WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point hockey team took down league rival Holy Cross, 4-2, Friday night. The Black Knights came out strong and scored the first four goals of the game to increase their unbeaten streak over the Crusaders to seven straight.
ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES
Army improved to 8-6-1 on the year and 8-4-0 in Atlantic Hockey to reclaim the top spot with 16 points alongside RIT. Holy Cross fell to 6-6-3, 3-3-3 AHA.
Senior captain Ryan Nick netted his first goal of the season to give the Black Knights a 1-0 edge in the second period.
Dominic Franco and Zach Evancho both scored power play goals for Army. This is the most power play goals scored in a game since the Cadets faced RIT and in the season opener against Colgate.
Dalton MacAfee tallied the game winner with a slap shot from the blue line on a delayed penalty for the Black Knights. It was the defender’s third goal of the season.
Alex Wilkinson recorded two helpers on the night along with Tyler Pham. Nash Worden, Brendan McGuire and Ian Mansfield also notched points in the win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a scoreless first period, Holy Cross chanced a shot early in the second which bounced off Parker Gahagen’s pads and flew into the air. Nick DeCenzo was there though and batted the puck away to prevent the Crusaders from scoring.
Nick netted his first goal of the year with a wrister to the upper left corner of the goal. He was assisted by Mansfield and Worden. It was Mansfield’s third assist of the year and Wordern’s first point of the season.
Just 40 seconds into the final stanza, the Black Knights struck on the power play with Franco netting his fourth of the season. Wilkinson and Pham helped on the cause and both tallied their fourth assists of the year.
Dalton MacAfee ripped a shot from the blue line on the delayed penalty to push the Cadets ahead 3-0 with Mansfield and McGuire with the assists. Gahagen just cleared the bench to give the Black Knights the advantage.
Evancho netted his sixth of the year and fourth power play goal which padded Army’s lead to 4-0 in the game. The assists were credited to Pham and Wilkinson.
Holy Cross answered back though with two goals to close-out the final stanza. The Crusaders netted an even and power play goal under a minute apart to bring it to a two-goal game.
UP NEXT
The Black Knights continue the weekend’s series in Worcester, Mass., tomorrow night. Army will take on the Crusaders at the Hart Center with the puck dropping at 7:05 p.m.
HOW TO FOLLOW SATURDAY
Online Stream • AtlanticHockey.TV ($)
Online Audio • GoArmyWestPoint.com/watch
Radio • 1260 WBNR-AM (Joined in Progress)
Livestats • GoHolyCross.com
Twitter • ArmyWP_Hockey
For up-to-date information about Army hockey, please follow @ArmyWP_Hockey on Twitter and Instagram.
