Army West Point Athletics
Max Itagaki Wins Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Year, Baez & Firriolo Named to All-AHA Second Team, Keranen to Third Team
March 14, 2023 | Hockey
WINTHROP, MA - Army West Point hockey freshman Max Itagaki was named Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Year, announced today by the league. In addition, sophomore Joey Baez and senior Anthony Firriolo were named to the All-Atlantic Hockey Second Team and senior John Keranen was selected to the Third Team.
Max Itagaki, Freshman, Forward (Glenview, Ill.) - AHA Rookie of the Year / All-Rookie Team
Itagaki has a record-breaking plebe campaign for Army, leading the Black Knights with 33 points this season. At the conclusion of the regular season, his 29 assists set a new Atlantic Hockey freshman record. His 33 points ranked second in the entire conference while the 29 assists paced the league. Itagaki burst onto the scene with a nine-game point streak beginning with Army's fourth game of the season. He scored his first collegiate goal on the road against Canisius on November 25, to cap the nine-game run. Itagaki provided a pair of assists in Army's shootout win over No. 11 Providence, and logged nine multi-point games overall on the season. His first goal at home came in overtime against Mercyhurst on February 17, scoring a breakaway to give the Black Knights a victory. He followed it up with a career-high three point night in game two against the Lakers, assisting three times. Itagaki played a key role on Army's top power-play, which ranked second in the league with 33 power-play goals. Itagaki was a two-time AHA Rookie of the Month (November, February) and three-time Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week this season.
Joey Baez, Sophomore, Forward (Tampa, Fla.) - All-Atlantic Hockey Second Team
Baez had a breakout sophomore campaign on his way to earning All-AHA Second team honors. At the conclusion of Army's season, Baez led the conference in goals with 21 and led the country in power-play goals with 12. Baez ended the season playing his best hockey, scoring ten goals in the final ten games of the regular season. One of his most memorable performances came in Army's exhibition with USA Hockey U18 Development Team, as Baez tallied four goals including two in the final three minutes to force overtime. Baez became Army's first 20-goal scorer since Owen Meyer in 2007-08, while his 21 goals ranks second in the nation among sophomores. Baez earned two Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week honors this season and this marks the first postseason honor of his career.
Anthony Firriolo, Senior, Defenseman (Montville, N.J.) - All-Atlantic Hockey Second Team
Firriolo lands on the All-AHA Second team in consecutive years, and marks the third postseason AHA honor of his career after making the All-Rookie Team in 2019-20. Firriolo ranked fourth in the conference with 24 assists, which also ranked second among blueliners. Firriolo also ranked in the top-five in Atlantic Hockey in blocked shots, leading Army with 64 blocks. Scoring four of his five goals on the power-play, Firriolo anchored Army's top unit with the man advantage as Army compiled 33 power-play goals this season. He logged eight multi-point efforts this season, including a pair of three-assist games versus RPI and No. 11 Providence. Firriolo scored in back-to-back games against Mercyhurst and Bentley towards the end of the season, finishing his Army career with 22 goals and 74 points altogether. He was named AHA Defensive Player of the month in January after logging seven assists and 17 blocked shots in the month.
John Keranen, Senior, Forward (Delano, Minn.) - All-Atlantic Hockey Third Team
Army senior John Keranen enjoyed a dominant senior season as Army's top-line center. Keranen did his best work in conference play, landing second in the conference with 27 points in league games. Keranen ranked third on the Black Knights with 28 points, second with 4 power-play goals and third with 11 goals altogether. Keranen finishes the season fourth in the country with 456 faceoff wins this season, and topped Atlantic Hockey with 12.7 faceoff wins per game. Posting nine multi-point games this season, Keranen earned Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week after scoring five goals in four games in December. He sent Army into the second half break with an overtime goal against Mercyhurst on December 10, which marked his second goal of the contest. Keranen logged double-digit faceoff wins in 28 of 36 games this season.
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Max Itagaki, Freshman, Forward (Glenview, Ill.) - AHA Rookie of the Year / All-Rookie Team
Itagaki has a record-breaking plebe campaign for Army, leading the Black Knights with 33 points this season. At the conclusion of the regular season, his 29 assists set a new Atlantic Hockey freshman record. His 33 points ranked second in the entire conference while the 29 assists paced the league. Itagaki burst onto the scene with a nine-game point streak beginning with Army's fourth game of the season. He scored his first collegiate goal on the road against Canisius on November 25, to cap the nine-game run. Itagaki provided a pair of assists in Army's shootout win over No. 11 Providence, and logged nine multi-point games overall on the season. His first goal at home came in overtime against Mercyhurst on February 17, scoring a breakaway to give the Black Knights a victory. He followed it up with a career-high three point night in game two against the Lakers, assisting three times. Itagaki played a key role on Army's top power-play, which ranked second in the league with 33 power-play goals. Itagaki was a two-time AHA Rookie of the Month (November, February) and three-time Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week this season.
Joey Baez, Sophomore, Forward (Tampa, Fla.) - All-Atlantic Hockey Second Team
Baez had a breakout sophomore campaign on his way to earning All-AHA Second team honors. At the conclusion of Army's season, Baez led the conference in goals with 21 and led the country in power-play goals with 12. Baez ended the season playing his best hockey, scoring ten goals in the final ten games of the regular season. One of his most memorable performances came in Army's exhibition with USA Hockey U18 Development Team, as Baez tallied four goals including two in the final three minutes to force overtime. Baez became Army's first 20-goal scorer since Owen Meyer in 2007-08, while his 21 goals ranks second in the nation among sophomores. Baez earned two Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week honors this season and this marks the first postseason honor of his career.
Anthony Firriolo, Senior, Defenseman (Montville, N.J.) - All-Atlantic Hockey Second Team
Firriolo lands on the All-AHA Second team in consecutive years, and marks the third postseason AHA honor of his career after making the All-Rookie Team in 2019-20. Firriolo ranked fourth in the conference with 24 assists, which also ranked second among blueliners. Firriolo also ranked in the top-five in Atlantic Hockey in blocked shots, leading Army with 64 blocks. Scoring four of his five goals on the power-play, Firriolo anchored Army's top unit with the man advantage as Army compiled 33 power-play goals this season. He logged eight multi-point efforts this season, including a pair of three-assist games versus RPI and No. 11 Providence. Firriolo scored in back-to-back games against Mercyhurst and Bentley towards the end of the season, finishing his Army career with 22 goals and 74 points altogether. He was named AHA Defensive Player of the month in January after logging seven assists and 17 blocked shots in the month.
John Keranen, Senior, Forward (Delano, Minn.) - All-Atlantic Hockey Third Team
Army senior John Keranen enjoyed a dominant senior season as Army's top-line center. Keranen did his best work in conference play, landing second in the conference with 27 points in league games. Keranen ranked third on the Black Knights with 28 points, second with 4 power-play goals and third with 11 goals altogether. Keranen finishes the season fourth in the country with 456 faceoff wins this season, and topped Atlantic Hockey with 12.7 faceoff wins per game. Posting nine multi-point games this season, Keranen earned Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week after scoring five goals in four games in December. He sent Army into the second half break with an overtime goal against Mercyhurst on December 10, which marked his second goal of the contest. Keranen logged double-digit faceoff wins in 28 of 36 games this season.
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Players Mentioned
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