Franco Leads Army to Shootout Victory over #20 Sacred Heart

Saturday, February 22

West Point, NY

7:05 PM

Army West Point

17-13-3, 14-10-3AHA

Sacred Heart

20-10-3, 17-8-2AHA

OT 1

Sacred Heart

Army

Franco Leads Army to Shootout Victory over #20 Sacred Heart

February 22, 2020 | Hockey

Box Score

Black Knights Clinch Home Ice Advantage for Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point hockey team clinched home ice advantage for the Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals with a shootout victory over No. 20 Sacred Heart at Tate Rink Saturday night.

Army jumped ahead 2-1 in the first period thanks to goals by Dominic Franco and Patrick Smyth.

The Black Knights scored their third to close out the second period when Mason Krueger found the back of the net, but Sacred Heart rallied with two in the third to force overtime.

Trevin Kozlowski kept the Black Knights alive with a tremendous save with 42 seconds to go in the 3-vs-3 period. He then made three saves in the shootout to help lift Army to the shootout victory.

Eric Butte kept Army alive in the shootout with a score in the third round to set Franco up for the winner.

The Black Knights await seeding for the AHA Tournament, but have now clinched a first-round bye and home ice for the quarterfinals (March 13-15).

HOW IT HAPPENED

Army came out strong in the first period striking twice in a two-minute span.
Franco got things rolling for the Black Knights.
Smyth kept the momentum going for Army with a transition goal setup by Kendrick Frost.
Sacred Heart came back with 13:30 on the clock to cut the Cadets' lead to 2-1.
Army netted an even-strength score to close out the second period thanks to Krueger who netted one from the doorstep.
The Pioneers scored back-to-back goals to open the third period to tie things up at 3-3.
This forced overtime. Neither team was able to score on 5-vs-5 or 3-vs-3 which sent it to a sudden death shootout.
Army was on its heels as Sacred Heart's Mike Lee finished, but Butte came in clutch with a score of his own to keep the shootout alive.
Kozlowski stopped the Pioneers' attempt to start out the fourth round to setup Franco for the shootout win.
Franco scored top shelf to clinch the bonus point for the Black Knights and to help clinch home ice advantage for Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals.

HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Army is now 3-0 in shootouts.
Franco led the Black Knights to the shootout victory with the first goal in regulation.
The senior now totals 10 tallies this season and 45 in his career.
It marked his 22nd point of his senior season and 96th in his career.
Smyth's scored his second of the season, while Krueger notched goal number eight of the year.
Krueger also notched an assist in the game for his third multi-point contest of the year and seventh of his career.
Krueger now totals 17 points in 2019-20 and 41 in his three-years.
Kozlowski recorded 23 saves on the night.
It is the 18th game this season the junior netminder has garnered at least 20 saves.
Anthony Firriolo posted a pair of assists tonight.
It is the freshman's second multi-assist game and third multi-point performance.
John Zimmerman, Frost and Zach Evancho were also in the assist column tonight.
The Black Knights held Sacred Heart, the third-best power play team in college hockey, scoreless on extra-man opportunities this weekend.