Hockey Prepares for Two with Robert Morris

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Black Knights return to the ice for the first time since Nov. 10 with a two-game series with Robert Morris at Tate Rink this weekend.

HOW TO FOLLOW
TELEVISION • None
RADIO • 1260 WBNR-AM/1420 WLNA-AM
VIDEO • EverSport.tv ($)
AUDIO • Knight Vision ($)
LIVE STATISTICS • sidearmstats.com/army/mhockey/
GAME NOTES • Army Notes | RMU Notes
TICKETS • Hockey Tickets
TWITTER • @ArmyWP_Hockey

THIS WEEK: SERIES WITH ROBERT MORRIS
The Black Knights are back at Tate Rink on Nov. 20 and 21 with Robert Morris making the trip to West Point for a pair of games. The Colonials started the season with a four-game unbeaten streak and also got a win over nationally-ranked Michigan in Ann Arbor. Robert Morris cracked into the top-20 earlier this season. The Colonials split a weekend series with American International. The Yellow Jackets stunned them with a 3-2 win on Friday night, but Robert Morris followed up with a 7-1 defeat on Saturday. Senior Greg Gibson is the league leader in points with 16 on eight goals and eight assists. He has two power play tallies and two gamewinners. Like Army, the Colonials have had almost two weeks off prior to tonight.

NEXT WEEK: THANKSGIVING IN BUFFALO
The Black Knights are ready to be on the road for Thanksgiving for the second-straight year as Army travels to Canisius for a league clash next Friday and Saturday. Friday's matchup has been moved up to 4:05 p.m., while Saturday's is a 7:35 p.m. faceoff at the Harborcenter. Canisius has had a rough stretch with four consecutive losses, including a sweep at the hands of Ohio State. The Golden Griffins are in action at home this weekend against Mercyhurst.

LAST WEEK: GAHAGEN, BLACK KNIGHTS BLANK UCONN
Behind 23 saves by cow Parker Gahagen, the hockey team blanked UConn on the road Tuesday night with a 2-0 win. Cow Ryan Nick tallied the gamewinner and Clint Carlisle added some insurance in the final minutes with an empty net goal. It was Gahagen's second career shutout and first of the season. Army hasn't given up a goal in the last five periods (110 minutes), and has outscored its opponents 4-0 during that span. The Black Knights had last weekend off and are back on the ice for a two-game set against Robert Morris this weekend.

ON THE RADIO
Both games will be live on the radio in the Hudson Valley on 1260 WBNR-AM in Beacon and 1430 WLNA-AM in Peekskill. Zack Daly will have the call on Friday night, while Nikolai Busko will be on the air on Saturday night. The game is also live on Knight Vision at GoArmyWestPoint.com.

LIVE STREAM THROUGH EVERSPORT
EverSport is back as the web stream provider of the Atlantic Hockey Association. Games throughout the season, both home and away, will be live on EverSport.tv by searching Atlantic Hockey. EverSport allows payment per game and season.

DEFENSE STANDS TALL
The Army netminder Parker Gahagen and the defense have been combining to shut out its opponents in the last five periods. The stretch has allowed the Black Knights to come back and force a 2-2 tie with RIT on Nov. 7 and then shut down UConn on the road with a 2-0 victory. During the last two games, Army has blocked 37 shots on defense, led by Ryan Nick's seven and Joe Kozlak's five.

ALL AROUND PLAYER
Ryan Nick was Army's best offensive player in the Black Knights' win over UConn with a goal and an assist from the blueline for his first career multi-point game. The junior has a career best two goals already this season and his three points leads all blueliners. Nick is also top of the list for blocks with 16 in eight games.

WHO'S GOING TO SCORE?
Army has scored 13 goals this season for 10 different skaters. Trevor Fidler, Ryan Nick and Clint Carlisle share the team lead with two apiece, while seven teammates have found the net this season. Tipper Higgins joined the group with his first collegiate goal against Bentley on Oct. 31. Mike Preston joined Nick on the list of scoring among defenseman with a goal against RIT two weeks ago.

COACHING MARK
Army's head coach Brian Riley is coming up on his 400th career game behind the bench for the hockey program. He currently sits at 395 games coached in 11-plus seasons with the Black Knights. He will hit the mark on Dec. 4 when Army plays at Sacred Heart.

SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
Robert Morris enters the weekend series with a 4-2-2 record overall and a 3-1-2 conference mark. The Colonials have split their last four games with wins and losses at Michigan and at home against American International. They cracked the top 20 prior to the series with the Yellow Jackets, but fell out after splitting the weekend series on Nov. 6-7. The Colonials are dangerous on the power play with eight goals in 28 chances for a 28.6 percent success rate. They are averaging over 4.3 goals per game and have given up 2.25 to their opponents. Robert Morris is one of the most experienced teams in the nation with eight skaters playing over 110 career games.

Senior Greg Gibson has had a hot start to the season with 16 points in eight games for a two-point average. He leads the conference in goals with eight and in points. He has added eight assists as well. Gibson has netted two power play goals and two gamewinners. Classmate Zac Lynch chips in with 14 points on five goals and a team best nine assists. He has 115 points in his career with 121 games played.

In net, Robert Morris has arguably the best goaltender in the conference in Dalton Izyk. He has appeared in four games as he is splitting time with senior Terry Shafer. Izyk has a .958 save percentage and a 1.33 goals against average. Both of those numbers lead Atlantic Hockey. He has a shutout and a 3-0-1 record. Shafer is 1-2-1 and has posted a 3.24 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.

SERIES HISTORY
Robert Morris and Army have played 13 games since their first meeting back in 2011. The Colonials own a 7-3-3 series lead. Last year, the two schools played early in the season and RMU took the first game by a 3-0 score and Army came back and earned a 3-3 tie the following night.

Hockey Prepares for Two with Robert Morris

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Players Mentioned

Clint Carlisle

Trevor Fidler

Parker Gahagen

Tipper Higgins

Joe Kozlak

Ryan Nick

Mike Preston

Army West Point Athletics