Army Charges Past New Hampshire, Earns 13th Win

Sunday, December 29

West Point, NY

4:05 PM

Army West Point

13-5-1, 10-5-1AHA

UNH

8-8-1, 4-5-0HE

New Hampshire

Army

Army Charges Past New Hampshire, Earns 13th Win

December 29, 2019 | Hockey

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Fueled by a two-goal third period, the Army West Point hockey team charged past New Hampshire Sunday in front of a sellout crowd at Tate Rink.

The Black Knights were down 4-3 after the first 40 minutes, but goals by seniors Alex Wilkinson and Michael Wilson gave Army the edge over the Wildcats for the team's 13th victory of the season.

Dominic Franco was unstoppable with the first two goals of the game and the primary assist on Wilson's game-winner. He also posted three crucial blocks in the contest.

Trevin Kozlowski turned away 19 shots and helped back the Cadets on a 5:00 kill in the third period.

The Black Knights capped the 2019 portion of their season with a 13-5-1 record, the most in program history for the first half of the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

New Hampshire jumped ahead 1-0 within the first 23 seconds of the action, but Army sprung to life and responded with two consecutive goals from Franco.
The first Army score was 39 seconds into the power play when John Zimmerman passed the puck up to Wilson and Franco who played a two-man game with the UNH netminder.
Less than two minutes later, Franco found the back of the net again. Colin Bilek and Daniel Haider were credited with the assists
Army's 2-1 lead wouldn't last for long though as the Wildcats tallied an even-strength goal at the 9:24 mark which tied the game heading into the second period.
The Black Knights started the second stanza strong thanks to a goal by Anthony Firriolo.
Eric Butte stole the puck in the defensive zone and worked it up to Firriolo. The rookie skated up the right side of the ice and scored from the bottom of the right circle to give the Cadets another lead.
New Hampshire notched back-to-back goals however to close out scoring in the second period giving the Wildcats a 4-3 advantage.
Army bounced back in the third period thanks to two goals by the senior classmen.
Wilkinson got the momentum rolling 53 seconds into the third frame with a top shelf goal. He was assisted by Bilek and Thomas Farrell.
The Black Knights killed off a 5:00 major penalty beginning at the 2:35 minute mark.
With 9:52 to go in the game, Wilson netted the game-winning goal. It was Army's second power play goal of the night and was set up by Franco and Zimmerman.
New Hampshire played with an empty net in the final 1:19 of the game, but Army's defense stepped in front of numerous shots to keep the lead alive.
Kozlowski also recorded seven saves in the third period alone.

HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

The Black Knights were 2-for-5 on the power play in tonight's game while holding New Hampshire to 0-for-3.
Army is 3-0 in non-conference action this season with wins over Union, UConn and New Hampshire.
Tonight was Franco's seventh-career three-point game.
The senior posted his first multi-goal game of the season and fourth multi-point game.
Franco netted the 21st power play goal in his career.
He boasts 41 goals as a Black Knight and 89 points.
Bilek and Zimmerman produced two assists each.
The two is a career-high for Bilek, while Zimmerman registered his fourth multi-assist game in his career.
Wilson scored his 10th-career game-winning goal for the Black Knights.
The senior now has seven goals and 13 points this season and 32 goals and 60 points in his career.
The goal was on the power play which marks his 11th in an Army sweater.
He also contributed an assist tonight for his fifth multi-point game of the year.
Wilkinson's goal was his 16th overall and 70th in his career.
The senior class now boasts 49 points this season and 347 throughout their careers.
Army turned out its most goals of the season in tonight's game with five.
Kozlowski notched 19 saves in the victory. It was the 18th win of the netminder's career.

UP NEXT

Army turns its attention to another wave of non-conference opponents as the team travels to Las Vegas for the Fortress Invitational hosted by the Golden Knights.
The Black Knights will take on No. 13 Providence on Friday. The team will then face either No. 3 Cornell or No. 6 Ohio State on Saturday.