Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
3-7-2, 2-3-1
Canisius College
4-8-2, 2-3-2
Hockey Ties Canisius 2-2; Collects Point with Shootout Loss
November 25, 2022 | Hockey
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Army West Point hockey (3-7-2, 2-3-1 AHA) battled Canisius (3-8-2, 2-3-2 AHA) to a 2-2 tie on Friday afternoon, before the Golden Griffins won the shootout in two rounds. Army held a 2-0 lead through two periods as Canisius fought back in the final period to force overtime and the eventual shootout.
It marks the second tie of the season for the Black Knights, but the first coming against an Atlantic Hockey opponent, with points factoring into the outcome.
Army went on its second power-play of the game just under 12 minutes into the contest, after Canisius killed off a penalty in the early minutes. The puck found the skate of Max Itagaki off a failed clearance, who weaved through traffic before firing off a wrist shot past John Hawthorne in the Golden Griffins goal. It marked the first collegiate goal for Itagaki, after he logged 11 assists in 11 games to begin his career.
Justin Evenson's performance carried over from this past weekend, holding Canisius scoreless through one as Army led 1-0. The Black Knights began the second on the penalty kill following an after the whistle penalty to end the first. The Army penalty kill remained strong, seeing success in its first opportunity of the night. Midway through the period, Army found its second goal of the contest through its fourth line.
With the puck in deep, Eric Huss deflected a clearance that fell into the path of Jake Felker. Felker gave the Canisius goalie little chance with a bar down finish that gave Army a two-goal advantage. The Black Knights took the 2-0 lead into third period, where Canisius would quickly make it a brand-new game with its first goal at the 3:16 mark. Daniel DiGrande fired a shot off a Canisius faceoff win that had enough velocity to get over the line after Evenson caught a big piece of it.
After a successful kill, Canisius would get a power-play opportunity of its own with under ten minutes to play. The home side completed the comeback with a score on the man-advantage, finishing off a good passing sequence in front of the net. The Black Knights had one more opportunity on the power-play in regulation, before the game headed for 3-on-3 overtime.
The teams traded possession in the overtime period, with Canisius logging four shots compared to Army's two. Ryan Miotto of Canisius had the best chance of the period, drawing a save from Evenson. Ricky Lyle almost broke free in transition, but Canisius did enough to track back and defend which would lead to a shootout.
Canisius went a perfect 2-for-2 in the shootout, while making two saves to secure the second point in the fixture. Max Kouznetsov and Hudson Lambert scored for the Golden Griffins to pick up the shootout victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Max Itagaki scored his first collegiate goal, a power-play score in the first period. Itagaki continues his point per game pace, reaching 12 points in 12 games played.
- Jake Felker collected his third goal of the season and has scored in back-to-back games for Army after tallying a shorthanded goal versus Bentley.
- Eric Huss added his first assist of the season and has tabbed points in back-to-back games after scoring versus Bentley on Saturday.
- Justin Evenson made 23 saves, including four in the overtime period. Evenson has posted a 0.97 GAA and .966 save percentage through two starts.
- Army has scored a power-play goal in four straight contests.
?? @Coach_BRiley postgame reaction after battling Canisius to a 2-2 tie through 60 minutes before falling in the shootout#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/Br7d1gKNOK
— Army Hockey (@ArmyWP_Hockey) November 25, 2022
Up Next
Army will return for game two against Canisius tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.
