New England Hockey Journal - December 2015 - 25

Mark Seliger; Al Correia (with mom)

more at ease with the leadership part of
it and my expectations and where we're
going as a program, (and) that's taken a
lot of weight off his shoulders."
Taking on the captaincy as a junior in
the aftermath of a coaching change was
only the first rough spot during a 201415 season in which Vidal says he "never
got into a rhythm." He lost two and a
half weeks to a broken index finger in
November, although the team enjoyed a
strong start and occupied second place
in Atlantic Hockey at the Christmas
break. However, star goalie Matt Ginn
got hurt in early January and missed
nearly a month of action. As soon as
Ginn returned, Vidal broke his hand and
was sidelined for almost all of February.
The injuries to the team's co-captains
took a toll, as the Crusaders fell to sixth
place and didn't secure a first-round bye.
"I've never had to sit out that much in
my career," Vidal said. "It's eye-opening

 Matt Vidal is tied for second on the Crusaders with nine points
through 10 games. Above, Matt with his mother, Nancy, at the
2013 Pink the Rink Game. Nancy is battling pancreatic cancer.
Right, Vidal presents a check to Pink Revolution.

fast, he can get in on the forecheck and
he can be disruptive and be relentless on
the puck. When he does have the puck,
he can be on the attack fast and he can
transition really quick and get to the net
and drive the 'D' and put the other team
on its heels. Quite honestly, the way that
Matty plays fits perfectly with how we
want to play as a team."
As Bolton noted, leadership always
has come naturally to Vidal, who served
two seasons as team captain for the Bay
State Breakers in the EJHL before heading to Holy Cross. But Berard believes
Vidal has made significant strides in
that area as well over the last year.

"He's just a lot more comfortable in
his leadership role," said Berard, whose
predecessor, Paul Pearl (Winthrop,
Mass.), had spent 19 seasons at the helm.
"The transition to me being the head
coach is over. Last year, not only was
he transitioning to being a captain, but
he was transitioning to being a captain
with a new, first-year head coach. And I
think that there were a lot of things that
went along with that. Now, me being
in my second year and Matt and I having such a great relationship, he's much

and it makes you cherish all those practices that you sometimes don't want to
go to. It makes you not take anything for
granted."
Wearing a cast on his hand, Vidal
returned to action for the playoff series
against last-place Niagara. After dropping Game 1, Holy Cross tied the series
by winning a triple-overtime thriller, the
longest game in league history. One
night later, though, the Crusaders lost
the decisive Game 3 despite outshooting

Niagara 50-26. Vidal didn't record a goal
or an assist in the series, but his willingness to play through the injury earned
him plenty of points within the team.
"He couldn't move his thumb," Berard said. "He played three games and
he played his heart out. And if you were
up in the stands, you would never know,
but for those of us that knew what was going on, one, it was incredible that he was
able to play, and two, that he gave such
great effort. And it just speaks to the type
of character that he has. When adversity
hits, it reveals character, and his character
was certainly revealed last year."
The setbacks weren't limited to hockey.
Last year, for the second straight season,
Vidal helped lead the Holy Cross team's
Power Play Points for PINK campaign,
which raises money for PINK Revolution,
a breast cancer alliance in Central Massachusetts. The Power Play Points program
raised more than $17,000 in 2013-14, but
last season a major snowstorm hit Worcester on the day of the biggest fundraiser,
Holy Cross' annual Pink the Rink game.
As a result, Vidal says, the campaign
raised less than $7,000 for the season.
That disappointment, coupled with the
news of his mother's illness, has increased
Vidal's resolve. He has set a goal of $20,000
for this year's Power Play Points for PINK,
a program which 2013 graduate Brandon
Nunn started four years ago. (This season's Pink the Rink game will take place
Feb. 19 against American International at
the Hart Center.)
"I have her in mind with that," said Vidal, whose mother also has battled breast
cancer. "I have her in mind every game,
pretty much, just knowing how hard
she's fighting for her life. I can't fight the
fight for her, but I'm doing everything
I can to just try and raise awareness. ...
A potential breakthrough in one cancer
could lead to a breakthrough in another,
so I'm trying to work as hard as I can to
raise as much money as I can."
Berard, who lost both his mother and
mother-in-law to breast cancer, said he
and the team have pledged to help Vidal
reach that goal of $20,000. "It's something that's very important to our program," the coach said. "He's done a great
job of continuing the tradition."
Vidal has carved a spot in the Crusaders' on-ice history, as well. In his freshman year, Holy Cross knocked off a Yale
team that would go on to win the national championship. A year later, he scored
a goal and two assists to help HC shock
Boston College, an eventual Frozen Four
participant. He led the Crusaders with 18
assists that season and finished second
in points with 23 in 37 games.
However, postseason success has
eluded the Crusaders in recent years;
they haven't won the conference championship since 2006. Vidal's teams have

December 2015

Continued on Page 59

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