Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
11-14-4, 10-9-2
Holy Cross
10-16-3, 9-10-2
Hockey Stays Hot with 5-2 Win Over Holy Cross
February 10, 2023 | Hockey
WEST POINT, NY – Army West Point hockey (10-16-3, 9-10-2 AHA) rolled to a 5-2 victory over Holy Cross (10-16-3, 9-10-2 AHA) on Friday night at Tate Rink. With the win, Army has collected 11 out of a possible 12 points across its past four games.
Brett Abdelnour tallied two goals in the first period, as Army led throughout the final 40 minutes. Justin Evenson won his second start of the week, logging 34 saves in net for the Black Knights.
Abdelnour got the scoring started midway through the first period. Noah Wilson delivered a centering pass from behind the net and after having his initial shot saved, Abdelnour tucked home past Thomas Gale in the Holy Cross net. Shortly after heading to a 4-on-4 following simultaneous penalties, the Crusaders tied the game with 2:28 left with a goal from Nick Hale.
With 33 seconds remaining, Army found itself with a glorious opportunity, after Holy Cross took a second penalty while defending a delayed penalty. The Black Knights took momentum into the locker room with another goal from Abdelnour, with six seconds remaining in the period. A tic-tac-toe goal, Joey Baez fed John Keranen to the left of the net who slid a pass over to Abdelnour who was able to finish from a tight angle. Both Keranen and Abdelnour extended their point streaks to five games in the period.
Entering the second on a power-play, this time Keranen got in the goal column off a pass from Max Itagaki, whipping a one-timer from the point into the top left corner for his third goal of the week. Now with a 3-1 lead, Army continued to play with the man-advantage as Holy Cross took four total penalties in the period. The Black Knights eventually capitalized with an even strength goal at the 11:13 mark, as Michael Sacco buried a feed from Itagaki after Lucas Kanta took the puck away at the blue line to create the opportunity. Holy Cross had the majority of the chances of the period, with Evenson doing some of his best work towards the end of the period. The Crusaders outshot the Black Knights 16-8 in the second but trailed 4-1 following it.
Needing a quick goal in the period, Holy Cross got it just 96 seconds in with a power-play score from Alec Cicero. Army's defensive unit responded, doing enough to keep the lead at two as Evenson continued his dominant play. Two power-play opportunities helped keep Army on the front foot, as the Crusaders eventually pulled the goalie with over 3:30 to play. Army took a penalty soon after but continued to block shots and do enough to keep the lead at two. With just under a minute to play, a pair of blocks from Patrick Smyth led to an attempt on the empty net which went just wide. However, Army's empty net specialist was first to the loose puck as Ricky Lyle scored his fifth empty net goal of the campaign for a shorthanded score to seal the victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Justin Evenson won his fifth game in eight starts this season, and has logged 99 saves (.952) with just five goals (1.67 GAA) against in his last three games.
- John Keranen recorded a goal and assist, while winning 14 faceoff draws. Keranen now has eight points in Army's past five games.
- Brett Abdelnour logged a pair of goals in the first period, and has tallied four in his last four games.
- Patrick Smyth registered the first multi-point game of his career, with a pair of assists.
- Michael Sacco picked up his second goal in as many games with his eighth of the season in the second period.
- Ricky Lyle moved into third place in the Atlantic Hockey goal leaderboard with his 13th of the campaign.
- Max Itagaki extended his Atlantic Hockey assists lead (24 assists) with a pair of helpers in the second period.
- Joey Baez extended his point streak to five games with a power-play assist.
- Army has scored multiple power-play goals in three of its past five contests.
Postgame reaction from @Coach_BRiley as Army picks up three crucial points with a game one win versus Holy Cross#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/5mp9nUiAPE
— Army Hockey (@ArmyWP_Hockey) February 11, 2023
Cadet's Corner
Brett Abdelnour scored two goals tonight - his thoughts on the win and the team's recent hot streak ???#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/kcntqJtEus
— Army Hockey (@ArmyWP_Hockey) February 11, 2023
Max Itagaki speaks on the chemistry of the top PP unit, as he picked up two more assists tonight in the win#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/A0HNfDxpy6
— Army Hockey (@ArmyWP_Hockey) February 11, 2023
Up Next
Army returns to take on the Crusaders in game two (Feb. 11) at 4:00 p.m.
