Army Hockey Picks Up Victory Over Canisius

WEST POINT – Army West Point hockey (1-9-0, 1-6-0 AHA) collected its first victory of the season with a 2-1 win over Canisius (2-7-1, 2-3-1 AHA) on Saturday night from Tate Rink.

Evan Szary registered his first career win after making 28 saves in net for Army, while Joey Baez logged the game-winning goal in the third period. Hunter McCoy scored his first of the season which tied the game for Army, as the Black Knights close out their home schedule of the first half with a victory.

Canisius came out the better side, having begun the game on a power-play following a protocol violation for the Black Knights. Army killed off the penalty, but the Golden Griffins ended up firing 12 of the first 14 shots on net which resulted in a 1-0 lead at the 11:37 mark of the first period through Matt Vermaeten. Army weathered the storm for the remainder of the frame, as Canisius outshot Army 14-5 and led 1-0 through one period of play.

Canisius took a pair of penalties to begin the second, but the Army power-play was unable to capitalize. Army killed off a penalty of its own, before finding a breakthrough at even strength to tie the score 3:07 left in the period. Hunter McCoy took a nifty pass from Jake Hewitt at the right circle, and buried it past David Fessenden in the Canisius goal for his first tally of the season. The Golden Griffins took a penalty seconds after, but survived as the game went to the third period tied at two.

Szary held serve throughout the third, making nine saves in total in the period to blank the Griffs. Army was able to take the lead at the 7:31 mark, as Joey Baez scored his third goal of the series and second go-ahead goal in the third period. Michael Sacco delivered a pass towards net as a charging Baez was able to slot past Fessenden and give Army the 2-1 advantage. Mac Gadowsky recorded his first career points with an assist while Sacco increased his team lead with his eighth helper.

Army saw the majority of the chances throughout the closing minutes, with Vincent Salice and Max Itagaki each notably hitting the post on good chances. With the Canisius net empty, the Golden Griffins were able to get a few shots on Szary, who was up to the task in perserving the lead. Army eventually outshout the road side 31-29 en route to its first win of the season.