Army West Point Athletics
Saturday, November 4
West Point, NY
4:00 PM
Army West Point
0-6-0, 0-3-0
3
vs
5
RIT
6-2-0, 5-1-0
1
2
3
F
RIT
1
2
2
5
Army West Point
0
0
3
3
Hockey's Comeback Effort Falls Short Against RIT
November 04, 2023 | Hockey
WEST POINT, NY - Army West Point hockey (0-6-0, 0-3-0 AHA) fell by a score of 5-3 to RIT (6-2-0, 5-1-0 AHA) who completed the weekend sweep on Saturday afternoon at Tate Rink.
Army trailed 4-1 with under three minutes to play, before scoring twice in 15 seconds to make it an enthralling finish before RIT cleaned up an empty net opportunity,
Evan Szary made 31 saves in net for the Black Knights while Pierce Patterson, Max Itagaki and Brent Keefer supplied the goals.
Coming off the win last night, RIT skated well in the first period, outshooting the Black Knights 13-4 while scoring on a five minute power-play midway through the period. Szary made 12 stops in total through the opening frame as RIT held its 1-0 advantage into the break.
The second period saw more of the same, with RIT outshooting Army 16-7. Simon Isabelle scored six minutes in to make it a 2-0 game, before a backbreaking goal in the final seconds from Grady Hobbs made it 3-0 entering the final period.
Army got back in the game on the power-play early in the third, with Pierce Patterson firing a wrist shot past Tommy Scarfone to get the Black Knights on the board via his first career goal. RIT answered with a score to make it 4-1. The Black Knights kept the pressure on in third, where they eventually outshot RIT 18-7, but could not find a goal as we entered the final five minutes.Â
The Tigers took a major penalty with just over five minutes remaining, giving Army an extended opportunity with the extra man. The Black Knights capitalized with Itagaki depositing his first of the season with 2:28 remaining, putting it past Scarfone after his initial look was saved. Off the ensuing faceoff, John Driscoll found Michael Sacco down the left flank, who used a centering pass to Brent Keefer who buried Army's second goal in 15 seconds to turn the game on its head with a 4-3 scoreline.
Army had a couple of shots with the empty net, before RIT corralled the puck which allowed Matthew Wilde to bury the empty net goal to seal the game at 5-3. The contest marked Army's first game scoring three power-play goals since last January 28 against Air Force.
Army will return next weekend at service academy rival Air Force for a two-game set on Friday and Saturday.
GAME NOTES
Army trailed 4-1 with under three minutes to play, before scoring twice in 15 seconds to make it an enthralling finish before RIT cleaned up an empty net opportunity,
Evan Szary made 31 saves in net for the Black Knights while Pierce Patterson, Max Itagaki and Brent Keefer supplied the goals.
Coming off the win last night, RIT skated well in the first period, outshooting the Black Knights 13-4 while scoring on a five minute power-play midway through the period. Szary made 12 stops in total through the opening frame as RIT held its 1-0 advantage into the break.
The second period saw more of the same, with RIT outshooting Army 16-7. Simon Isabelle scored six minutes in to make it a 2-0 game, before a backbreaking goal in the final seconds from Grady Hobbs made it 3-0 entering the final period.
Army got back in the game on the power-play early in the third, with Pierce Patterson firing a wrist shot past Tommy Scarfone to get the Black Knights on the board via his first career goal. RIT answered with a score to make it 4-1. The Black Knights kept the pressure on in third, where they eventually outshot RIT 18-7, but could not find a goal as we entered the final five minutes.Â
The Tigers took a major penalty with just over five minutes remaining, giving Army an extended opportunity with the extra man. The Black Knights capitalized with Itagaki depositing his first of the season with 2:28 remaining, putting it past Scarfone after his initial look was saved. Off the ensuing faceoff, John Driscoll found Michael Sacco down the left flank, who used a centering pass to Brent Keefer who buried Army's second goal in 15 seconds to turn the game on its head with a 4-3 scoreline.
Army had a couple of shots with the empty net, before RIT corralled the puck which allowed Matthew Wilde to bury the empty net goal to seal the game at 5-3. The contest marked Army's first game scoring three power-play goals since last January 28 against Air Force.
Army will return next weekend at service academy rival Air Force for a two-game set on Friday and Saturday.
GAME NOTES
- Michael Sacco matched a career-best three points with a career-high three assists. Sacco also blocked a team-high three shots.
- Brent Keefer posted his team-leading third goal of the season with his power-play score in the third period.Â
- Jake Hewitt registered an assist in consecutive contests for the Black Knights.
- Pierce Patterson logged his first career goal with a power-play tally.
- Evan Szary made a career-high 31 saves in net.
- Max Itagaki deposited his first goal of the season and fifth of his career.
- John Driscoll recorded his first points of the season with a pair of assists.
- The Black Knights scored three times on the power-play, with the three goals marking a season-high.
- Army outshot the Tigers 18-7 in the third period.
Team Stats
RIT
AWP
Shots
36
29
PPG
1
3
SHG
0
0
Penalties
6
2
Penalty Mins
23
7
Faceoffs Won
29
26
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
-1
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
3
+/-
-3
Goals
0
Sh
0
A
2
+/-
-1
Goals
1
Sh
5
A
0
+/-
-3
Goals
1
Sh
4
A
0
Players Mentioned
D
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F
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F
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D
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F
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G
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