MILFORD, Conn. – Nick DeCenzo scored with 37 seconds left in the third period to break a 3-3 deadlock and gave Army a 4-3 win on the road at Sacred Heart on Friday night.
Army (3-6-4, 2-5-4 AHA) is now unbeaten in six of its last seven games with a 3-1-3 mark. The Black Knights had four different scores in the win and was able to fight off two different comebacks by the Pioneers. Brendan McGuire, Trevor Fidler and Ryan Nick joined DeCenzo as goal scorers.
Parker Gahagen was solid in net when he had to be and moved to 3-3-4 overall. He stopped 23 shots with 16 coming in the first two periods.
“I am real pleased on how our guys never really panicked,” head coach Brian Riley said after coaching his 400th game. “Even in the third period, when Sacred Heart tied the game and a couple of times we were on our heels, guys were confident and calm on the bench and obviously a great play by DeCenzo and his line to get us the win.”
Sacred Heart (5-9-2, 4-6-1 AHA) got a great effort from Justin Danforth with three assists to lead all point-getters. Evan Jasper added two assists as well. Brett Magnus stopped 17 shots in net in the loss.
Army took the 1-0 lead with McGuire scoring on the power play with 15:28 left in the opening frame. Sacred Heart was trying to clear the puck on the penalty kill, but committed a bad turnover and McGuire took advantage. The Black Knights struck again three minutes later with Fidler netting his third of the season on another turnover by the Pioneers in their own zone and Army had a 2-0 lead. C.J. Reuschlein and Joe Kozlak were awarded a point on the play with assists.
The Pioneers got one back before the end of the period with hard work in front of the net. Connor Doherty battled in the face of Gahagen and found the back of the net as the two teams went to the intermission with Army leading 2-1.
Sacred Heart tied the game early in the middle frame with a power play goal from Zach Luczyk to make it 2-2. Army went off for tripping and the Pioneers wasted no time taking advantage with the goal coming 55 seconds into the second period.
The Black Knights answered just over five minutes later with Nick tallying his fourth of the season and third in his last six games. The defenseman collected the puck at the blueline after Josh Roberts won the faceoff back to Nick and he fired a shot through traffic and into the back of the net for the 3-2 advantage with 15:49 remaining in the middle period. Mansfield became the fourth rookie to tally a point this season .
Sacred Heart tied the game for the second time with 2:14 left in the period as Jordan Minello found the net for the sixth time this season. The Pioneers got the puck into the offensive zone and Minello got behind the defense and put a shot on Gahagen. The puck ended up trickling over the line after Gahagen looked to have mad the stop.
With less than a minute left, Army was able to break out of its own zone and start an odd-man rush the other way. Clint Carlisle found a streaking DeCenzo down the left side and he was open. The sophomore beat Magnus with a snipe from the circle with 37 seconds left to give Army the 4-3 victory.
The same two teams drop the puck tomorrow night at West Point. Tickets are still available and don’t forget it that it is Teddy Bear Toss night at Tate Rink. Bring your new or slightly used stuffed animals and throw them out on the ice during one of the intermission tomorrow night. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. with the ticket office opening one hour prior to puck drop.
Ice Shavings: Head coach Brian Riley was behind the bench for his 400th game at Army as head coach … Gahagen made his seventh straight start between the pipes and his 51st career appearance … Army has scored a power play goal in five-straight games … McGuire has four goals in his last five games … Army recorded two goals in the first period for the second time and for the sixth time in a single period overall … Nick tallied his second multi-point game of his career and has seven points in the last six games … Army remains unbeaten when scoring first with a 3-0-1 record … the Black Knights have picked up five league points in their last three games.
