Hockey Skates Back Into League Play

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army hockey team jumps back into league play this weekend with a visit to Niagara for a two-game set on Friday and Saturday.

Both games are scheduled for a 7:05 p.m. puck drop at Dwyer Arena.

HOW TO FOLLOW
TELEVISION • Time Warner Cable Sports Channel (Friday)
RADIO • 1420 WLNA-AM/1260 WBNR-AM
VIDEO • EverSport.tv ($)
AUDIO • Knight Vision ($)
LIVE STATISTICS • sidearmstats.com/niagara/mhockey
GAME NOTES • Army Notes
TWITTER • @ArmyWP_Hockey

THIS WEEK: RESUMING LEAGUE PLAY AT NIAGARA
The Black Knights are back in Atlantic Hockey play with a visit to Niagara for a pair of clashes on Friday and Saturday night. The Purple Eagles currently sit at the bottom of the league standings with a 3-13-2 conference record and have gone winless in their last seven games. They are 3-18-3 overall with their wins coming against American International, Bentley and RIT. Niagara traveled to Air Force last weekend and got swept by the Falcons. The Purple Eagles are allowing 3.62 goals per game, which is the most in the league. They have averaged just under two goals a contest and their power play has nine goals on 96 chances.

NEXT WEEK: BACK HOME AGAINST HOLY CROSS
Army is back at Tate Rink next weekend for its first competition against Holy Cross this season. The Crusaders have been a big surprise in the league this year with a 13-9-2 overall mark and an 11-5-2 record in conference. They were on a 10-game unbeaten streak until a Jan. 10 loss at Dartmouth. Since that loss, Holy Cross is 1-1-1, including a loss and a tie against Canisius last weekend. The Crusaders head to RIT this weekend to face a hot Tigers squad.

LAST WEEK: ARMY WINS CHALLENGE TROPHY
For the fifth-straight year, the Army hockey team won the Challenge Trophy with a 4-3 win against RMC in the 80th all-time meeting between the two military academies last Saturday night. The Black Knights were led by Ian Mansfield, who tallied two goals and the gamewinner, while Josh Roberts added two points with a goal and an assist. Cole Bruns got the start in net and earned the win with 27 saves. It was the 44th time Army had won the Challenge Trophy and 16th time that the Black Knights have won north of the border.

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. Nikolai Busko has the call on the radio as well as 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. Both contests at Niagara will be live online.

JERSEY RETIREMENT
The Black Knights will honor three greats next weekend at Tate Rink as Army retires the jerseys of Dave Merher (USMA '69), George Clark (USMA '75), Dave Rost (USMA '77). The event is all-weekend long with the ceremony and banner reveal on Saturday night prior to the Holy Cross game on Feb. 6. The three are the first skaters to have their jerseys retired.

SCOUTING THE PURPLE EAGLES
Niagara enters this weekend with a 3-18-3 record overall and a 3-13-2 mark in Atlantic Hockey play. The Purple Eagles last won on Dec. 11 in a 2-0 victory at RIT and since that game, they are 0-8-1. They have been in a lot of close game with seven of the last nine games decided by two goals or less. In addition to the win at RIT, Niagara has earned wins over American International and Bentley, along with ties opposite Robert Morris and Penn State. The Purple Eagles have struggled to score goals and are averaging 1.92 per game.

Sophomore Derian Plouffe leads the way with 13 points on nine goals and four assists. He has three of Niagara's nine power play goals. Senior Dan Kolenda is the veteran on the squad and he has 11 points on seven goals and four helpers. Junior Stephen Pietrobon and rookie Nick Farmer are the other two in double figures with 10 points each.

In net, all three netminders have seen significant action. Rookie Guillaume Therien has started a team-high nine games, but junior Jackson Teichroeb has taken over as the starter in the last four games. Overall he has a 1-6-1 mark and a 2.20 goals against average and a .920 save percentage.

SERIES HISTORY
Army and Niagara have met 14 times prior to this weekend and the Purple Eagles have had the advantage in the series with an 13-1-0 record against the Black Knights. Army has yet to win a game at Dwyer Arena since the series began in 2000. In the series, there has been only one overtime game and that came in 2001 when Niagara earned a 5-4 win. The Purple Eagles own an eight-game win streak versus Army after sweeping last season's series.

Hockey Skates Back Into League Play

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Players Mentioned

Cole Bruns

Ian Mansfield

Josh Roberts

Army West Point Athletics