Army West Point Athletics
Friday, December 8
Erie, PA
7:00 PM
Army West Point
4-11-0, 3-7-0
4
at
3
Mercyhurst University
5-8-3, 3-3-3
1
2
3
F
Army West Point
0
0
4
4
Mercyhurst
0
2
1
3
Hockey Completes Comeback with Four Goal Third Period to Take Game One at Mercyhurst
December 08, 2023 | Hockey
ERIE, PA - Army West Point hockey (4-11-0, 3-7-0 AHA) used a four-goal third period to complete a miraculous comeback against the Mercyhurst Lakers (5-8-3, 3-3-3 AHA) to take game one by a score of 4-3.
Mac Gadowksy led the comeback, logging three primary assists in the third period before scoring the game-winning goal in the final minute to give Army the win. Michael Sacco potted his first two goals of the season in the period, while Max Itagaki scored and assisted in the effort.
Army looked to rebound coming off nine days off heading into the contest following a loss to AIC last Tuesday, with Evan Szary getting his sixth straight nod to start in net. The Black Knights came into the contest having won seven of eight in Erie dating back to the 2018-19 campaign.
Mercyhurst got out to a decent start, testing Szary early on who eventually made 10 saves in the opening frame to keep the Lakers off the board in the opening twenty. Army was able to pepper Owen Say with multiple looks after getting 77 seconds of a five-on-three advantage late on in the period , but the Mercyhurst PK was able to hold strong and keep the Black Knights scoreless. Army led the shots on goal battle 15-10 as we went to the second period in a scoreless tie.
Army got another opportunity with the extra man early in the second, but were unable to capitalize before taking a penalty to give Mercyhurst its first power-play chance. The Lakers PP unit would end up converting, with Philip Waugh slamming home a one-timer from the right circle off a feed from Trent Sambrook. Army thought it found its equalizer soon after, with Brent Keefer finding Joey Baez with a nifty backhanded pass in which Baez beat Owen Say with a one-timer. However, after a lengthy review, the goal was called offsides and the score stood at 1-0.
Using the momentum off the Army goal being waved off, Waugh once again lit the lamp from the right circle for his second of the game which gave the Lakers a 2-0 advantage with six minutes and change to go in the second. Army had one more chance on the power-play in the closing minutes of the frame, but were unable to find a breakthrough and the Lakers took a two-goal lead to the third period.
Army finally found its power-play goal on its fifth chance with the man advantage, as Mac Gadowsky found the stick Max Itagaki right in front of the net which cut the Lakers lead in half with 13 minutes to play. It marked Itagaki's third goal of the season and second on the power-play while Gadowsky logged his fifth helper of his plebe campaign. Army got another power-play chance right after, but ended up taking a penalty to make it four-on-four for a stretch. Mercyhurst restored its two-goal lead on the four-on-four as Boris Skalos got one past Szary with Sambrook logging another helper.
Army refused to go down quietly, as Gadowksy once again orchestrated a tap-in goal for the Black Knights as Michael Sacco was the recipient this time for his first tally of the season, which came shorthanded to get Army back into the game with eight minutes to play. Army had to fend off a Mercyhurst power-play soon after, eventually getting back to even strength with just under three minutes to play. Gadowksy continued his dominant play in the offensive zone, feeding Sacco once again who was able to slide the puck past Say which tied the game with just over two minutes to play.
With overtime looming, Army got another chance in the offensive zone, with Gadowsky taking the shot this time and scoring his first career goal to complete the comeback for the Black Knights as Army took its first lead of the game at 4-3 with 1:37 remaining. Army was able to see out the victory as Szary made 24 saves to help secure the road win.
The teams will return tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. to close out the first half of the regular season.
Mac Gadowksy led the comeback, logging three primary assists in the third period before scoring the game-winning goal in the final minute to give Army the win. Michael Sacco potted his first two goals of the season in the period, while Max Itagaki scored and assisted in the effort.
Army looked to rebound coming off nine days off heading into the contest following a loss to AIC last Tuesday, with Evan Szary getting his sixth straight nod to start in net. The Black Knights came into the contest having won seven of eight in Erie dating back to the 2018-19 campaign.
Mercyhurst got out to a decent start, testing Szary early on who eventually made 10 saves in the opening frame to keep the Lakers off the board in the opening twenty. Army was able to pepper Owen Say with multiple looks after getting 77 seconds of a five-on-three advantage late on in the period , but the Mercyhurst PK was able to hold strong and keep the Black Knights scoreless. Army led the shots on goal battle 15-10 as we went to the second period in a scoreless tie.
Army got another opportunity with the extra man early in the second, but were unable to capitalize before taking a penalty to give Mercyhurst its first power-play chance. The Lakers PP unit would end up converting, with Philip Waugh slamming home a one-timer from the right circle off a feed from Trent Sambrook. Army thought it found its equalizer soon after, with Brent Keefer finding Joey Baez with a nifty backhanded pass in which Baez beat Owen Say with a one-timer. However, after a lengthy review, the goal was called offsides and the score stood at 1-0.
Using the momentum off the Army goal being waved off, Waugh once again lit the lamp from the right circle for his second of the game which gave the Lakers a 2-0 advantage with six minutes and change to go in the second. Army had one more chance on the power-play in the closing minutes of the frame, but were unable to find a breakthrough and the Lakers took a two-goal lead to the third period.
Army finally found its power-play goal on its fifth chance with the man advantage, as Mac Gadowsky found the stick Max Itagaki right in front of the net which cut the Lakers lead in half with 13 minutes to play. It marked Itagaki's third goal of the season and second on the power-play while Gadowsky logged his fifth helper of his plebe campaign. Army got another power-play chance right after, but ended up taking a penalty to make it four-on-four for a stretch. Mercyhurst restored its two-goal lead on the four-on-four as Boris Skalos got one past Szary with Sambrook logging another helper.
Army refused to go down quietly, as Gadowksy once again orchestrated a tap-in goal for the Black Knights as Michael Sacco was the recipient this time for his first tally of the season, which came shorthanded to get Army back into the game with eight minutes to play. Army had to fend off a Mercyhurst power-play soon after, eventually getting back to even strength with just under three minutes to play. Gadowksy continued his dominant play in the offensive zone, feeding Sacco once again who was able to slide the puck past Say which tied the game with just over two minutes to play.
With overtime looming, Army got another chance in the offensive zone, with Gadowsky taking the shot this time and scoring his first career goal to complete the comeback for the Black Knights as Army took its first lead of the game at 4-3 with 1:37 remaining. Army was able to see out the victory as Szary made 24 saves to help secure the road win.
The teams will return tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. to close out the first half of the regular season.
Team Stats
ARM
MER
Shots
37
27
PPG
1
1
SHG
1
0
Penalties
4
7
Penalty Mins
8
22
Faceoffs Won
33
31
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
2
Goals
1
Sh
4
A
3
+/-
2
Goals
2
Sh
6
A
1
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
1
+/-
1
Goals
0
Sh
1
A
1
Players Mentioned
D
/ HockeyF
/ Hockey
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