Hockey Tops Holy Cross 3-2 On The Road

Tuesday, November 21

Worcester, MA

7:00 PM

Army West Point

2-9-0, 2-6-0

Holy Cross

6-6-2, 3-6-2

Army West Point

Holy Cross

Hockey Tops Holy Cross 3-2 On The Road

November 21, 2023 | Hockey

Box Score

WORCESTER, MA - Army West Point hockey (2-9-0, 2-6-0 AHA) collected its second straight victory with a 3-2 win over Holy Cross (6-6-2, 3-6-2 AHA) on Tuesday night.

It marked the second straight victory for the Black Knights and seventh straight victory at Hart Arena Rink dating back to 2019. Jake Hewitt and Nik Hong led Army offensively with a goal and assist each, while Evan Szary continued his strong play in net, making 35 saves and blanking the Crusaders through the opening 50 minutes.

After an early whistle, the teams played eight straight minutes without any stoppages, each seeing just two shots on goal in the early stages. Army had a couple of chances on breakaways, with Vincent Salice and Michael Sacco seeing their efforts stopped by Thomas Gale. Army got another chance in on net soon after with Salice playing in Ricky Lyle, who then slotted past Gale to give Army the 1-0 advantage. It marked the third goal of the season for the Army captain who was appearing in his 100th career game for the Black Knights. Shots on goal were even at ten apiece in the opening frame, with Evan Szary being up to the task to all ten to blank the Crusaders.

Army took its momentum into the second period, scoring the second goal of the game four minutes in off a brilliant individual effort from plebe forward Jake Hewitt. Hewitt took the faceoff win from Nik Hong, skated into the Army offensive end, and fired a backhanded wrister from the left circle over the right shoulder of Gale to double Army's advantage. It marked the second career goal for Hewitt, which was a similar buildup that saw Hewitt skate in from center ice.

Hewitt continued to make an impact later in the period, getting a takeaway in the offensive zone before a centering pass found Hong in front of the net who waited and slid past Gale for his first collegiate goal. The goal came at the 12:21 mark of the second, giving Army a three-goal advantage just over midway through the game. Army took its second penalty of the game later in the period, with Szary making a few key saves to keep the Crusaders scoreless through the opening 40 minutes. Army took a 3-0 lead into the third period.

Army continued to block shots and keep the home side scoreless, as Sean Vlasich and Andrew Gilbert each logged four blocks as part of a team-effort to collect 21 for the game. Holy Cross spoiled the shutout for Szary and the Black Knights with just over six minutes remaining, as the third time was the charm for the Crusaders to cash in on the power-play, as Jack Stockfish fired in past Szary to make it a 3-1 game. Army caught a break right after, with Holy Cross taking a penalty on the ensuing faceoff, although Army was not able to score with the extra man. Following a Crusaders timeout with 3:40 remaining, Holy Cross was able to get it within a goal as Jack Ricketts made it a one-goal contest with his sixth goal of the campaign.

Holy Cross went to the empty net with just over two minutes to play, as Army hung tough defensively and was able to see out the 3-2 victory, earning its second straight one-goal win in regulation. Army has now held its opponent to two goals or fewer in each of the last two contests, after failing to do so through the first nine games of the season.

The Black Knights return this weekend for a pair of non-conference matchups at Merrimack and UMass-Lowell on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Puck drops at 4:00 p.m. for both games with live coverage on ESPN+ and The Varsity Network.