Hockey Rescues Point Late at Sacred Heart

Tuesday, January 9

Fairfield, CT

7:00 PM

Army West Point

5-14-1, 3-9-1

Sacred Heart University

9-9-2, 9-4-1

OT 1

OT 2

Army West Point

Sacred Heart

Hockey Rescues Point Late at Sacred Heart

January 09, 2024 | Hockey

Box Score

FAIRFIELD, CT - Army West Point hockey (5-14-1, 3-9-1 AHA) picked up its first tie of the campaign to Sacred Heart (9-9-2, 9-4-1 AHA) with the Pioneers collecting the second point with a 1-0 shootout victory from Martire Family Arena on Tuesday night.

Ricky Lyle scored in the final minute of regulation to rescue the point for the Black Knights and force the eventual overtime.

Evan Szary made his return in net for the Black Knights after missing three games due to injury, drawing his 13th start of the season for the Black Knights.

Sacred Heart got on the board first with Braeden Tuck firing in his fourth goal of the season on a wristshot after Szary was screened well by the Pioneers out in front. Army struggled to generate offensive opportunities in the opening frame, registering just two shots on goal in a penalty-free first period. Szary made 13 saves through the opening 20 minutes as the home side took a 1-0 lead into the second period.

Army came out a different team after the intermission, getting a pair of shots that were well-saved from Chase Clark in the opening minute. Army got the first power-play opportunity of the game at the 1:37 mark, scoring just seconds after it expired before the Pioneers could get a fifth man back into the defensive zone. John Driscoll launched a centering pass which was deflected by Joey Baez into the path of Brent Keefer, who took his time to slot into the roof of the net over Clark for his tenth goal of the campaign. With the goal, Keefer became the first Black Knight to reach double-digit scores this season.

Sacred Heart took advantage of its first power-play chance of the game later on in the period, minutes after Stephen Willey struck iron for Army which kept it tied at one. Mikey Adamson took a pass on the power-play from TJ Walsh and fired in the second score of the game for the Pioneers at the 11:11 mark of the period. Both Szary and Clark were tested towards the end of the frame, but the Pioneers took the 2-1 advantage into the third period.

Gavin Abric entered in net for an injured Szary two minutes into the final period, just as the Pioneers were heading to their third power-play of the contest, as Army was able to kill off the penalty. Minutes later, the Pioneers made it a two-goal for the first time as Hunter Sansbury sniped one past Abric from just inside the blueline. The two-goal lead would least less than a minute, with John Driscoll feeding Joey Baez who cut it down to a one-goal lead once again at the 8:11 mark of the period.

Sacred Heart was able to maintain pressure and limit Army's opportunity as the clock winded down, with Army eventually pulling Abric with 1:30 to play. The move paid off for Army, with Ricky Lyle tying the game with just 23 seconds remaining off a rebound to send the game into overtime, Army's third overtime contest this season.

The Pioneers had a pair of semi-breakaways in to start the frame, with Abric standing tall to extend the game both times. Abric made five saves in total in the overtime, with the game eventually moving to a shootout which marked Army's first of the season.

Kevin Lombardi scored the lone goal of the shootout on Sacred Heart's first attempt, giving the Pioneers the second point in the draw.