Hockey Scores a Pair of Late Goals to Sweep RIT

Sunday, December 12

Rochester, NY

5 PM

Army West Point

7-7-2, 5-4-2

RIT

9-7-2, 5-5-2

Team	1	2	3	F
Army	2	0	2	4
RIT	2	1	0	3

Hockey Scores a Pair of Late Goals to Sweep RIT

December 12, 2021 | Hockey

Box Score

By: Phil Tor

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Army West Point hockey team rallied to a 4-3 win over the RIT Tigers on Sunday night, scoring two goals late in the third period to earn its third straight victory. The win gave the Cadets another three points in league play, which now puts them in third place overall in Atlantic Hockey.

Colin Bilek tied the game up with a goal on the power play at 7:37 and then if was John Keranen who provided the game winner while the Cadets were short handed with just 100 seconds left in the action.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Army came in to the contest and expecting a battle and it use a fly what it got, as RIT came out of the gates with energy and physicality to start the contest.

The Black Knights proved they were up to the challenge, matching the intensity of the Tigers with strong play from the whole lineup. Brett Abdelnour put home the first goal of the game for Army in the first period, tipping in. Last from the blue line by Noah Wilson. RIT answered with a goal of its own to tie the game midway through the period.

Anthony Firriolo broke the tie just three minutes later with a power play goal, his team-leading seventh tally of the year. The Tigers were once again able to even the score and the first period ended in a 2-2 tie.

The Cadets were snake-bitten in the second period, putting 20 shots on net without a goal. RIT had the puck bounce their way in the second 20, as it found a goal to go up 3-2 after two periods.

The third period was all Army. The Black Knights outplayed the Tigers all period long, but we're not able to find the equalizer until 12:33 in the period with a goal from the captain, Colin Bilek.

After a Cadet went to the penalty box at 17:10, Army sent out its penalty kill team looking to extend the game by any means necessary. Instead, they all but ended it as John Keranen put a puck in the back of the net to give Army a 4-3 lead and the eventual win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Army swept RIT in a weekend series for the first time in program history
The Cadets extend their win streak to three games
The Balck Knights now sit in third place in the Atlantic Hockey standings after a six-point weekend
Anthony Firriolo scored his second goal in as many games, his team-leading seventh of the year
Colin Bilek scored his sixth goal of the year to tie the game in the third period
John Keranen's fourth goal of the season came while the Cadets were short handed, the first SHG of his career
Brett Abdelnour also scored a goal in the contest which gives him tallies in back-to-back games
Gavin Abric saved 27 shots between the pipes to earn his seventh win of the year.

COACH RILEY'S REACTION

After the comeback effort, @Coach_BRiley talked about his team's effort tonight

Listen in ??#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/40ZMKJFUxl
— Army Hockey (@ArmyWP_Hockey) December 13, 2021

CADET QUOTES
"This one feels pretty good going into break. This group put together two great games here in Rochester and the conference is so tight right now that these two wins put us in a great spot heading into the end of the semester. We battled a lot of adversity tonight and this win just shows what our group is capable of" - Senior Captain, Colin Bilek

"It was awesome for the team to get the 6 points on the road. We battled through some adversity and weathered the storm a couple times, but ultimately we were able to pull it out. It was a great weekend from Gav (Gavin Abric) and this is exactly what we needed headed into the long break" - Game-Winning goal scorer, John Keranen

UP NEXT
The Cadets go into Winter break having won three straight games and now sit in third place in the Atlantic Hockey Association. Army will play its next game on Jan. 2 when they take on RPI at Tate Rink.