Army Clinches First Round Bye With Weekend Sweep

Saturday, February 24

West Point, NY

7:05 PM

Army West Point

15-13-6, 12-10-6AHA

Sacred Heart

11-19-4, 9-15-4AHA

Sacred Heart

Army West Point

Army Clinches First Round Bye With Weekend Sweep

February 24, 2018 | Hockey

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point hockey team completed its weekend sweep over Sacred Heart with a 4-3 victory Saturday night.

With the four-point weekend, Army finished tied for third in Atlantic Hockey standings with 30 points. Holy Cross edged the Cadets in the tie breaker, but the Black Knights won it over Air Force to earn the fourth-place slot.

The service academy rivals will renew their rivalry Mar. 9-11 for a best of three series in the Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals.

To purchase tickets, CLICK HERE, or by calling the ticket office at 1-877-TIX-ARMY or in person at Gate 3 of Michie Stadium.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Army finished tied for third in Atlantic Hockey standings with 30 points.
The Cadets return to the Quarterfinals of the AHC for the third-straight season. It is the second consecutive year to earn a First-Round bye.
The Black Knights earned four points on the weekend for its first home sweep of the year and third overall.
For the eighth time this season, the Cadets netted two goals on the power play.
Army honored its 11 seniors prior to the game and sent them off with an alma mater salute after tonight's game.
Cole Bruns made 26 saves to earn back-to-back wins this weekend.
He now owns a mark of 11-9-3 between the pipes in the 2017-18 season.
Three-year team captain Tyler Pham netted the game-winning goal tonight and added an assist earlier in the game.
He is inching closer to the 100-career point mark as he now boasts 96.
It was Pham's third game-winning goal of his career.
Conor Andrle is also fighting to gain 100 in his career and sits at 97 after his goal tonight.
For the second night in a row, Brendan Soucie had two points.
The sophomore netted a goal and assist on the night to mark his second straight multi point game and fifth in his two-year career.
After scoring two yesterday, Tucker DeYoung dished out two assists to finish the weekend with four points.
Michael Wilson also had two helpers tonight. It is the third time this season the sophomore has had a multi-assist performance.
It also marked the eighth contest in which Wilson had multiple points.
For the third game in a row, Dominic Franco scored a power play tip in goal for the Black Knights. He is now up to eight man-advantage scores this season.
John Laurito also made it on the score sheet with an assist in the game.
Army currently has five players with 20-or-more points this season.
Wilson paces the group with 29 and is followed by Franco (28), Pham (23), Alex Wilkinson (21) and Dalton MacAfee (20).
Army improves to 12-6-3 when being outshot by opponents and 12-3-3 when scoring first.
The Black Knights are now 5-6-4 at home and 5-2-1 in the month of February.

HOW IT HAPPENED
PERIOD ONE (ARMY 1 – SHU 1)

Sacred Heart committed the first penalty of the game giving Army the man-advantage.
With the time ticking down on the power play, Soucie fired a shot that deflected off the glass back towards Sacred Hearts goal. From behind the cage, Andrle got a piece of it with his stick to tap it in for the score.
The Pioneers capitalized on the power play with 2:25 remaining in the opening period to even the score at 1-1.

PERIOD TWO (ARMY 3 – SHU 2)

Soucie broke the tie with a wrister from the left dot 11:41 into the second period.
An Army power play ensued with the Black Knights netting their second of the contest with 6:45 on the clock.
For the third game in a row, Franco tipped the puck in on the man-advantage – this time coming from Pham and Wilkinson.
Sacred Heart kept the game close by netting a goal one minute later to cut Army's lead to 3-2.

PERIOD THREE (ARMY 4 – SHU 3)

Following a killed penalty that ran over from the second stanza, the Black Knights netted goal number four.
Laurito set up the play when released from the box for Pham to go one-on-one with Magnus for the score putting Army ahead, 4-2.
The goal was the eventual game-winner.
The Pioneers continued to inch in on the Black Knights and scored at the 9:09 mark keeping it a one-goal game at 4-3.

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