Hockey Set to Open New Season at Union

WEST POINT, NY - Army West Point Hockey returns on Sunday to open its 2024-25 campaign with a non-conference road matchup at Union College.

Puck drop is set for 4:00 p.m. from Messa Rink with the game also available to stream on ESPN+ and listen on The Varsity Network.

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Game Notes:

Army once again boasts one of the younger rosters in the country with its 18 underclassmen being the fifth-most among all Division I programs.
Army graduated just 7.8-percent of its points from last season, but then lost 24.6-percent of its points to the transfer portal.
Joey Baez enters the campaign with 43 career goals which ranks third among active players in the NCAA.
Baez would need 21 goals to match Army's goal record in the Atlantic Hockey era (2003-pres.).
He tallied tallied 21 goals in his sophomore campaign which led the conference.
Baez has 19 power-play goals on his ledger, which leads all active college hockey players.
Michael Sacco will wear the 'C' for the second straight season, with Joey Baez and Andrew Gilbert also apart of the leadership group as alternate captains.
Sacco enters the season with 107 career blocked shots, which ranks second among active forwards in the country and first among forwards with less than five seasons under their belt.
His 53 blocked shots this past season led all forwards in the country.
Mac Gadowsky turned in one of the most productive seasons in the country from a freshman defenseman in 2023-24, with his .82 points per game trailing only top-12 NHL picks Arytom Levshunov and Zeev Buium among all rookie blueliners.
Gadowsky was particularly in a league of his own among Atlantic Hockey America freshmen, logging 10 more points than any other in the conference despite missing the first seven games of the season.
Gadowsky was named to the All-Atlantic Hockey American Preseason Team.
Gadowsky and Brent Keefer were one of two freshmen duos in the conference to each log 23+ points during their rookie campaign.
It marks the third time in four seasons in which Army has had a player tab preseason All-AHA honors.
Keefer is one of twenty sophomores in the country to have logged 13 or more goals in 2023-24.
Evan Szary returns as the lone goaltender of the four on Army's roster to have seen collegiate action.
Szary led the Black Knights in wins (8), GAA (3.26) and SV% (.898) in 2023-24.
Sophomore Nik Hong emerged as Army's top faceoff man during his rookie season, winning 310 draws at over a 50-percent clip.
His 310 faceoff wins was fifth-most among all freshmen in the country.
Hong netted Army's first hat trick from a plebe since 2016 with a three-goal effort on 1-16-24 to help defeat Sacred Heart.
Army was slated tenth in the AHA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Head Coach Brian Riley enters his 21st and final season at the helm of the program. The record four-time AHA Coach of the Year enters the season with 242 career wins.
Associate Head Coach and Atlantic Hockey Hall of Fame honoree Zach McKelvie enters his 11th season on the bench for the Black Knights and will take the reins as head coach beginning in 2025-26.

SERIES HISTORY

Union leads the all-time season series 15-8-3.
The Garnet Chargers collected a 6-0 win to open the 2023-24 campaign at Tate Rink while the two side's drew 2-2 in the year prior.
Army most recent season-opening win came in a 3-2 win over Union on 10-6-2019.
The most recent meeting in Schenectady saw the Black Knights fall 4-1 on 10-6-2018.

SCOUTING THE GARNET CHARGERS

Union tabbed eighth in preseason ECAC Hockey Coaches' Poll.
The Garnet Chargers finished the 2023-24 season with a (16-18-3, 9-10-3 ECAC) mark.
Junior defenseman John Prokop was named to the Preseason All-League Team after garnering All-American recognition this past year with a 35-point season.
Junior Kyle Chauvette returns in net after starting 36 of 37 games this past season, having posted a 15-16-3 record with three shutouts, including one against the Black Knights.
The Garnet Chargers return 219 points from 2023-24 which ranks as the tenth-highest total in the country.

Army will hit the road again next weekend for an exhibition contest at No. 12 Maine, with puck drop set for 2:00 p.m. in Orono on Saturday, October 12.

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Players Mentioned

Joey Baez

Mac Gadowsky

Andrew Gilbert

Nik Hong

Brent Keefer

Michael Sacco

Evan Szary

Army West Point Athletics