WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army hockey team returns to Tate Rink this weekend with Friday and Saturday night matchups with Atlantic Hockey for RIT.
THIS WEEK: BACK AT TATE FOR TWO AGAINST RIT
Army is back at Tate Rink this week for a two-game clash with RIT. The reigning Atlantic Hockey Tournament champions have had a rough start to the season, but righted the ship last weekend with wins over American International to halt a five-game winless streak. The Tigers swept the Yellow Jackets easily with a 4-2 win on Friday night, followed by a 6-2 victory on Saturday night. RIT lost two of its top three scorers from last season as Matt Garbowsky and Brad McGowan graduated, and this year so far they are led by rookie Gabe Valenzuela with three points and sophomore Mark Goldberg with a trio of points as well.
NEXT WEEK: MIDWEEK MATCHUP WITH UCONN
The Black Knights will head out on the road for a Tuesday night matchup with old Atlantic Hockey rival Connecticut. It is the lone game of the week for Army as it will have 10 days between games after Tuesday. The Huskies were also in action at the Barclays Center and got beat by Notre Dame in a Hockey East matchup. The Irish scored early and often with an 8-2 win. UConn was swept by Notre Dame over the weekend and the Huskies’ season has gone up-and-down as they have not had more than a three-game winning or losing streak.
LAST WEEK: TAKING ONE LEAGUE POINT AGAINST BENTLEY
The Black Knights jumped out to a 2-0 lead after two periods on Halloween, but the Falcons answered with two goals in the third period as the two teams skated to a 2-2 draw. The teams hooked up again on Sunday morning at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Bentley scored 19 seconds into the game and didn’t look back as the Falcons earned a 6-2 victory. Army got goals from four different skaters last weekend, including rookie Tipper Higgins, who scored in his first collegiate game on Oct. 31. Clint Carlisle, Shane Hearn and Conor Andrle also scored in the two games.
ON THE RADIO
Both games will be live on the radio in the Hudson Valley on 1260 WBNR-AM in Beacon and 1430 WLNA-AM in Peekskill. Zack Daly will have the call from Tate Rink on Friday night and Nikolai Busko on Saturday. Busko is set to call 30 regular season games that are on the radio for the Black Knights this season. Daly returns as part of the broadcast crew and will do select games throughout the season. The game is also live on Knight Vision at GoArmyWestPoint.com.
LIVE STREAM THROUGH EVERSPORT
EverSport is back as the web stream provider of the Atlantic Hockey Association. Games throughout the season, both home and away, will be live on EverSport.tv by searching Atlantic Hockey. EverSport allows payment per game and season.
ROOKIES MAKING EARLY IMPACT
The Class of 2019 has had great early strides this season with five members playing in at least two games and four registering at least one point. Trevor Fidler leads the way with four points on two goals and two assists, while defenseman Nash Worden has two points. Filder’s three-game point streak came to an end on Halloween. Tipper Higgins became the second rookie to score this season with his first collegiate tally on Oct. 31 in his first career game.
POWERING THE POWER PLAY
The Black Knights have scored at least one power play goal in four of the five games this season and are currently fifth in the conference in power play percentage at 21.1 percent. Army has scored four goals in 19 opportunities with Fidler scoring twice, while Kozlak and Andrle adding the other man advantage goals. The Black Knights were held scoreless on the power play for the first time this year in the Oct. 31 game against Bentley.
REACHING A MILESTONE
Army saw one of its players reach an important milestone at Mercyhurst on Oct. 23, as senior forward Shane Hearn skated in his 100th career game as a Black Knight. The tough centerman is one of two players on this year’s squad to reach the mark as Joe Kozlak did it in the final game of 2014-15. He has 33 career points on 12 goals and 21 assists. Next up for the Black Knights to hit the milestone will be Christian Pomarico, who sits at 99 career games.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
RIT enters the weekend with a 2-4-1 overall mark and a 2-0-0 Atlantic Hockey record after sweeping its first conference weekend of the season. The Tigers went on the road for three of its first five games and dropped contests at Clarkson and St. Lawrence, before falling to Colgate on Oct. 23. They opened at home Oct. 17 against nationally-ranked Bowling Green and tied the Falcons at 2-2. RIT was swept by the Raiders the next weekend, including a 4-3 loss in a sellout crowd. The Tigers got back on track in league play with a pair of wins at AIC. They are averaging 2.57 goals per game and allowing 3.71.
Mark Golberg leads the way with eight points on a goal and seven assists. He had five points last weekend in the two games at the Yellow Jackets. The sophomore scored 10 points during the entire 2014-15 season. Gabe Valenzuela is second on the team in points with five on two goals and three assists. He has had an impressive start to the season with five points in seven games. Gregory Amlong is the top goal scorer on the team with three tallies.
In net, Mike Rotolo has returned for his junior season and has made five starts and is 1-3-1 overall. He has a .872 save percentage and a 3.75 goals against average. Rookie Christian Short has made two starts and is 1-1-0 and has a .889 save percentage and a 2.51 goals against average.
SERIES HISTORY
Army and RIT will be meeting for the 23rd time since the teams began playing in 2009. The Tigers lead the series at 14-3-5 after the two teams split last season with both games in Rochester. Last year, Army won on the road in the series for the first time since 2008 with a 4-2 win. The Black Knights have beaten the Tigers once at home in the series.
