Baez Scores Late Winner as Hockey Tops Bentley, 2-1

Saturday, February 3

Waltham, MA

4:00 PM

Army West Point

8-19-1, 6-13-1

Bentley University

14-16-0, 10-12-0

Army West Point

Bentley

Baez Scores Late Winner as Hockey Tops Bentley, 2-1

February 03, 2024 | Hockey

Box Score

WALTHAM, MA - Army West Point hockey (8-19-1, 6-13-1 Atlantic Hockey) picked up a 2-1 victory at Bentley (14-16-0, 10-12-0 Atlantic Hockey) on Saturday to earn three conference points and a series split.

Joey Baez scored the game-winning goal with 1:39 remaining off a feed from Eric Huss while Mac Gadowsky scored his fourth of the campaign in the second period. Evan Szary made 30 saves in net for the Black Knights, his seventh victory and fifth 30+ save effort of the campaign.

Army looked to take momentum from the closing minutes in game one, which saw the Black Knights score two late goals, into the series finale. The teams dug in defensively to start, with neither side giving way towards a grade A scoring chance. Army had the lone power-play of the period, as both teams were unable to get anything going offensively in the first frame. Bentley had the majority of looks on net as Evan Szary made 12 stops through the first twenty minutes which saw a scoreless draw into the first intermission.

Army eventually struck first seven minutes into the second period, with John Driscoll feeding his defensive partner Mac Gadowsky who cut to the net and was beat Nicholas Grabko with a low-driven wrist shot for his fourth goal of the campaign. It marked the tenth time in 28 games this season that Army had scored first, with the Black Knights boasting a 5-4-0 record in such games entering play. The Falcons got their second power-play opportunity with 3:20 to play in the second, eventually capitalizing through Sam Duerr for his fifth tally of the season. The teams went into the second intermission with the score deadlocked at one.

The Black Knights were able to kill off a pair of penalties in the third, as the teams continued to stymie each other offensively. The game seemed destined for overtime as the clock ticked under five minutes, with both goalies up to the task all game. With 1:45 remaining, Easton Zueger helped keep the puck in the offensive zone for Army, eventually finding Eric Huss in the corner who delivered a perfectly weighted centering pass to Joey Baez, who tucked in his team-high 13th goal of the season to give Army a late lead.

Bentley pulled its goalie immediately after, with Szary forced to make four saves with the lead late, bringing his total to 30 for the game. The Black Knights were able to see out the 2-1 victory, and did not allow a single even strength across the two-game series.

Army will return home to host Robert Morris this weekend, with puck drop set for 7:00 p.m. on Friday and 6:00 p.m. on Saturday.