Armed Forces Sports

Watch: Army Black Knights Hockey Star Scores Game-Winning Overtime Goal

The Army West Point Black Knights men’s hockey team are preparing to take their shot at the NCAA Tournament as the regular season concludes.

Matt Postins

Oct 16, 2021; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Army Black Knights logo on sideline equipment during warmups prior to the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium.
Oct 16, 2021; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Army Black Knights logo on sideline equipment during warmups prior to the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Army West Point Black Knights men’s hockey team ended the regular season with a dramatic overtime win at Tate Rink, as they defeated American International College, 3-2, in overtime on Saturday.

With the game tied at 2-2 and seeding in the Atlantic Hockey America Tournament on the line, the Black Knights (14-17-2, 14-10-2 in AHA) and the Yellowjackets (11-20-2, 9-15-1) were playing to a draw in the AIC offensive end before a turnover started the puck moving to the other end.

A Black Knights player sent the puck up the boards to Vinny Salice, who picked it up with his stick, quickly split a pair of defenders and sent a back-handed wrister past the goaltender, ending the game and setting of a wild celebration throughout the arena.

With the victory, the Black Knights clinched the No. 5 seed in the AHA Tournament, which starts next week with one-game playoff contests. From there, the winners advance to a best-of-three series in the quarterfinals March 7-9. The higher seeds host.

Army will not play next week but must travel to the No. 4 seed in the tournament, which will be Niagara.

The victory also came on “Coach Riley appreciation night,” as the Black Knights honored their long-time coach, Brian Riley. The head coach of Army hockey since for 21 years and just the third head coach in the program’s history, he announced at the start of the year that he was retiring.

After AIC took the lead in the first period, the rest of the scoring took place in the third period or overtime. Army regained the lead on a goal by Jack Ivey, off helpers from Jon Bell and Barron Woodring. The Black Knights then took the lead on a goal from Joey Baez, who had assists from Sean Vlasich and Hunter McCoy.

An AIC goal with a little more than a minute left sent the game to overtime.

Saturday’s game was the conclusion of a two-game series with AIC, which was a home-and-home series. The Black Knights lost the first game on Friday, 3-2, in Springfield, Mass.

The Black Knights’ goals on Friday came from on special teams as Nils Forselius scored on the power play before a shorthanded tally came from Barron Woodring in the second period. Both goals tied the game, but AIC captured the win even with 33 saves by Army goaltender JJ Catalodo.

If Army wins its quarterfinal series, the semifinals will be held from March 14-16, with higher seeds hosting, following by the championship game on March 22. Only one game, it is hosted by the higher seed. The winner of the tournament gets an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

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Matt Postins
MATT POSTINS

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