WORCESTER, Mass. — Grayson Constable captained the Holy Cross men's hockey team a season ago before graduating this past spring with a bachelor's degree in psychology.

Now a graduate student at LIU, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Constable returned to his alma mater during the opening weekend of the 2023-24 college hockey season — and made his impact immediately felt.

Constable scored his first two LIU goals, including the game's opening score in the first period, although the Sharks ultimately fell to the Crusaders, 5-2, on Sunday night at Hart Center Rink.

Constable's second goal came with 8 minutes, 9 seconds remaining in the third period and pulled LIU within 3-2 as the Sharks played a tight contest against a top-tier opponent for the second straight night.

LIU had opened its season with a 3-2 loss to No. 16 Penn State at sold-out Northwell Health Ice Center on Long Island on Saturday night.

Constable, a right winger from Lethbridge, Alberta, appeared in 119 career games with the Crusaders from 2019-20 through 2022-23, tallying 14 goals and 12 assists.

"It definitely felt satisfying scoring in the opening frame against my old school," Constable said. "We ended up being on the power play down two goals with a handful of minutes left on the clock in the third period, and Josh Zary made a nice play to me back door for the tap-in to get us to within one. Unfortunately, we ran out of time, but it was definitely a game I won't ever forget. It was an awesome opportunity to come back to Worcester and play one more game at the Hart."

Constable and the Sharks continue their challenging season-opening schedule when they play at sixth-ranked Boston College on Friday at 7 p.m.