never knew how beautiful the school was living so close. Just with Coach Pearl coming after me when I was younger and making me feel wanted here, and then having my dad and my family able to see me play, I've definitely enjoyed it."
Before the injury, Irving flirted with the idea of possibly trying to play professionally. Instead, he'll join the working world after graduation in May. He has a job lined up at Cintas, North America's largest uniform supplier, in Chelmsford. He did an internship for the company last year. There's a chance teammates Matt Conway and Greg Kealey may also be going to work there.
For now, Irving's hockey career continues for at least one more game, maybe longer.
"I can't imagine playing with another group of guys besides these guys," he said. "We've been so close over the years. Hopefully, this will be a good way to go out."
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