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2022–23 Army Black Knights men's ice hockey season

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2022–23 Army Black Knights
men's ice hockey season
Conference5th Atlantic Hockey
Home iceTate Rink
Rankings
USCHONR
USA TodayNR
Record
Overall14–19–4
Conference12–12–2
Home8–9–2
Road6–10–2
Coaches and captains
Head coachBrian Riley
Assistant coachesZack McKelvie
Arlen Marshall
Captain(s)Thomas Farrell
Anthony Firriolo
Alternate captain(s)John Keranen
Noah Wilson
Army Black Knights men's ice hockey seasons
« 2021–22 2023–24 »

The 2022–23 Army Black Knights men's ice hockey season was the 120th season of play for the program, the 113th at the Division I level, and the 20th in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Black Knights represented the United States Military Academy and were coached by Brian Riley, in his 19th season.

Season

[edit]

The start to Army's season could hardly have been worse. While the offense was still trying to cope with the loss of star forward Colin Bilek, the defense collapsed and allowed a barrage of shots to reach Gavin Abric. The worst came when the Black Knights were swept by Lindenwood, a first-year program, at home and dropped to the bottom of the national rankings. The team had a week off after that debacle but seemed to have figured out a few things upon return. The most obvious change was the implementation of a goal-tending rotation between Abric and senior, Justin Evanson. That tactic paid instant dividends as the team allowed just 5 goals over a 5-game span and didn't lose a single match. The offense too began to improve and Joey Baez began taking over as the team's primary scorer.

By the midpoint of the season, the Black Knights were still recovering from their early-season woes but the team appeared to be on the right track. Army slowly moved up the Atlantic Hockey standings and had put themselves into a position for a potential home game in the playoffs. Unfortunately, the defense began playing inconsistently at the end of the season. Army split its final three weekend series and finished just 2 points behind Canisius for the final home site. Because of that, the team had to travel up to Buffalo, New York and the instability on the back end followed the Knights. After a poor performance in the first game, Army rebounded with an overtime shutout victory to push the series to a deciding third game. The offense was completely absent in the final game of the season and Army was sent packing with a 0–3 loss.[1]

Departures

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Cause
Colin Bilek Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Manitoba Moose)
Eric Butte Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Kansas City Mavericks)
Daniel Haider Forward  United States Graduation (retired)
Christopher Konin Forward  United States Left program (retired)
Mitch Machlitt Forward  United States Transferred to Geneseo State
Coby Mack Defenseman  United States Graduation (retired)
Brody Medeiros Defenseman  United States Left program (retired)
Andrew Quetell Defenseman  United States Graduation (retired)
Brad Zona Defenseman  United States Left program (retired)

Recruiting

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Jude Brower Defenseman  United States 21 Mahopac, NY
Joey Dosan Forward  United States 21 Bloomington, MN
John Driscoll Defenseman  United States 21 Eagle, ID
Reese Farrell Forward  United States 21 Auburn, ME
Max Itagaki Forward  United States 20 Glenview, IL
Lucas Kanta Forward  United States 21 Grand Forks, ND
Owen Nolan Defenseman  United States 22 Mahopac, NY
Trevor Smith Forward  United States 21 Raleigh, NC
Sean Vlasich Defenseman  United States 21 Upper Saddle River, NJ
Stephen Willey Forward  United States 21 Shelton, CT

Roster

[edit]

As of August 16, 2022.[2]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Wisconsin Gavin Abric Junior G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-01-11 Hayward, Wisconsin Jersey (NCDC)
2 Illinois Thomas Farrell (C) Senior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1999-01-18 Mettawa, Illinois Youngstown (USHL)
3 Missouri Kendrick Frost Senior F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1999-04-01 Lee's Summit, Missouri Brookings (NAHL)
4 Colorado John Driscoll Freshman D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2001-08-19 Littleton, Colorado Green Bay (USHL)
7 Connecticut Andrew Gilbert Sophomore D 6' 5" (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2000-05-02 Fairfield, Connecticut Jersey (NCDC)
8 Minnesota Ricky Lyle Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-08-21 Duluth, Minnesota Madison (USHL)
9 Maine Reese Farrell Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2001-02-21 Auburn, Maine Maine (NAHL)
10 Nebraska Jake Felker Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-03-19 Omaha, Nebraska Youngstown (USHL)
11 Wisconsin Josh Bohlin Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-02-10 Wausau, Wisconsin Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)
12 Minnesota John Keranen (A) Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1998-08-31 Delano, Minnesota Minnesota Magicians (NAHL)
13 New York (state) Michael Sacco Sophomore 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 Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-03-10 Mahopac, New York Lone Star (NAHL)
15 North Dakota Lucas Kanta Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-04-20 Grand Forks, North Dakota Minnesota Magicians (NAHL)
14 Massachusetts Hunter McCoy Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-08-01 Newburyport, Massachusetts Maryland (NAHL)
17 New Jersey Anthony Firriolo (C) Senior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1998-07-03 Montville, New Jersey Corpus Christi (NAHL)
18 Illinois Max Itagaki Freshman F 5' 5" (1.65 m) 155 lb (70 kg) 2002-06-18 Glenview, Illinois Nanaimo (BCHL)
19 Michigan Brett Abdelnour Senior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1998-10-23 Macomb, Michigan Amarillo (NAHL)
20 New Jersey Sean Vlasich Freshman D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2001-04-20 Hillsdale, New Jersey North Iowa (NAHL)
21 Connecticut Stephen Willey Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-03-26 Shelton, Connecticut New Jersey (NAHL)
22 Wisconsin Noah Wilson (A) Senior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1998-12-21 Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Fairbanks (NAHL)
23 Florida Joey Baez Sophomore F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-01-12 Tampa, Florida Lone Star (NAHL)
24 Michigan Andrew Garby Sophomore D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 2000-09-17 Canton, Michigan Fairbanks (NAHL)
25 Ohio Patrick Smyth Senior F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1999-04-23 Toledo, Ohio Dubuque (USHL)
26 Minnesota Joey Dosan Freshman D 6' 6" (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 2001-03-20 Bloomington, Minnesota Springfield (NAHL)
27 North Carolina Trevor Smith Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-03-02 Raleigh, North Carolina Boston Advantage (NCDC)
28 New York (state) Jude Brower Freshman D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-06-11 Mahopac, New York Boston Jr. Bruins (NCDC)
29 Texas Eric Huss Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-03-16 Dallas, Texas Lone Star (NAHL)
31 Tennessee Evan Szary Sophomore G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-02-29 Nashville, Tennessee South Shore (NCDC)
34 Minnesota Justin Evenson Senior G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-08-20 Minnetonka, Minnesota Amarillo (NAHL)

Standings

[edit]
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OW OL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
RIT 26 18 7 1 1 3 0 57 85 55 39 25 13 1 127 100
American International 26 14 8 4 2 0 3 47 87 62 39 18 14 7 124 98
Sacred Heart 26 14 9 3 2 0 2 45 87 72 37 17 17 3 107 112
Canisius * 26 13 10 3 3 1 1 41 76 71 42 20 19 3 118 119
Army 26 12 12 2 3 3 1 39 72 81 37 14 19 4 98 119
Niagara 26 10 13 3 0 3 2 38 73 86 40 19 18 3 119 129
Holy Cross 26 12 12 2 3 1 1 37 73 71 41 17 21 3 98 119
Mercyhurst 26 9 14 3 1 5 1 35 77 80 36 10 23 3 98 122
Bentley 26 8 16 2 1 1 1 27 61 89 34 11 21 2 81 124
Air Force 26 8 17 1 1 0 0 24 63 87 36 12 22 2 95 128
Championship: March 18, 2023
† 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 2 4:00 PM Union* Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Abric T 2–2 OT 1,463 0–0–1
October 7 7:00 PM at RIT Gene Polisseni CenterHenrietta, New York FloHockey Abric L 2–3  2,325 0–1–1 (0–1–0)
October 8 5:00 PM at RIT Gene Polisseni CenterHenrietta, New York FloHockey Abric L 1–4  1,760 0–2–1 (0–2–0)
October 15 7:00 PM at Rensselaer* Houston Field HouseTroy, New York ESPN+ Abric L 4–7  2,085 0–3–1
October 21 7:00 PM at New Hampshire* Whittemore CenterDurham, New Hampshire ESPN+ Abric L 1–3  5,608 0–4–1
October 23 2:00 PM USNTDP* Tate RinkWest Point, New York (Exhibition)   Evenson L 6–7 OT 1,948
October 28 7:00 PM American International Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Abric L 2–8  1,492 0–5–1 (0–3–0)
October 30 2:00 PM Dartmouth* Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Abric W 8–3  1,230 1–5–1
November 4 7:00 PM Lindenwood* Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Abric L 1–2  1,133 1–6–1
November 5 4:00 PM Lindenwood* Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Abric L 3–5  1,214 1–7–1
November 18 7:00 PM Bentley Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Evenson W 2–0  1,286 2–7–1 (1–3–0)
November 19 7:00 PM Bentley Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Abric W 5–2  1,347 3–7–1 (2–3–0)
November 25 1:00 PM at Canisius LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Evenson T 2–2 SOL 589 3–7–2 (2–3–1)
November 26 1:00 PM at Canisius LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Abric W 3–1  627 4–7–2 (3–3–1)
December 2 7:00 PM Niagara Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Evenson W 3–0  1,846 5–7–2 (4–3–1)
December 3 4:00 PM Niagara Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Abric L 2–4  1,319 5–8–2 (4–4–1)
December 9 7:00 PM at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, Pennsylvania FloHockey Evenson L 3–4  1,184 5–9–2 (4–5–1)
December 10 7:00 PM at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, Pennsylvania FloHockey Abric W 3–2 OT - 6–9–2 (5–5–1)
January 2 7:00 PM at Yale* Ingalls RinkNew Haven, Connecticut ESPN+ Evenson L 1–5  1,200 6–10–2
January 5 7:00 PM at Sacred Heart Total Mortgage ArenaBridgeport, Connecticut FloHockey Abric L 0–5  748 6–11–2 (5–6–1)
January 8 2:00 PM #11 Providence* Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Abric T 3–3 OT 2,214 6–11–3
January 13 7:00 PM Canisius Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Abric W 2–0  1,769 7–11–3 (6–6–1)
January 14 7:00 PM Canisius Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Abric L 4–5  1,564 7–12–3 (6–7–1)
January 17 7:00 PM American International Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Abric L 1–2 OT 977 7–13–3 (6–8–1)
January 27 7:00 PM Air Force Tate RinkWest Point, New York (Rivalry) FloHockey Abric W 3–1  2,600 8–13–3 (7–8–1)
January 28 4:00 PM Air Force Tate RinkWest Point, New York (Rivalry) FloHockey Evenson L 4–6  2,681 8–14–3 (7–9–1)
February 3 7:00 PM at Niagara Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Evenson W 3–2 OT 678 9–14–3 (8–9–1)
February 4 5:30 PM at Niagara Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Abric T 3–3 SOW 541 9–14–4 (8–9–2)
February 7 7:00 PM at Sacred Heart Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey, SNY Evenson W 4–1  2,643 10–14–4 (9–9–2)
February 10 7:05 PM Holy Cross Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Evenson W 5–2  2,129 11–14–4 (10–9–2)
February 11 4:00 PM Holy Cross Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Abric L 0–7  1,976 11–15–4 (10–10–2)
February 17 7:00 PM Mercyhurst Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Evenson W 3–2 OT 1,441 12–15–4 (11–10–2)
February 18 4:00 PM Mercyhurst Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Evenson L 3–7  1,700 12–16–4 (11–11–2)
February 24 7:05 PM at Bentley Bentley ArenaWaltham, Massachusetts FloHockey Evenson W 5–3  1,555 13–16–4 (12–11–2)
February 25 4:05 PM at Bentley Bentley ArenaWaltham, Massachusetts FloHockey Abric L 4–5 OT 1,501 13–17–4 (12–12–2)
Atlantic Hockey Tournament
March 3 7:00 PM at Canisius* LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York (Quarterfinal Game 1) FloHockey Evenson L 2–5  231 13–18–4
March 4 7:30 PM at Canisius* LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York (Quarterfinal Game 2) FloHockey Abric W 1–0 OT 361 14–18–4
March 5 5:00 PM at Canisius* LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York (Quarterfinal Game 3) FloHockey Abric L 0–3  216 14–19–4
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[3]

Scoring statistics

[edit]
Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Max Itagaki F 37 4 29 33 28
Anthony Firriolo D 36 5 24 29 18
Joey Baez F 37 21 7 28 40
John Keranen F 36 11 17 28 12
Ricky Lyle LW 37 13 11 24 43
Brett Abdelnour F 37 10 14 24 20
Thomas Farrell D 37 6 14 20 18
Michael Sacco F 34 8 8 16 30
Noah Wilson D 37 3 9 12 39
John Driscoll D 33 2 10 12 16
Lucas Kanta F 33 5 3 8 16
Patrick Smyth F 33 1 6 7 18
Jake Felker F 37 3 2 5 8
Reese Farrell F 16 2 2 4 2
Trevor Smith F 27 1 2 3 8
Andrew Garby D 34 1 1 2 16
Eric Huss F 26 1 1 2 4
Sean Vlasich D 32 1 1 2 4
Stephen Willey F 6 0 1 1 0
Owen Nolan D 8 0 1 1 2
Kendrick Frost F 11 0 1 1 0
Justin Evenson G 13 0 1 1 0
Hunter McCoy F 14 0 1 1 2
Jude Brower D 15 0 1 1 0
Evan Szary G 2 0 0 0 0
Josh Bohlin F 2 0 0 0 0
Joey Dosan F 12 0 0 0 4
Gavin Abric G 25 0 0 0 0
Andrew Gilbert D 32 0 0 0 8
Total 98 167 265 323

Source: [4]

Goaltending statistics

[edit]
Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Justin Evenson 13 769:27 7 5 1 34 347 2 .911 2.65
Gavin Abric 25 1428:36 7 14 3 77 703 2 .901 3.23
Evan Szary 2 30:40 0 0 0 3 10 0 .769 5.87
Empty Net - 28:19 - - - 5 - - - -
Total 37 2257:02 14 19 4 119 1060 4 .903 3.20

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 27 (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 Today 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 NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26.[5]

Awards and honors

[edit]
Player Award Ref
Noah Wilson Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award [6]
Max Itagaki Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Year [7]
Joey Baez Atlantic Hockey Second Team [8]
John Keranen Atlantic Hockey Third Team [8]
Max Itagaki Atlantic Hockey Rookie Team [8]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "SUNDAY, MARCH 5, 2023". College Hockey Inc. March 5, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  2. ^ "2022–23 Hockey Roster". Army West Point Athletics. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  3. ^ "2022-23 Hockey Schedule". USMA Athletic Department. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  4. ^ "2022-23 Hockey Cumulative Statistics". GoArmyWestPoint.com. USMA Athletics Department. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  5. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  6. ^ "Noah Wilson Named 2023 HCA Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award Winner". Army Black Knights. April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  7. ^ "Atlantic Hockey Announces 2023-23 Regular Season Awards". Atlantic Hockey. March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "Atlantic Hockey Announces 2022-23 All-Conference Teams". Atlantic Hockey. March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.