WORCESTER, Mass.-Senior goalkeeper Matt Ginn (Lindsay, Ont.) held back a furtive rally by the American International College ice hockey team to help his Holy Cross Crusaders earn a 3-2 win at the Hart Center.

AIC now stands at 0-2-1 on the year and 0-1-1 in the Atlantic Hockey Association.

In the first period, Holy Cross pummeled the cage of sophomore goalkeeper Hunter Leisner (Garland, Texas), putting 11 of the first 12 shots of the game on the net.

The one shot by AIC, however, was the one that found a way through. Freshman center Johno May (Mahtomedi, Minn.) came over center with a pass to junior left wing David Gandara (Canyon Lake, Calif.), and as Gandara came over the blue line, he snapped a wrist shot over Ginn's glove and under the crossbar for his second of the year and of the weekend to stake AIC to a 1-0 lead at 4:41.

Outshot 18-3, AIC held the lead after one. However, in the second, the story was different. Holy Cross tied the game on a shot by junior right wing Sean Gustin (Stoneham, Mass.) for his first of the year at 4:31, and then took a lead on a blast from the point on the power play by junior defenseman Jake Bolton (Ellington, Conn.) for his first at 14:25.

At the end of the second period, the teams had a scrum that resulted in an AIC power play, and the Yellow Jackets took advantage as freshman center Bryant Christian (Moorhead, Minn.) was able to connect a pass to junior left wing Chris Porter (Stoufville, Ont.) for his first of the year at 1:13.

However, the Crusaders responded. A turnover behind the net proved fatal as the puck squirted to an uncovered sophomore left wing Brett McKinnon (Kelowna, B.C.), who ripped a shot home for his second of the year at 3:02.

AIC dominated the third period in terms of shots, holding a 16-6 edge, and also hit the post three times, most frustratingly on back-to-back shots by sophomore defenseman Dominic Racobaldo (Pennsauken, N.J.) and senior center Alexander MacMillan (Calgary, Alb.), and then as they peppered the net with the extra attacker in the final minute, Ginn held off a barrage of attempts to save the game.

Leisner, who now is 0-2-0 on the year, stopped 31 shots in a strong effort.

AIC finally hosts a game when they welcome two-time AHA Finalist Canisius to the Olympia Ice Center for a weekend series next Friday and Saturday. The games start at 7:05 p.m.