Black Knights Face AIC in Midweek Tilt

WEST POINT, N.Y. – After just a few days of rest, the Army West Point hockey team will be facing AIC Tuesday night for a midweek tilt in Springfield, Mass., at 7:05 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW
VIDEO • AtlanticHockey.TV ($)
RADIO • 1260 WBNR-AM/1420 WLNA-AM
AUDIO • GoArmyWestPoint.com/watch
LIVE STATISTICS • aicyellowjackets.com
TWITTER • @ArmyWP_Hockey

THIS WEEK: MIDWEEK TILT

Army and AIC met in the first week of December where the Black Knights came out on top by a 1-0 score.
Ian Mansfield netted the game winner with 10:47 left in the game. Mansfield's three goals throughout his career have all come against the Yellow Jackets.
Tuesday's game will be played at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield, the home of the AHL Thunderbirds, which is the affiliate of the Florida Panthers.
The General Manager of the Thunderbirds is Army hockey alum Eric Joyce who graduated in 2002. The owner of the Panthers organization is also a West Point grad in Vinny Viola ('97).

LAST WEEK: TAKING DOWN HURST

Last weekend was one for the books as the Cadets snapped a 25-game unbeaten streak by Mercyhurst in front of a sellout crowd.
It marked the first time that head coach Brian Riley defeated his son Jack Riley's team. Army also donned its new gold jerseys on Saturday night which was the first win in the alternate color, and the first win in the New Year.
The two points earned with the win also gave the Black Knights a boost in AHA standings where they now are second behind Air Force.
One of the highlights of the weekend was Dominic Franco's two shorthanded goals. The freshman teamed up with Tyler Pham both nights to score with a man down against the Lakers.
Dalton MacAfee secured the first power play goal of his career on Saturday in the first period. Mercyhurst came back to tie things up in the second, but a three-goal third period by Army secured the game for the Black Knights.
Trevor Fidler was credited with the game winner before Franco netted the shortie and Brendan Soucie added an insurance goal on the empty net.

ROOKIES POWER OFFENSE

The plebe class has been the difference maker for the Black Knights' offense this season.
The freshmen lead the team across all offensive statistical categories. Together, the freshmen account for 29 goals and 35 assists.
Zach Evancho and Soucie lead the team with 10 goals apiece.
Alex Wilkinson is second on the team in assists with 10, but boasts the most of any defender on the team.
In points, Evancho (17) and Franco (16) are the leaders.

SPLITSVILLE

The Atlantic Hockey Association saw no clear dominance last weekend.
Not a single team swept their opponent, but the closest came out of Colorado where Canisius defeated Air Force 4-3 on Friday and tied the Falcons 2-2 (OT) on Saturday.
Army and Mercyhurst split along with AIC and RIT, Sacred Heart and Holy Cross and Bentley and Niagara.
All of the jumble helped the Cadets climb back up to the top tier of the standings where they now rank second with 21 points, just one behind service academy rival Air Force.

PLAY OF THE WEEK

Although Friday night marked a loss for Army, senior goaltender Parker Gahagen made an outstanding save which was named the Army Athletic Association's Play of the Week.
You have to see it to believe it, but here is what happened: off a Mercyhurst breakaway, Gahagen makes an initial save and gets knocked onto his back before one of the Lakers takes another shot off the rebound.
Still on his back, Gahagen makes a miraculous save with his stick to prevent a goal.

SCOUTING AIC

Since their last meeting against Army, the Yellow Jackets have gone 2-7-0 overall and 1-4-0 in league play with their solo AHA win coming against RIT last weekend.
AIC was blanked by the Tigers 5-0 on Friday night before coming back on Saturday where the Yellow Jackets netted five of their own to win the game by a score of 5-3.
Freshman forward Patrik Demel had a standout weekend for AIC and was named the AHA Rookie of the Week after posting a three-point performance.
It was the first time a Yellow Jacket has had three points in their collegiate debut in more than 10 seasons, and was the second week in a row that AIC captured Rookie of the Week honors as Joel Kocur earned it the previous week.
Blake Christensen is tied with Army's Evancho for the lead in Atlantic Hockey rookie scoring with 17 points on the season, and the pair are tied 16th nationally in scoring among all freshmen.

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

Black Knights Face AIC in Midweek Tilt

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Zach Evancho

Trevor Fidler

Dominic Franco

Parker Gahagen

Dalton MacAfee

Ian Mansfield

Tyler Pham

Brendan Soucie

Alex Wilkinson

Army West Point Athletics

Black Knights Face AIC in Midweek Tilt

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Zach Evancho

Trevor Fidler

Dominic Franco

Parker Gahagen

Dalton MacAfee

Ian Mansfield

Tyler Pham

Brendan Soucie

Alex Wilkinson

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