WEST POINT, N.Y. – Down 2-0 on Senior Night, the Army hockey team responded with six unanswered goals and downed Bentley, 6-2, on Friday night at Tate Rink.
With the win and a loss by Sacred Heart, Army slides up to the seventh spot in the Atlantic Hockey standings with one game to go. The Black Knights are a point ahead of Bentley and Sacred Heart, while sitting one point back from Canisius after the Griffs lost to Robert Morris tonight.
“Down 2-0 the good news was that there was a lot of game left,” head coach Brian Riley said. “Our power play has bailed us out all year. They came up with two goals to get us back in it and I really liked how our guys responded tonight.”
Army (11-13-8, 8-11-8 AHA) was led by Conor Andrle’s two goals with one coming on the power play. In all, the Black Knights had five different goal scorers, including Joe Shecter, who scored his first collegiate goal. Joe Kozlak, Taylor Maruya and Ryan Nick chipped in with two points each with a pair of assists.
Parker Gahagen got the start and settled down after Bentley’s first two goals and stopped 24 shots with eight in each period. Riley had confidence in his netminder after the two goals since he has not allowed more than two in his last 11 starts.
“Parker has held opponents to two goals since Christmas,” Riley said. “I wasn’t worried about him, I was worried about us from a offensive standpoint. Parker has given us a chance every night.”
Bentley (11-17-5, 9-13-5 AHA) saw Tyler Krause and Danny Kucerovy score goals and Jayson Argue got the start and made 23 saves in 36 minutes of action. He was relieved by Gabe Antoni in the second period and Antoni stopped 12 shots during his time on the ice.
It was a very lively first period for both teams as they combined for four goals.
The Falcons gained a quick 2-0 lead in the first eight minutes of the game. Krause put the Falcons on the board first as he split the defense at the blueline and went in alone on Gahagen. The goalie made the initial save, but Krause followed his own rebound to make it 1-0. Mike Berry had a great pass from the neutral zone to get Krause free and Matt Blomquist was given the secondary assist.
Kucerovy gave the Falcons a two-goal advantage at the 11:56 mark of the opening frame. He gathered the puck after Army turned it over in the defensive zone and he went top-shelf on Gahagen for the 2-0 lead.
Army answered with two power play goals in the final five minutes to tie the game at 2-2 heading into the first intermission. Andrle got it started with his ninth of the year coming on the power play. Nick fired a shot from the point and Kozlak got a piece of it, but Argue made the save. He couldn’t cover the rebound and Andrle swooped in for the score.
Fidler tied the game with 55 seconds remaining with his seventh of the year, which also came on the man advantage. Andrle and Nick were involved again as Andrle flicked a shot that was block down by the defense, but Fidler collected the loose puck and beat Argue to tie the game. Nick was given an assist on the play.
The Black Knights kept the momentum into the second period and put a three-spot on the board. Shecter scored his first collegiate goal with 12:49 on the clock and Army had its first lead at 3-2. He got a pass from Christian Pomarico and fired a shot through traffic that beat Argue.
Army extended its lead with two goals in 19 seconds late in the second frame. Andrle tallied his second of the day with a pass from Tyler Pham. The pair exchanged passes throughout the rush up ice and Andrle shot it from for the faceoff dot to make it 4-2. The goal chased Argue from the game.
The Black Knights wasted no time welcoming Antoni to the game as Carlisle scored his fifth of the year. Maruya got the puck behind the net and found Kozlak at the near circle. Kozlak slid the puck over the Carlisle and he beat Antoni with a wrister to give Army the 5-2 lead heading into the third period.
Roberts finished off the scoring early in the third with his second of the year. There was a delayed penalty called on the Falcons and Ian Mansfield was able to find Roberts in the slot and he buried it to close out the scoring at 6-2.
Army’s power play was efficient tonight, going 2-for-3, including 2-for-2 in the first period. The Black Knights continued to improve on the penalty kill as they held Bentley scoreless on three chances. The Black Knights had a healthy shot advantage at 41-26.
The same two teams do battle tomorrow night at the John A. Ryan Skating Rink in Watertown, Mass., for a 7:05 p.m. puck drop.
Ice Shavings: Army scored six goals in a game for the first time since Nov. 12, 2013 against Sacred Heart … all six of those goals were unanswered as well … Andrle scored two goals for the second time in his career with the other coming against Niagara on Jan. 29 … Army has outscored its opponents 11-3 in the last two Senior Nights … Army is 8-2-1 when scoring three or more goals this season … when an opponent scores two or less, the Black Knights are 9-2-5 … the Black Knights scored two power play goals in a game for the fifth time this year … Army scored three goals in a period for the fourth time in 2015-16 … the Black Knights lead the series with Bentley at 25-21-10 and ended the Falcons’ four-game unbeaten streak.
