Army Hockey is Relentless in 4-1 Win Over Holy Cross

Saturday, January 22

West Point, NY

4:05 PM

Army West Point

9-11-3, 7-6-2

Holy Cross

6-17-2, 3-10-2

Holy Cross

Army West Point

Army Hockey is Relentless in 4-1 Win Over Holy Cross

January 22, 2022 | Hockey

Box Score

By: Phil Tor

WEST POINT, N.Y. - Army West Point hockey snapped its three-game losing skid in style on Saturday afternoon with a 4-1 win over the Holy Cross Crusaders. The Black Knights battled and controlled the pace of the game from the jump, setting themselves up for a massive three-goal third period to seal the win.

Andrew Garby's first career goal in the third period would serve as the game-winner for Army, who would get goals from Anthony Firriolo, John Keranen and Ricky Lyle to earn the 4-1 result.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Army Head Hockey Coach, Brian Riley, made it clear to his team that it would have to get off to a solid start in order to win this key Atlantic Hockey contest. Army took the advice from its head coach and skated with tenacity in the first twenty minutes, outshooting the Crusaders 15-7 in the first period. After a barrage of shots from the Black Knights on the powerplay, John Keranen was able to sneak a shot under the pad of the Holy Cross goalie to put the Cadets iin the lead. Army would hold that one goal advantage going into the first intermission.

Holy Cross fought back in the second period, putting 19 shots on net off 39 attempts. Gavin Abric stepped up to make 18 saves in the second frame. Noah Wilson helped the cause by stepping in front of five shots in the second frame alone. Most of those blocked shots came while Army was killing off three straight Crusader powerplay chances. The Black Knights were successful in killing off nearly six straight penalty minutes to keep the opposition at bay. Holy Cross was able to sneak one past Abric and tie the game just before the second intermission.

The third period was all Army, as the Black Knights skated with energy from the drop of the puck in the final frame. The Cadets outshot the Crusaders 16-10 in the final period while playing a man down for nearly seven minutes of game action due to Holy Cross opting to pull their goaltender for an extra skater. The Crusaders were forced to make the move after Army scored two goals in three minutes off the sticks of Andrew Garby and Anthony Firriolo. Garby's first career tally was assisted by Andrew Quetell who settled the puck and pushed a pass to Garby in the slot who beat the Crusader goalie to the top right corner of the net. Firriolo's strike just two and a half minutes later was the nail in the coffin for the Holy Cross Crusaders. Ricky Lyle picked up his fifth goal of the season while the net was empty and the Cadets skated on to a much-needed 4-1 win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Andrew Garby scored his first career goal that also served as the game-winner for Army
John Keranen scored his team-leading fourth powerplay goal of the year to start the scoring for the Black Knights
Keranen now sits in third on the team with six total goals
Anthony Firriolo now is tied for the national lead in goals by a defenseman in the country with nine
Firriolo also notched his team-leading fourth powerplay goal in the contest
The junior added an assist to bring his season point total to 16
Colin Bilek picked up another assist tonight and now totals 12 on the season
Thomas Farrell dished an assist to bring his season total to 10
Noah Wilson tied his own record for blocked shots in a game with nine tonight
Wilson now has 64 blocks on the year, good for second in the country and is two shy of the Army single season record of 66
Gavin Abric made 35 saves in net tonight, allowing only one goal to drop his GAA to 2.29 and increase his save percentage to .928
The sophomore picked up his ninth win of the season with the result
The Black Knights killed off all four Crusader powerplays, and finished 9-for-9 on the kill this weekend
John Keranen led the way in the faceoff circle tonight with 15 wins
Michael Sacco preformed well in the circle once again, posting a 66.7 win percentage (8-4) in the circle to lead all skaters

COACH RILEY'S POST GAME REACTION

Coach Riley reacts after a huge bounce back win for his group #GoArmy pic.twitter.com/T9SCbTORwC
— Army Hockey (@ArmyWP_Hockey) January 23, 2022

CADET QUOTES

Anthony Firriolo - the top scoring defenseman in the nation - gives his take on the win from the Black Knights tonight #GoArmy pic.twitter.com/VLJqSBm6Ff
— Army Hockey (@ArmyWP_Hockey) January 23, 2022

UP NEXT
Army is set to travel to Colorado Springs, Colo. next week to renew their rivalry with Air Force. The service academy clash is set to take place Friday and Saturday Jan. 21-22 at 9:05 and 7:05 EST.