Army Gears up for Home-and-Home with Crusaders

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Riding a three-game unbeaten streak, the Army West Point hockey team enters a home-and-home weekend opposite Holy Cross.

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

THIS WEEK: BOUTING FOR POINTS

The Black Knights will play on the road in Worcester, Mass., Friday night before returning to the banks of the Hudson Saturday night.
Both contests will begin at 7:05 p.m. between the two squads vying for crucial points in Atlantic Hockey standings.
Army currently boasts 28 points to rank third, while the Crusaders have 26 points.
Saturday night's game at Tate Rink will be the final post-game Skate with the Black Knights event of the season. Fans just need to bring skates to the game.
The team will be handy to help guide you around the ice and to sign autographs.

LAST WEEK: WEEKEND SWEEP

The Black Knights swept Niagara last weekend to gain four points in Atlantic Hockey.
Army downed the Purple Eagles in game one after netting six straight goals.
Brendan Soucie tallied two goals and added an assist on the night.
Saturday's game was a little too close for comfort with Niagara taking a 2-0 lead before Tyler Pham evened things up with two consecutive goals.
Niagara and Army traded points until overtime ensued. With 41 seconds remaining, Conor Andrle netted the game winner to snap Army's overtime curse of 11 games without a win in extra time.
The last time the Black Knights won in overtime was Jan. 30, 2016, when they also defeated Niagara.
On the weekend, C.J. Reuschlein stood out with a three- goal performance, his first goals of the year. Andrle finished the weekend with a team-leading five points.

UPPERCLASSMEN SHINE

The upperclassmen shined last weekend in the team's sweep over Niagara and accounted for 17 of the team's points.
The senior class, which is primarily a defensive force, saw Reuschlein net three goals, his first of the season. Classmate Ryan Nick added an assist to improve the firstie's numbers on the season.
The junior class also had a spike of activity with Andrle's five points, Pham's three points and Nick DeCenzo's two assists. Brendan McGuire, Mike Preston and Blake Box also found themselves on the scoresheet in the assist category.
The rookies still lead the team in points, but the past weekend against Niagara helped bridge the gap for a well-rounded offense.

RACE TO THE TOP

The Black Knights are one of multiple teams vying for the top spots in Atlantic Hockey standings.
The Griffins are tops in the league with 36 points, followed closely by Air Force (35).
Army has jumped up to third with 28 points, while Robert Morris (27), Holy Cross (26), Mercyhurst (24), RIT (24) and Bentley (23) are also tight in the arms race.
The top five teams will receive first-round byes for the AHA Tournament which begins the first weekend of March.

LAST TIME OUT

Army and Holy Cross last met for a home-and-home in early December.
The Black Knights hosted the Crusaders on Friday night and came away with a 4-2 victory. The next day the Cadets quickly put the game out of reach with eight goals to Holy Cross' one.
Soucie recorded a hat trick for a four-point night, and received a shoutout from John Buccigross for his efforts along with the football team's victory over Navy.

SCOUTING HOLY CROSS

The Crusaders enter the weekend with a 13-11-6 record this season and a 10-8-6 mark in the AHA.
Last weekend, Holy Cross split with RIT in Rochester. The Crusaders blanked the Tigers, 4-0, on Friday, but fell to them 2-1 in overtime on Saturday.
Danny Lopez is fourth in the league with 1.03 points per game and is second in goals with 17.
Mike Barrett is the team's primary assister and averages 0.53 a game.
The Crusaders have the fourth-best scoring offense in Atlantic Hockey (2.80) and the fifth-best scoring defense (2.80).
Holy Cross has arguably the most discipline and is the only team in the league with under 10 minutes of penalties each game.

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

Army West Point Athletics