Photos Courtesy Holy Cross Athletics.
Republished and edited to include NCDC information by permission of Holy Cross Athletics.
Five Holy Cross men’s hockey student-athletes earned spots on the All-Atlantic Hockey postseason teams. Three of the five players are NCDC Alumni.
Senior forward Liam McLinskey (formerly of the Jersey Hitmen) and senior goaltender Thomas Gale (formerly of the Junior Bruins and P.A.L. Jr. Islanders) were named to the All-Atlantic Hockey First Team, junior defenseman Mack Oliphant (formerly of the Junior Bruins) earned a spot on the second team, and junior forward Devin Phillips was named to the third team. Freshman forward Matt Kursonis was named to the Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team.
As an update on March 13, all three were named as finalists for AHA Individual Awards. McLinskey is up for Forward Of The Year, Gale is up for Goaltender Of The Year, and Oliphant is up for Defenseman of the Year.
McLinskey paced the Crusaders and the league with 39 points and 19 goals in Atlantic Hockey regular season play. His 20 assists were the most for the Crusaders and the fourth-most in the AHA. Overall, McLinskey’s 43 points, 20 goals, and 1.26 points per game lead the league. This is McLinskey’s second career first team selection.
McLinskey played both Midget and Junior hockey in the USPHL, all with the Hitmen. He was the 2020-21 NCDC Player Of The Year and also helped the Hitmen to the Dineen Cup Championship that year, as well. As of this date, he has exactly 119 points in his NCAA career – and he also had exactly 119 regular season points in his NCDC career.
Gale finished the regular season with a 20-11-2 record, 2.04 goals-against average, and .930 save percentage with two shutouts. His 20 wins and 895 saves were tied for the fourth-most in the nation, while his goals-against placed him 11th, and his save percentage tied for eighth. Gale was one of just 17 goaltenders to play 30+ games this season and paced the league in conference play with a 1.71 goals-against and .940 save percentage. This is his first Atlantic Hockey postseason honor.
Gale first played with the Junior Bruins in the 2019-20 season, and he won 32 games that year, eventually being named the NCDC Goaltender Of The Year. He returned to the NCDC in 2020-21, playing for the Jr. Islanders and registering 13 wins in 16 appearances, as well as two playoff wins.
Oliphant posted a career-high 21 points over the Atlantic Hockey regular season on two goals and 19 assists in 30 games. Oliphant’s 19 assists were the ninth-most by a defenseman in the NCAA this season, and the second-most for blueliners in Atlantic Hockey. This is his second career Atlantic Hockey postseason honor, having earned All-Rookie honors as a freshman in 2023.
Oliphant played for the Junior Bruins in 2020-21, the one season in which all three Holy Cross award-winners who are NCDC alumni faced each other. He had five assists in 36 games and also helped the Junior Bruins reach the semifinals. He added an assist in the 2021 playoffs.
No. 1 seed Holy Cross (22-13-2) will host no. 5 seed Army in the best-of-three Atlantic Hockey semifinal round, beginning on Friday, March 14 at 7 p.m.
