Army Sweeps Holy Cross to Advance

Saturday, March 12

Worcester, MA

7:05 PM

Army West Point

14-14-9

Holy Cross

18-13-5

Army West Point

Holy Cross

Army Sweeps Holy Cross to Advance

March 12, 2016 | Hockey

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army hockey team erased an early deficit against Holy Cross and advanced to the Atlantic Hockey Semifinals in Rochester with a 2-1 win to sweep the series on Saturday night at the Hart Center.

The Black Knights (14-14-9) got a goal from Ryan Nick with 14:08 remaining in the third period to go ahead 2-1 and that was all Parker Gahagen needed. The junior netminder made 36 saves between the pipes to earn his 14th win of the season. Taylor Maruya also scored for the Black Knights with his goal coming shorthanded to tie the game at 1-1 in the second period.

"I feel we have been a team of destiny," said head coach Brian Riley. "The hockey gods seem to be smiling on us, but really proud of our guys' effort tonight. I knew that Holy Cross was going to come with a big push at the start of the game and once we got through that first period we felt we were in a good spot."

Holy Cross (18-13-5) finishes its season with Castan Sommer leading the way with his eighth of the season to put the home team up 1-0 in the first period. Paul Berrafato wasn't tested for stretches and made 18 saves in total on the night.

The Crusaders took the first lead of the game with a goal from Sommer. He followed his own shot and beat Gahagen. Sommer's initial shot was stopped by the netminder with his stick, but Sommer was quicker to the rebound and jammed it home for the 1-0 lead. Brett Lubanski and Scott Pooley were given assists on the play.

Army answered with a shorthanded goal from Taylor Maruya. The momentum was all on Holy Cross' side as Army was called for a five-minute major, but the rookie had other ideas. He picked the pocket of the defenseman at the blueline and broke in all alone on Berrafato. He tucked it underneath the pads to tie the game at 1-1 going into the third period. Army has netted two shorthanded goals this season and both have been by Maruya.

The Black Knights took the lead with 14:08 remaining in the game with Nick scoring his seventh of the season. He shot the puck from the left point and it didn't have a ton of speed, but had the eyes to get through traffic. Josh Roberts provided the screen in front as he was being hit. That was just enough to distract Berrafato, who never saw the puck and Army lead 2-1.

Holy Cross put a lot of pressure in the final minutes with long possessions and forced Army into multiple icing calls. However, Parker Gahagen and the team defense came up huge to hold on for the 2-1 victory.

Army will take on Robert Morris in the Atlantic Hockey Semifinals in Rochester, N.Y. with the time to be determined. The Colonials beat Bentley, 6-3, in the deciding third game of their series.