WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army hockey team returned home following its holiday break and started the second half of the season with a bang as the Black Knights upended 20th-ranked Merrimack with a 3-2 victory on Tuesday night.
Army (5-8-4) saw Trevor Fidler pick the pocket of a Merrimack defender and beat goalie Drew
Vogler on a breakaway with the eventual gamewinner with less than eight minutes to go in the game. Nick DeCenzo and Conor Andrle added goals as well in the win.
“We knew we were playing a hard-working team tonight and that is where it started for us, our work ethic,” head coach Brian Riley said. “We knew we hadn’t been on the ice for two weeks and we knew we had to use everybody and play a full 60 minutes. I am really proud of the guys and the effort tonight.”
Parker Gahagen made his 14th start of the season and pushed aside 35 shots in the win. He recorded 18 stops in the third period to seal the deal for the Black Knights.
Merrimack (7-5-5) got goals from Chris LeBlanc and Justin Hussar in the losing effort and Volger made 20 saves on the night with 10 in the final frame.
The Black Knights gained the first advantage in the game on a great bounce of the puck. Brendan McGuire went charging after the puck behind the net on a dump in and forced it up in the air. Army got a break as the puck flipped over the cage and Volger couldn’t locate it. DeCenzo swooped in and batted it home for the 1-0 lead with 3:17 on the clock.
The Warriors answered with 12:17 remaining in the second period with good puck movement in the offensive zone. Derek Petti found Hampus Gustafsson at the half boards and then Gustafsson spotted LeBlanc in the slot and he beat Gahagen to tie it at 1-1.
Andrle broke the 1-1 tie late in the middle frame with a snipe from the slot. He toe-dragged past a defender and went bar down on Volger to make it 2-1 game with 2:55 remaining in the second. Mike Preston was given an assist on the play for his work on the boards to get the puck free for Andrle.
A much-needed insurance goal then came off the stick of Fidler. He stole the puck at the Merrimack blueline and broke in all alone on Vogler. He deked a couple of times and roofed a forehand past the netminder for the 3-1 advantage. The goal came at the 7:44 mark of the final period.
The Warriors chipped away at the lead with an extra-attacker goal coming with 41 seconds left to make it a one-goal game. Gustafsson took a shot from the outside that was knocked down in front and the puck fell to Hussar and he put it past Gahagen to cut the lead to 3-2. Merrimack had one last push, but Army stood tall in its end and earned the 3-2 win.
The Black Knights were outshot by the Warriors, 37-23, and went 1-for-7 on the man advantage. Merrimack had four chances on the power play, but came up empty.
Army faces another Hockey East foe on Saturday as UMass comes to West Point for a 7:05 p.m. puck drop. Tickets are still available and came be purchased online at GoArmySports.com or one-hour prior to face off at the Holleder Center Ticket Office.
Ice Shavings: Army’s win tonight halted Merrimack’s 15-game winning streak against the Black Knights … Army’s last win against the Warriors came on Feb. 16, 1985 … the Black Knights are 2-1 against Hockey East foes … first win over a ranked team since Jan. 4, 2013 when Army beat #19 Robert Morris by a 5-0 score … this was the 40th all-time meeting between Army and Merrimack … the Black Knights faced their third Hockey East team of the year after playing Boston College in the season opener and beating UConn on Nov. 10 by a 2-0 score … UMass on Saturday will be the fourth and final non-conference game of the season, which have all been against Hockey East competition … Gahagen made his 49th career start and 14th this year … he stopped 30 or more shots for the seventh time this season … Army is 2-0-0 on Tuesday’s this season and 2-2-0 in one-goal games … Army is now 4-1-1 when scoring first and 4-0-2 when leading after three periods.
