WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army hockey team erased a first period deficit with C.J. Reuschlein scoring early in the second period, but that was it as the Black Knights settled for a 1-1 tie against Air Force in front of a sellout crowd at Tate Rink on Saturday.
Army (5-11-6, 3-9-6 AHA) went to overtime for the ninth time this season and the fifth time in the last seven games. Reuschlein had the lone tally for the Black Knights, while Andrle tallied an assist for his 13th of the season. Parker Gahagen made 27 saves between the pipes in the tie and concluded the weekend with only two goals allowed.
Air Force (10-9-3, 8-5-3 AHA) finished the weekend with three points as Ben Kucera collected his second point of the weekend and his seventh goal of the season. Tyler Ledford was given an assist on the goal. Shane Starrett pushed aside 26 shots by the Black Knights and allowed just one goal in 120 minutes this weekend.
“I thought we came out and played extremely hard,” head coach Brian Riley said. “I liked how we responded after coming off a tough loss last night. We got behind early, but our guys stayed with it and felt that we were going to find a way to win. It was a great college hockey game with two teams competing really hard.”
Air Force took the first lead of the game for the second-straight night with Kucera netting his seventh of the season. Ledford forced a turnover at the Army blueline and broke into the zone on a 2-on-0 and fed an open Kucera. Gahagen committed to Ledford, so Kucera hit the open net for the 1-0 lead.
The Black Knights evened the game up early in the second period with Reuschlein scoring in the slot for his fourth of the year. He dumped the puck into the zone and Andrle picked it up in the corner. Reuschlein continued to follow the play and was fed by Andrle in the slot. The junior fired a shot on net that Starrett got a piece of, but the puck trickled across the line to tie the game with 16:23 left in the middle frame.
Air Force led in shots for the third period at 10-9, but Army had the best chance to take the lead as Trevor Fidler broke into the offensive zone on a 2-on-1. He chose to pass the puck and a Falcon defender got his stick down just in time to deflect it over an Army stick to stop the chance.
The Falcons had a power play late in overtime as Army was called for too many men on the ice, but could only put on shot on net as the teams settled for a 1-1 tie.
Army takes next week off from NCAA competition as the Black Knights head north of the border to take on the Royal Military Academy in the longest running international rivalry. The game is set for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night.
Ice Shavings: Army and Air Force faced each other for the 65th time since meeting in the first matchup in 1969 … Air Force leads the series at West Point by a 14-13-3 margin … the Falcons have a 37-22-6 overall lead in the series … last tie in the series was in 2013 and it was a 3-3 tie at Tate Rink … the nine overtime games played this season is the most since the 2005-06 season when the Black Knights played 10 overtime contests … Army remains unbeaten on television with a 1-0-2 mark.
