WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point hockey team starts the 2015-16 campaign on Friday night as the Black Knights host top-ranked Boston College at 7:05 p.m. at Tate Rink.
The game will be live on Knight Vision, AtlanticHockey.tv and also on the radio on 1260 WBNR-AM/1420 WLNA- AM.
THIS WEEK: SEASON STARTS ON FRIDAY
The Black Knights open the 2015-16 season on Friday night with a visit from Boston College. It is the first matched at Tate Rink for Army and the Eagles since 1994. The Black Knights welcome back 19 skaters from last season, led by captains Joe Kozlak and Christian Pomarico and assistant captain Tyler Pham. Army has added to its roster with nine newcomers from six different states. The Black Knights lost four seniors to graduation and will have to replace a total of 10 players from last season. Army plays Friday night at Tate Rink and then is not back on its home ice until Halloween night, which is flip-flopped from the beginning of last season, when it opened with eight-straight home contests.
NEXT WEEK: ATLANTIC HOCKEY SEASON KICKS OFF
Army will open the 2015-16 Atlantic Hockey slate with one of its longest road trips of the season with a visit to Mercyhurst on Oct. 23 and 24. The Lakers were picked to finish eighth in the coaches’ preseason poll last month, but Mercyhurst is still historically one of the most successful programs in the league. Last year, the Lakers won all four matchups between the two schools, including a high-scoring game early in the year with Mercyhurst winning by a 7-5 score. Head coach Brian Riley will be looking for his first win against his son Jack Riley, who is a sophomore forward at Mercyhurst.
A LOOK BACK: PHAM NAMED AHA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Army finished the 2014-15 season with an 8-22-4 overall record and an 8-16-4 mark in conference contests. Down the stretch, the Black Knights recorded league points in each of its last four weekends, including a 4-2 win on the road at NCAA Tournament participant RIT. Army took home its fourth-straight victory over RMC with a lopsided 8-0 win over the Paladins on Jan. 24. This year, the Black Knights head north to Kingston, Ontario, for its annual matchup with RMC. Tyler Pham led the team in points with 29 on nine goals and 20 assists. Those marks were also tops in the league among rookie skaters and he became the first Black Knight to win the Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Year award. Pham joined the AHA All-Rookie Team as well.
JOHN BUCCIGROSS TO DROP PUCK
ESPN anchor and personality John Buccigross will be at Tate Rink on Friday night to drop the ceremonial first puck on the 2015-16 season. Buccigross is a big supporter of college hockey and can be seen regularly as a play-by-play announcer for the NCAA Tournament.
ARMY PART OF BROOKLYN HOCKEY
The Barclays Center, the new home of the New York Islanders, is hosting a college doubleheader on Nov. 1 and the Black Knights are part of the action. Army will take on Bentley in an Atlantic Hockey showdown at 11 a.m., followed by a Hockey East matchup pitting Notre Dame against UConn. Tickets are still available and can be purchased online via Ticketmaster by visiting www.barclayscenter.com or www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling 800-745-3000.
RILEY BACK BEHIND THE BENCH
Army head coach Brian Riley returns to the bench for his 12th season with the Black Knights. Riley has posted a 119-216-52 mark during his tenure behind the West Point bench after succeeding his brother, Rob, who briefly retired from coaching in 2004. Prior to Rob, Jack Riley, their father, stood behind the Black Knights bench for 36 seasons. In addition to his success at Army, Jack Riley also coached the U.S. Olympic hockey team to a stunning gold medal in the 1960 Games. Riley is a three-time Atlantic Hockey Coach of the Year and saw his program earn AHA Rookie of the Year honors for the first time with Tyler Pham winning the award last season.
BLACK KNIGHTS PICKED 10TH BY COACHES
The Atlantic Hockey Association coaches have voted in their annual preseason league poll and Army is picked to finish in the 10th spot. The Black Knights earned 29 points in the poll, while last season’s regular-season champion, Robert Morris, was picked to repeat in 2015-16. The Colonials collected seven first-place votes en route to 97 total points in the poll. Tournament champion RIT was not far behind in second with four first-place votes and 91 points. Bentley rounded out the top three with 72 points.
RETURNING SCORERS
Army has its top six scorers returning from the 2014-15 season, which made up 58 percent of the output last year. The Black Knights have the eighth-highest amount of return scoring in the nation at 81.3 percent. Nebraska-Omaha has the top percent returning in the country at over 90 percent. Pham is the top skater back, while Andrle (4G, 13A) is back and so is C.J. Reuschlein (9G, 6A), who has 20 goals and 17 helpers in his two years. Kozlak is back as the most experienced player with 100 games played in his three seasons.
SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE
The Eagles make the early season trip to West Point as the top-ranked team in the nation according to the USCHO.com National Poll. Boston College finished 2014-15 with a 21-14-3 record and a 12-7-3 mark in Hockey East play. The Eagles earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament and loss to Denver, 5-2, in the Providence Regional Semifinal. They were eliminated from the Hockey East Tournament in the quarterfinals by Vermont. Boston College was picked to win Hockey East by both the media and coaches in their annual preseason polls.
The team’s top three scorers from 2014-15 are back. Overall last season, the Eagles had eight skaters with 20 or more points. Sophomore Alex Tuch was the team leader in points with 28 on 14 goals and 14 assists, while junior Adam Gilmour posted 27 points on nine goals and 18 points. Both Tuch and Gilmour are draft picks of the Minnesota Wild. Junior Ryan Fitzgerald, a Boston Bruins pick, returns as the leading goal scorer with 17 last season. Seven of those tallies came on the power play, and five were gamewinners.
The Eagles are without two of their best defensemen from last season as Michael Matheson chose to leave before is final year and joined the Florida Panthers, while Noah Hanifin chose to sign with the Carolina Hurricanes after being picked fifth overall in the 2015 NHL Draft. Senior Teddy Doherty is back as the most experienced defender.
In goal, Thatcher Demko returns for his third season with the team and is coming off a 19-13-3 year. He started 35 games between the pipes and posted a 2.19 goals against average and a .925 save percentage. He recorded one shutout in 2107:06 minutes of ice time. He is looking to start his 60th career game for the Eagles on Friday night and has won 35 games in two season with Boston College.
