Hockey Comes Up Short in First Game With Wisconsin

Thursday, October 14

Madison, WI

8 PM

Army West Point

0-3-1

Wisconsin

1-2-0

Army West Point

Wisconsin

Hockey Comes Up Short in First Game With Wisconsin

October 15, 2021 | Hockey

Box Score

By: Phil Tor

GAME 4
SCORE	Army West Point Black Knights 1 Wisconsin Badgers 4
RECORDS	Army West Point (0-3-1, 0-1-1 Atlantic) Wisconsin (1-2-0, 0-0-0 BIG 10)
SCORERS	Army – Joey Baez, 11:50 - 2nd Wisconsin – Sam Stange, 5:11 - 2nd Jack Gorniak, 14:58 - 3rd Owen Lindmark, 19:05 - 3rd (EN) Ryder Donavan, 19:38 - 3rd (EN)
LOCATION	Kohl Center - Madison, Wisc.

MADISON, Wis. - The 4-1 final score was nowhere close to indicative of the way the Army West Point hockey team played tonight as the Black Knights battled until the very last second, frustrating a Badgers offense loaded with nine NHL draft picks. The Black Knights had the Badgers locked in a 1-1 game until a Wisconsin goal late in the third period.

The Wisconsin native Gavin Abric was stellar once again between the pipes for Army, stopping 39 shots and allowing only two goals on the night.

Joey Baez added the goal for Army, but it was not enough to overcome the Badgers who would go on to win 4-1 after a pair of late-game empty net goals.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Playing at Wisconsin for the first time since 1965-66, Coach Brian Riley started all four of his Wisconsin born players including Marshal Plunkett (West Salem), Noah Wilson (Fond du Lac), Gavin Abric (Hayward) and Josh Bohlin (Wausau).

It did not take long for Army to settle into the larger sized Kohl Center ice, as the Black Knights would outshoot the Badgers 5-4 through the first six minutes of action. Jake Felker created the best scoring chance in the first 20 minutes with a wrap around shot that was just deflected wide by the Wisconsin goaltender. Kendrick Frost would put a couple of drives on net towards the end of the period but was unable to find the back of the net.

The battle continued into the second period, as Army created a few early scoring chances on the power play off the sticks of John Keranen and Joey Baez. Wisconsin would kill off the rest of the Army power play before scoring the first goal of the game five minutes into the second period.

The Cadets stood strong and continued to battle the Badgers, who turned up the offensive pressure midway through the second period. Gavin Abric matched the Wisconsin intensity, with six saves to open the door for the Army offense.

Joey Baez, the Black Knights' extra skater in the lineup, jumped onto the ice and caught a pass from Marshal Plunkett and threw a shot on goal that deflected off a few sticks and found twine. The game-tying-goal was the first of Baez's young career and evened the score at one goal a piece midway through the second period. Abric would clean up the rest of the shots he faced, posting 13 saves in the second period and to keep the score tied going into the second intermission.

After a strong second 20 minutes, Army came out of the locker room for the third period with its eyes on the net. The Cadets fired five consecutive shots, putting two on net to test the Wisconsin goaltender. The rest of the period would keep going back and forth until Wisconsin went on the power play and broke the tie with a goal at 15:02 in the period.

With the puck in the offensive zone and just over two minutes on the clock, Coach Riley opted to pull Abric for an extra skater in one last effort to tie the game. Colin Bilek had a few good looks get turned away before the Badgers were able to clear the puck and score two empty net goals to bring the score to 4-1, securing the win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Joey Baez scored the first goal of his collegiate career in the second period
Noah Wilson blocked a game-high six shots
Thomas Farrell led the Cadets in shots (8) and shots on goal (5)
Daniel Haider finished second on the team with four shots on goal
Marshal Plunkett picked up his point of the season, assisting the Baez goal
Abric's 39 saves are a career high and a game high for Army this season

COACH RILEY'S REACTION

Coach Riley's thoughts following the first game of our series with the Badgers. #GoArmy pic.twitter.com/RgcvUQH2Up
— Army Hockey (@ArmyWP_Hockey) October 15, 2021