HC women's hockey team earning respect, not fans.

• Position: SPORTS

Byline: Rich Garven

WORCESTER - It's Saturday afternoon and the Hart Center is all but deserted.

A few minutes ago, a crowd of about 800 - along with cheerleaders and a pep band sporting Holy Cross' colors of purple and white - had rooted on the women's basketball team to victory. Then they exited en masse, stepping out into filtered sunshine on a (finally) mild winter day.

A few curious fans opted to walk across the concourse and grab a program from the pile sitting in front of a shuttered ticket booth before stepping into the adjoining arena. They're greeted with a triple shot of cold, ice and emptiness.

Welcome to the world of Holy Cross women's hockey.

These skating Crusaders are definitely the most successful team on Mount St. James at the moment. They are arguably the most anonymous, an unwanted participant in some sort of athletic witness protection program.

"Nobody on campus knows how well we're doing this year," sophomore goalie Monique Gallant said matter-of-factly. "It's kind of sad."

The Crusaders are about to play MIT. Seventeen players are in uniform, ready to be deployed by coach Peter Van Buskirk and assistant Bill Bowes.

The focus is on the ice and the Engineers. Good thing because if anyone looked up they'd have seen 53 fans looking down from the metal bleachers, some of whom are wondering if Holy Cross can avoid a second straight loss.

Of course, it's four months into the season and the Crusaders have only lost once.

Putting that one-goal defeat to pesky nemesis Saint Anselm last weekend behind them, the Crusaders outshoot MIT, 36-10, and skate away 6-1 victors to run their record to a sterling 18-1-1.

The 18 wins is a record for this program, which is in its 10th year at the varsity level and has made serious strides the past few years.

Van Buskirk, who's 66 - make that "a young 66" - and has coached the Crusaders for nine seasons, is as proper as an English butler when asked about the remarkable run this winter.

"Well, we've got a pretty balanced team," he explains. "We had a good core of talent coming back and we added a few freshmen who stepped in and were instrumental players right off the bat."

Inside, though, he's apparently as fizzy as champagne.

"I think he's just beside himself," senior co-captain Stephanie Couzin said. "He probably wouldn't want me to say that. He's just ecstatic with how we're doing and trying to keep it going."

Couzin and forward Amy McGhee are the only seniors on a roster that has three...