Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
5-9-2, 4-5-1
Mercyhurst University
6-9-2, 5-2-2
Hockey Falls to Mercyhurst After Roller-Coaster Third Period
December 09, 2022 | Hockey
ERIE, PA – Army West Point hockey (5-9-2, 4-5-1 AHA) was taken down by Mercyhurst (6-9-2, 5-2-2 AHA) by a score of 4-3 after the Lakers broke a deadlock with 14 seconds to play.
Army trailed 3-1 with under three minutes to play and scored a pair of goals through John Keranen and Max Itagaki to tie the game late. Anthony Firriolo had a three-point night for the Black Knights, while Thomas Farrell assisted on both goals that completed the late comeback.
Each team had limited opportunities to start, with Mercyhurst eventually getting on the board with their sixth shot of the night at the 8:56 mark as Marko Reifenberger took a ricochet off the boards and fired past Justin Evenson to open the scoring. Army took its second penalty of the night soon after, which saw the Lakers get out to a 2-0 lead in the first period after taking advantage on the power-play.
Army spent spells of the second period on the penalty kill again, taking two more penalties to go along with a four-on-four stretch. After killing them both off, Army would head to a five-minute power-play opportunity with the extra man at the 18:47 mark. The score remained 2-0 as Army headed to the third period with over 200 seconds left on the major penalty.
Army was able to capitalize in the final minute of the power-play, with Anthony Firriolo scoring his third goal of the season. Trading passes with Joey Baez, Firriolo fired a puck in front which deflected in past Owen Say off a defender. Army had a prime chance to tie the score, getting a power-play chance with 8:44 to play. Army would go on to allow its first shorthanded goal of the season on the ensuing PP, with Mercyhurst taking a commanding two-goal lead with six minutes reamaining.
Pulling Evenson with under three minutes to play, Army quickly capitalized with John Keranen deflecting in from an Itagaki shot. The goal cut the lead to one goal with just over two minutes to play. Army completed the comeback less than a minute later, with Itagaki tucking home off the rebound from a Firriolo shot that was saved with just 1:50 left in regulation.
The game seemed destined for overtime after Army's two late scores, but Mercyhurst made the most of its final opportunity, as Mickey Burns slotted home past Evenson with 14 seconds on the clock to give the Lakers a wild victory at home in game one of the series.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Anthony Firriolo was involved in all three Army goals, scoring the first and assisting on the final two. The senior leads the Black Knights with 16 points this season.
- Max Itagaki scored his second goal of the season while notching his team-leading 13th assist.
- John Keranen tallied his fifth goal of the season in the third period. The senior has four points in his past four outings, which includes three goals.
- Thomas Farrell logged a pair of assists, extending his point streak to three games.
- Joey Baez recorded his third assist of the campaign and became the fifth Black Knight to reach 10 points this season.
- Justin Evenson made 28 saves in net for Army, suffering his first defeat of the season in four starts.
Up Next
Army will close out the first half of the season tomorrow in game two at Mercyhurst, with a 7:00 p.m. start time.
