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2023–24 Army Black Knights men's ice hockey season

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2023–24 Army Black Knights
men's ice hockey season
Conference10th Atlantic Hockey
Home iceTate Rink
Rankings
USCHONR
USA HockeyNR
Record
Overall10–23–2
Conference8–16–2
Home5–10–1
Road5–13–1
Coaches and captains
Head coachBrian Riley
Assistant coachesZack McKelvie
Chris Azzano
Jack Riley
Captain(s)Ricky Lyle
Michael Sacco
Army Black Knights men's ice hockey seasons
« 2022–23 2024–25 »

The 2023–24 Army Black Knights men's ice hockey season was the 121st season of play for the program, the 114th at the Division I level, and the 21st in Atlantic Hockey. The Black Knights represented the United States Military Academy, played their home games at the Tate Rink and were coached by Brian Riley in his 20th season.

Season

[edit]

Army could have hardly started their season worse, losing their first nine games and allowing at least 3 goals in every game. The Black Knight's weren't terrible on the offensive side but it was no where near good enough to overcome the poor performance they were seeing in net. Neither Gavin Abrin nor Evan Szary showed any signs of being able to keep the puck out of the net and, as the losses mounted, any hope for the season faded.

Just before Thanksgiving, Szary provided the first decent game in goal, enabling Army to win its first game of the year. Afterwards, the goaltending remained inconsistent for the rest of the season, alternating between decent outings and subpar performances. By season's end the Black Knights had the 3rd-worst goals against average in the nation, surrendering almost 4 goals per game.[1] The team's offense remained consistently average all season long, capitalizing in the matches where the goaltending was at least respectable. In games where Army allowed 3 goals or fewer, the Black Knights went 10–2–2, on matches where they allowed at least 4 goals, the team went 0–20–0.

The defensive troubles resulted in the team finishing 10th in the conference and having to face Niagara in the First Round of the Atlantic Hockey tournament. The Black Knights fired 43 shots on goal, nearly double the total from the Purple Eagles, but they were let down by goaltending once more. Abric allowed 3 goals on just 20 shots while Army was stymied time and again by Niagara's netminder. The 1–4 loss followed the pattern that had been laid out all season long and ended a rather forgettable year for Army.[2]

Departures

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Cause
Brett Abdelnour Forward  United States Graduation (retired)
Jude Brower Defenseman  United States Left program (retired)
Justin Evenson Goaltender  United States Graduation (retired)
Reese Farrell Forward  United States Left program (retired)
Thomas Farrell Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with Toledo Walleye)
Anthony Firriolo Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with Jacksonville Icemen)
Kendrick Frost Forward  United States Graduation (retired)
John Keranen Forward  United States Graduation (retired)
Patrick Smyth Forward  United States Graduation (retired)
Noah Wilson Defenseman  United States Graduation (retired)

Recruiting

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Jon Bell Defenseman  United States 21 St. Cloud, MN
Mac Gadowsky Defenseman  United States 21 Fairbanks, AK
Jacob Hewitt Forward  United States 21 Ashburnham, MA
Gus Holt Forward  United States 20 Bowling Green, OH
Nik Hong Forward  United States 21 Minneapolis, MN
Dayne Hoyord Forward  United States 21 Scandinavia, WI
Brent Keefer Forward  United States 22 Colorado Springs, CO
Pierce Patterson Defenseman  United States 21 Valrico, FL
Vincent Salice Forward  United States 20 Commerce Township, MI
Barron Woodring Forward  United States 21 Chicago, IL
Easton Zueger Defenseman  United States 20 Sioux Falls, SD

Roster

[edit]

As of September 14, 2023.[3]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Wisconsin Gavin Abric Senior G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-01-11 Hayward, Wisconsin Jersey (NCDC)
2 Alaska Mac Gadowsky Freshman D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-01-10 Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks (NAHL)
3 South Dakota Easton Zueger Freshman D 5' 8" (1.73 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2003-06-07 Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux City (USHL)
4 Colorado John Driscoll Sophomore D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2001-08-19 Littleton, Colorado Green Bay (USHL)
5 Minnesota Jon Bell Freshman D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2002-06-22 St. Cloud, Minnesota Wisconsin (NAHL)
6 Florida Pierce Patterson Freshman D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2002-02-26 Valrico, Florida Amarillo (NAHL)
7 Connecticut Andrew Gilbert Junior D 6' 5" (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2000-05-02 Fairfield, Connecticut Jersey (NCDC)
8 Minnesota Ricky Lyle (C) Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-08-21 Duluth, Minnesota Madison (USHL)
9 Minnesota Nik Hong Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-08-27 Minneapolis, Minnesota St. Cloud (NAHL)
10 Nebraska Jake Felker Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-03-19 Omaha, Nebraska Youngstown (USHL)
11 Wisconsin Josh Bohlin Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-02-10 Wausau, Wisconsin Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)
12 Massachusetts Jake Hewitt Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-07-05 Ashburnham, Massachusetts Nanaimo (BCHL)
13 New York (state) Michael Sacco (C) Junior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-11-16 Syosset, New York Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (NAHL)
14 New York (state) Owen Nolan Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-03-10 Mahopac, New York Lone Star (NAHL)
15 North Dakota Lucas Kanta Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-04-20 Grand Forks, North Dakota Minnesota Magicians (NAHL)
16 Massachusetts Hunter McCoy Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-08-01 Newburyport, Massachusetts Maryland (NAHL)
17 Michigan Vincent Salice Freshman F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2003-02-28 Commerce Township, Michigan Omaha (USHL)
18 Wisconsin Dayne Hoyord Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-03-19 Scandinavia, Wisconsin Odessa (NAHL)
19 Illinois Max Itagaki Sophomore F 5' 5" (1.65 m) 155 lb (70 kg) 2002-06-18 Glenview, Illinois Nanaimo (BCHL)
20 New Jersey Sean Vlasich Sophomore D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2001-04-20 Hillsdale, New Jersey North Iowa (NAHL)
21 Connecticut Stephen Willey Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-03-26 Shelton, Connecticut New Jersey (NAHL)
22 New York (state) Jude Brower Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-06-11 Mahopac, New York Boston Jr. Bruins (NCDC)
23 Florida Joey Baez Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-01-12 Tampa, Florida Lone Star (NAHL)
24 Michigan Andrew Garby Junior D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 2000-09-17 Canton, Michigan Fairbanks (NAHL)
25 Illinois Barron Woodring Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2002-07-05 Chicago, Illinois Sioux City (USHL)
26 Minnesota Joey Dosan Sophomore F 6' 6" (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 2001-03-20 Bloomington, Minnesota Springfield (NAHL)
27 North Carolina Trevor Smith Sophomore F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-03-02 Raleigh, North Carolina Boston Advantage (NCDC)
28 Colorado Brent Keefer Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2001-09-28 Colorado Springs, Colorado Northeast (NAHL)
29 Texas Eric Huss Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-03-16 Dallas, Texas Lone Star (NAHL)
31 Tennessee Evan Szary Junior G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-02-29 Nashville, Tennessee South Shore (NCDC)
33 Ohio Gus Holt Freshman G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 206 lb (93 kg) 2003-02-21 Bowling Green, Ohio Victoria (BCHL)

Standings

[edit]
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OW OL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#17 RIT †* 26 18 7 1 3 2 0 54 102 64 40 27 11 2 156 96
Holy Cross 26 13 10 3 0 3 1 46 78 62 39 21 14 4 116 93
Sacred Heart 26 14 10 2 2 2 1 45 75 70 36 14 19 3 91 113
Air Force 26 15 10 1 3 0 1 44 88 75 38 18 19 1 115 119
American International 26 12 10 4 1 1 2 42 79 68 40 20 16 4 119 111
Bentley 26 12 12 2 1 2 2 41 69 58 35 16 17 2 95 82
Niagara 26 13 10 3 3 1 1 41 78 79 39 18 18 3 111 122
Canisius 26 10 12 4 2 1 0 33 73 87 37 12 21 4 103 126
Mercyhurst 26 7 15 4 0 1 4 30 77 91 35 9 22 4 98 126
Army 26 8 16 2 0 1 1 28 66 96 35 10 23 2 93 139
Robert Morris 26 7 17 2 0 1 1 25 60 95 39 11 25 3 94 142
Championship: March 23, 2024
† indicates conference regular season champion (DeGregorio Trophy)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

[edit]
Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
October 8 2:00 pm Union* Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Abric L 0–6  2,033 0–1–0
Ice Breaker Tournament
October 13 8:00 pm at #7 North Dakota* Ralph Engelstad ArenaGrand Forks, North Dakota (Ice Breaker Game 1) Midco Abric L 2–7  11,548 0–2–0
October 14 7:07 pm at Bemidji State* Sanford CenterBemidji, Minnesota (Ice Breaker Game 2)   Szary L 2–3 OT 1,986 0–3–0
October 31 7:05 pm at Sacred Heart Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey, SNY Abric L 1–6  2,127 0–4–0 (0–1–0)
November 3 7:00 pm RIT Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Abric L 2–4  1,795 0–5–0 (0–2–0)
November 4 4:00 pm RIT Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Szary L 3–5  1,638 0–6–0 (0–3–0)
November 10 9:05 pm at Air Force Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado (Rivalry) FloHockey Szary L 3–4 OT 2,629 0–7–0 (0–4–0)
November 11 7:05 pm at Air Force Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado (Rivalry) FloHockey Szary L 0–4  2,250 0–8–0 (0–5–0)
November 17 7:00 pm Canisius Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Abric L 4–6  1,600 0–9–0 (0–6–0)
November 18 7:00 pm Canisius Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Szary W 2–1  1,670 1–9–0 (1–6–0)
November 21 7:00 pm at Holy Cross Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Szary W 3–2  807 2–9–0 (2–6–0)
Turkey Leg Classic
November 24 4:00 pm at Merrimack* J. Thom Lawler RinkNorth Andover, Massachusetts (Turkey Leg Game 1) ESPN+ Szary L 3–7  2,034 2–10–0
November 25 4:00 pm at Massachusetts Lowell* Tsongas CenterLowell, Massachusetts (Turkey Leg Game 2) ESPN+ Szary W 4–2  3,741 3–10–0
November 28 7:05 pm at American International MassMutual CenterSpringfield, Massachusetts FloHockey Szary L 1–5  252 3–11–0 (2–7–0)
December 8 7:00 pm at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, Pennsylvania FloHockey Szary W 4–3  1,017 4–11–0 (3–7–0)
December 9 4:00 pm at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, Pennsylvania FloHockey Abric L 3–4  1,005 4–12–0 (3–8–0)
December 29 7:00 pm #16 New Hampshire* Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Abric W 6–3  2,610 5–12–0
January 2 7:00 pm Bentley Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Abric L 2–5  1,533 5–13–0 (3–9–0)
January 6 6:00 pm at #19 Penn State* Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, Pennsylvania   Abric L 6–7  6,078 5–14–0
January 9 7:00 pm at Sacred Heart Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Abric T 3–3 SOL 2,634 5–14–1 (3–9–1)
January 12 7:00 pm Holy Cross Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Szary W 3–0  1,625 6–14–1 (4–9–1)
January 13 4:00 pm Holy Cross Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Szary L 1–3  2,269 6–15–1 (4–10–1)
January 16 7:00 pm Sacred Heart Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Szary W 5–3  800 7–15–1 (5–10–1)
January 19 7:00 pm Air Force Tate RinkWest Point, New York (Rivalry) FloHockey Szary L 1–8  2,528 7–16–1 (5–11–1)
January 20 4:00 pm Air Force Tate RinkWest Point, New York (Rivalry) FloHockey Abric L 6–7  2,548 7–17–1 (5–12–1)
January 27 7:00 pm Royal Military College* Tate RinkWest Point, New York (Rivalry, Exhibition) FloHockey Abric W 6–1  2,365
January 30 7:00 pm at Princeton* Hobey Baker Memorial RinkPrinceton, New Jersey ESPN+ Abric L 3–4 OT 1,281 7–18–1
February 2 7:00 pm at Bentley Bentley ArenaWaltham, Massachusetts FloHockey Szary L 2–4  1,630 7–19–1 (5–13–1)
February 3 4:00 pm at Bentley Bentley ArenaWaltham, Massachusetts FloHockey Szary W 2–1  1,515 8–19–1 (6–13–1)
February 9 7:00 pm Robert Morris Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Szary W 3–1  1,708 9–19–1 (7–13–1)
February 10 6:00 pm Robert Morris Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Szary L 3–4  1,734 9–20–1 (7–14–1)
February 16 7:00 pm at Niagara Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Abric L 3–6  1,002 9–21–1 (7–15–1)
February 17 5:00 pm at Niagara Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Abric W 3–0  1,004 10–21–1 (8–15–1)
February 23 7:00 pm American International Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Abric T 2–2 SOW 2,065 10–21–2 (8–15–2)
February 24 4:00 pm American International Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Abric L 1–5  2,019 10–22–2 (8–16–2)
Atlantic Hockey Tournament
March 2 7:00 pm at Niagara* Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York (First Round) FloHockey Abric L 1–4  710 10–23–2
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[4]

Scoring statistics

[edit]
Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Joey Baez F 32 15 16 31 14
Max Itagaki F 34 6 19 25 31
Brent Keefer F 34 13 11 24 30
Mac Gadowsky D 28 4 19 23 8
Michael Sacco F 34 6 16 22 54
John Driscoll D 35 5 16 21 16
Ricky Lyle LW 34 10 9 19 33
Nik Hong F 35 7 10 17 14
Jake Hewitt F 35 7 10 17 6
Vincent Salice F 34 4 6 10 12
Pierce Patterson D 31 4 6 10 8
Barron Woodring F 31 5 3 8 16
Hunter McCoy F 25 1 4 5 8
Jude Brower D 15 0 4 4 7
Sean Vlasich D 28 0 3 3 6
Owen Nolan D 21 0 3 3 16
Easton Zueger D 21 1 2 3 4
Lucas Kanta F 28 1 2 3 8
Stephen Willey F 20 1 1 2 0
Andrew Garby D 10 2 0 2 2
Trevor Smith F 12 1 1 2 2
Eric Huss F 15 0 1 1 4
Evan Szary G 26 0 1 1 0
Josh Bohlin F 1 0 0 0 2
Andrew Gilbert D 33 0 0 0 10
Joey Dosan F 2 0 0 0 0
Jake Felker F 14 0 0 0 19
Gavin Abric G 19 0 0 0 0
Jon Bell D 18 0 0 0 15
Total 93 163 256 345

Source: [5]

Goaltending statistics

[edit]
Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Evan Szary 26 1233:12 8 10 0 67 593 1 .898 3.26
Gavin Abric 19 864:42 2 13 2 65 413 1 .864 4.51
Empty Net - 22:20 - - - 7 - - - -
Total 35 2120:14 10 23 2 139 1006 2 .8.79 3.93

Rankings

[edit]
Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 (Final)
USCHO.com NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
USA Hockey NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 and 25.[6]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

Awards and honors

[edit]
Player Award Ref
Joey Baez Atlantic Hockey Second Team [7]
Mac Gadowsky Atlantic Hockey Rookie Team [7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "National 2023–24 Goaltending Leaders". College Hockey inc. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  2. ^ "SATURDAY, MARCH 2, 2024". College Hockey inc. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  3. ^ "2023-24 Hockey Roster". Army Black Knights. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  4. ^ "2023-24 Hockey Schedule". USMA Athletic Department. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  5. ^ "2023-24 Hockey Cumulative Statistics". GoArmyWestPoint.com. USMA Athletics Department. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  6. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Atlantic Hockey unveils three all-conference teams, one all-rookie team for 2023-24 season". USCHO.com. March 12, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.