Army Blanks AIC; Gahagen Picks up 5th Shutout

Tuesday, January 17

Springfield, MA

7:05 PM

Army West Point

12-8-3, 11-6-1AHC

AIC

5-13-6, 4-9-5AHC

Army

AIC

Army Blanks AIC; Gahagen Picks up 5th Shutout

January 17, 2017 | Hockey

Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Led by Parker Gahagen's 18 saves, the Army West Point hockey team blanked American International on Tuesday night by a score of 2-0 at the Mass Mutual Center.

The game was scoreless through the first two periods, but a shorthanded goal by Ryan Nick with 2:45 to go in the contest gave the Black Knights their 12th win of the season and an important two league points.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Army improves to 12-8-3 overall and 11-6-1 in the AHA. The two points earned today gives the Black Knights solo control in the league with 23 points.
Gahagen recorded his fifth shutout of the season and ninth of his career. He is tied for second in the Cadets' record book for single-season shutouts and second among career marks.
He still leads the nation in shutouts this season with the five.
Team captain Nick and assistant captain Tyler Pham were Army's goal scorers in Tuesday night's game.
Ian Mansfield and Dominic Franco had the assists.
The Black Knights have not been shutout in 23 games.
It was the third-straight game that the Black Knights have scored a shorthanded goal and second straight with an empty net goal.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The first period was scoreless, but the Black Knights made their presence known with a 10-5 shot advantage. Brendan McGuire attempted to scoop the puck over the AIC goalie, but Zackarias Skog stopped it with his glove to keep the score knotted at 0-0.
Conor Andrle came out of the gate in the second stanza, but was stopped by the pipe 40 seconds in.
Tyler Pham attempted a top-shelf shot which danced along the goal line, but was waved off with just under 12 to go in the second.
The second frame flew by as it was scoreless, and both teams were discipline with neither team visiting the penalty box.
The Black Knights had a scare four minutes into the final frame, but the pipe was not in favor of the Yellow Jackets and the score remained scoreless.
With seven minutes to go, Army went on a 5-on-3 power play, however, the Yellow Jackets killed off the pair of penalties, despite a few good chances for the Black Knights.
While killing off an interference penalty, Army scored its third shorthanded goal in three games. Mansfield stole the puck and fed it to Nick who beat Skog.
After assisting Franco in the past two games, Pham was able to score the insurance goal with 45 seconds remaining on the empty net. Franco had the assist to return the favor.

UP NEXT

Army will take a break from AHA contests as it welcomes long-time rival the Royal Military College to West Point on Saturday. The puck will drop at 7:35 p.m. and will be aired on Time Warner Cable throughout the state of New York.

For up-to-date information about Army hockey, please follow @ArmyWP_Hockey on Twitter and Instagram.