Hockey Scores Three Third-Period Goals to Tie RPI, 3-3

Sunday, January 2

West Point, NY

2:05 PM

Army West Point

7-8-3

RPI

9-11-3

OT 1

Rensselaer

Army West Point

Photo by: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

Hockey Scores Three Third-Period Goals to Tie RPI, 3-3

January 02, 2022 | Hockey

Box Score

By: Phil Tor

WEST POINT, N.Y. – In its quickest turnaround of the season, the Army West Point Hockey team showed its grit, battling RPI to a 3-3 tie in its final nonconference matchup of the season. The Black Knights scored three goals in the third period to force the tie.

For the second straight night Daniel Haider led the Cadets with two points off a goal and assist. His third goal of the season ended up being the game-tying-goal after a scoreless overtime period.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Army came out strong on the defensive end as goaltender Gavin Abric did not have to make a save until 5:32 in the period. The Black Knights and Engineers battled throughout the first period, that only took 24 minutes in real-time, in a back-and-forth contest. RPI was able to score a pair of late first-period goals to take a 2-0 lead into the first break in the action.

Abric made 12 saves in an uneventful second period. The Cadets were able to create a few chances in the second period, putting 13 shots on goal. RPI held off the barrage from the Cadet attack and held a 2-0 lead going into the second intermission.

Army made it clear very early in the third period that it would not just lie down, taking the fight to the Engineers. After coming up short on a three-shot powerplay, Marshal Plunkett rifled a shot over the left shoulder of the goalie and into the back of the net to put Army on the board. RPI answered with goal two minutes later to increase its lead to 3-1 with just under 10 minutes to play in the contest.

After the third RPI goal it was all Army. The Black Knights fired off the next 14 shots and did not allow a shot to reach Abric for the remainder of regulation. The onslaught from the Cadets culminated in Colin Bilek's seventh goal of the season and a 3-2 score.

With less than three minutes remaining, Chris Konin centered the puck that was tipped off the stick of Jake Felker. Daniel Haider rushed into the crease to clean up the loose puck, putting it past the RPI goalie and tying the game for Army.

Army outshot RPI 9-6 in the overtime period but were not able to find the game-winner as the game would end in a 3-3 tie.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Daniel Haider's third goal of the season tied the game at 3-3
Colin Bilek is now tied for the team lead in goals after scoring his seventh in the third period
Bilek attempted a season-high 12 shots
Marshal Plunkett scored his second goal of the season
Plunkett extended his point-streak to four games with the tally
Mitch Machlitt dished two assists to record his third multi-point game of the season
Army outshot RPI 42-29 and 14-6 in the third period
Gavin Abric made 26 saves including five in overtime to earn the tie
The Cadets blocked 19 shots against the Engineers
Jake Felker led the team with three blocks
Eric Butte won 15 faceoffs to lead all skaters
Thomas Farrell has now recorded an assist in four straight games
Machlitt and Butte led the team with a +2 rating

COACH RILEY'S POST-GAME REACTION

Coach Riley's post-game reaction following the three-goal third period and come-from-behind tie

????#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/HojXBaL0fg
— Army Hockey (@ArmyWP_Hockey) January 2, 2022

CADET QUOTES

Senior Defenseman, Marshal Plunkett, talks about the effort that he saw from his teammates today #GoArmy pic.twitter.com/4g0cH3FXMc
— Army Hockey (@ArmyWP_Hockey) January 2, 2022

Daniel Haider talks about the weekend @ArmyWP_Hockey has had and what it felt like to come away with the game-tying-goal…#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/s7bs74z2by
— Army Hockey (@ArmyWP_Hockey) January 2, 2022

UP NEXT
Army hockey will return to league play next weekend when it hosts league leading Canisius at Tate Rink. The Griffins are set to take on the Cadets at 7:05 and 4:05 PM on Friday and Saturday, respectively.