Like a lot of hockey players, Holy Cross senior forward Liam McLinskey’s journey to conference MVP and All-American wasn’t a straight line.
After two seasons of junior hockey with the Jersey Hitmen of the NCDC where he put up 119 points in 94 games, McLinskey was recruited by Quinnipiac and entered his freshman year in 2021.
But he found it hard to crack the lineup for the Bobcats, a talented team that went on to win the national championship the following season.
“At the end of the year, in my meeting with the coaches, it was pretty clear to me that I probably wasn’t going to play the next year,” said McLinskey. “They were an older team and pretty deep.”
The Pearl River, N.Y, native entered the transfer portal soon after, and was snatched up quickly by Holy Cross coach Bill Riga, who previously recruited McLinskey when Riga was an assistant at Quinnipiac.
“I talked to my family, and talked to my advisor,” said McLinskey. “Coach Riga was first to reach out.”
McLinskey’s first season at Holy Cross, his sophomore year, started slowly, with five goals scored by Christmas. But in the second half, things started to pick up, culminating with a record nine goals in the post season, helping the Crusaders to a spot in the championship game for the first time since 2006.
“Confidence was a major part of it,” said McLinskey. “It took a while getting to know the guys and finding my game. For a whole year (previously) I was practicing but not playing and it took a while to get back in the swing of things.”
McLinskey finished the season with 21 goals and 4 assists, and he complemented that the following year by scoring 18 goals and raising his assist total to 28.
“I’m always trying to get better,” he said. “I’m looking for chances to move the puck better and make plays to help the team.”
If his sophomore season put McLinskey on everyone’s radar, his junior year saw him named a top-10 Hobey Baker finalist, Holy Cross’ first ever. He was also named an All-American, just the second time a Crusader received that honor.
McLinskey, who was also the Atlantic Hockey player of the year in 2023-24, currently has 17 goals and 13 assists. He scored his 100th career point on Jan. 25.
As his college career winds down, McLinskey, an economics major, says the support of his family has helped him immensely.
“They’re at every home game,” he said. “It’s a three or four hour drive, so it’s manageable. They even even flew out to Air Force this season to see me play.”
McLinskey says some of his fondest memories of his college career have been the Crusaders’ playoff runs, which ended a win short of a championship in 2023 and an exit in the semifinals last season.
“The first playoff run (in 2023), we came together as a team and it was a lot of fun. Last year too, we went on a really good run.”
This year, the Crusaders control their own destiny. Win out, and they’ll be the top seed in the conference tournament. Holy Cross hasn’t lost since Jan. 10 (7-0-1).
“We’re also on a little bit of a run right now,” said McLinskey. “We got some guys back from injury and playing well.”
When asked if he’s watching the standings, McLinskey said,”It’s definitely something that we’re aware of, but we’re trying not to think ahead. We’re focused on the next game.”
McLinskey says he’s also not thinking too far ahead about what his post-college career will look like.
“I’m not totally sure yet,” he said. “I want to continue to play hockey, but I’m not sure what path I will go down. I’ll figure it out after our season ends.”
