WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army West Point hockey team completed its weekend sweep of Canisius Saturday night with a 5-2 victory at Tate Rink. The Black Knights have now denied the Golden Griffins a win in the team’s last four meetings.
ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES
Army improved to 6-3-1 overall with tonight’s win and are now 6-2-0 in Atlantic Hockey and have secured the top spot for the fifth consecutive week.
The Black Knights hold a 6-2-1 lead over the Griffins in the last nine meetings.
This weekend’s 2-0 mark is the first time that Army has swept a weekend series since facing Niagara on the road last January.
Five goals is the most that the Black Knights have netted this season and most since March 4 when they blanked AIC 5-0 in the AHA Opening Round.
Dominic Franco and his linemates of Michael Wilson and Tipper Higgins had another impressive night for the Cadets as they tallied six points to tack on to last night’s seven.
Franco netted the first goal of the night for Army and was assisted by Wilson and Higgins.
Conor Andrle got in on the scoring action for the Black Knights and netted the team’s second goal of the evening with help from Wilson and Mike Preston.
Higgins scored a goal for the second night in a row as well after successful passes from Preston and Franco.
Dalton MacAfee netted his second of the year and the team’s fourth of the night. He was assisted by Garrett Peterson who recorded his first point of the season and by Trevor Fidler.
Taylor Maruya closed-out Army’s five-goal night with the helpers from Zach Evancho and Brendan Soucie.
Parker Gahagen improves to 6-2-1 this season after stopping 32 shots.
HOW IT HAPPENED
For the second night in a row, the Black Knights led the Golden Griffins five minutes into the game.
Franco had a wraparound goal to give Army the 1-0 advantage. His linemates Wilson and Higgins assisted on the play.
Andrle put one in the back of the net with just over six minutes to play in the first period to push Army ahead 2-0. He got past two Canisius defenders to score a breakaway goal assisted by Wilson and Preston.
Higgins netted the Black Knights’ third goal of the game on a redirect from Preston and Franco in the 14:33rd minute of the stanza.
The Golden Griffins did not stay silent tonight and notched a power play goal to close-out the second period. It was their first goal of the weekend against Army.
Maruya posted his first goal of the season on a wraparound attempt from Evancho and Soucie. This padded the Black Knights’ lead to 5-1 with seven minutes to go in the game.
The Griffs would pick up their second goal of the night on the power play with 1:47 left to play, but Army held on for the 5-2 victory.
UP NEXT
Army will be tested on the road for the first time in November when the team travels to Rochester, N.Y., to take on RIT next Friday and Saturday. The puck will drop at 7:05 p.m. for both contests.
