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

2022–23 Army Black Knights
men's ice hockey season
2022–23 Army Black Knights ; men's ice hockey season
Conference	5th Atlantic Hockey
Home ice	Tate Rink
Rankings
USCHO	NR
USA Today	NR
Record
Overall	14–19–4
Conference	12–12–2
Home	8–9–2
Road	6–10–2
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Brian Riley
Assistant coaches	Zach 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

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

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

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

As of August 16, 2022.^[2]

No.	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1	Gavin Abric	Junior	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2001-01-11	Hayward, Wisconsin	Jersey Hitmen (NCDC)	—
2	Thomas Farrell (C)	Senior	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1999-01-18	Mettawa, Illinois	Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)	—
3	Kendrick Frost	Senior	F	6' 4" (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1999-04-01	Lee's Summit, Missouri	Brookings Blizzard (NAHL)	—
4	John Driscoll	Freshman	D	6' 4" (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	2001-08-19	Littleton, Colorado	Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)	—
7	Andrew Gilbert	Sophomore	D	6' 5" (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	2000-05-02	Fairfield, Connecticut	Jersey Hitmen (NCDC)	—
8	Ricky Lyle	Junior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2000-08-21	Duluth, Minnesota	Madison Capitols (USHL)	—
9	Reese Farrell	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	2001-02-21	Auburn, Maine	Maine (NAHL)	—
10	Jake Felker	Junior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2000-03-19	Omaha, Nebraska	Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)	—
11	Josh Bohlin	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2000-02-10	Wausau, Wisconsin	Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)	—
12	John Keranen (A)	Senior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1998-08-31	Delano, Minnesota	Minnesota Magicians (NAHL)	—
13	Michael Sacco	Sophomore	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1999-11-16	Syosset, New York	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights (NAHL)	—
14	Owen Nolan	Freshman	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2000-03-10	Mahopac, New York	Lone Star Brahmas (NAHL)	—
15	Lucas Kanta	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2001-04-20	Grand Forks, North Dakota	Minnesota Magicians (NAHL)	—
14	Hunter McCoy	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2000-08-01	Newburyport, Massachusetts	Maryland Black Bears (NAHL)	—
17	Anthony Firriolo (C)	Senior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	1998-07-03	Montville, New Jersey	Corpus Christi IceRays (NAHL)	—
18	Max Itagaki	Freshman	F	5' 5" (1.65 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	2002-06-18	Glenview, Illinois	Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL)	—
19	Brett Abdelnour	Senior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1998-10-23	Macomb, Michigan	Amarillo Bulls (NAHL)	—
20	Sean Vlasich	Freshman	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2001-04-20	Hillsdale, New Jersey	North Iowa Bulls (NAHL)	—
21	Stephen Willey	Freshman	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2001-03-26	Shelton, Connecticut	New Jersey Titans (NAHL)	—
22	Noah Wilson (A)	Senior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1998-12-21	Fond du Lac, Wisconsin	Fairbanks Ice Dogs (NAHL)	—
23	Joey Baez	Sophomore	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2000-01-12	Tampa, Florida	Lone Star Brahmas (NAHL)	—
24	Andrew Garby	Sophomore	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	2000-09-17	Canton, Michigan	Fairbanks Ice Dogs (NAHL)	—
25	Patrick Smyth	Senior	F	6' 4" (1.93 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1999-04-23	Toledo, Ohio	Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)	—
26	Joey Dosan	Freshman	D	6' 6" (1.98 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	2001-03-20	Bloomington, Minnesota	Springfield Jr. Blues (NAHL)	—
27	Trevor Smith	Freshman	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2001-03-02	Raleigh, North Carolina	Boston Advantage (NCDC)	—
28	Jude Brower	Freshman	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2001-06-11	Mahopac, New York	Boston Junior Bruins (NCDC)	—
29	Eric Huss	Junior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1999-03-16	Dallas, Texas	Lone Star Brahmas (NAHL)	—
31	Evan Szary	Sophomore	G	5' 11" (1.8 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2000-02-29	Nashville, Tennessee	South Shore Kings (NCDC)	—
34	Justin Evenson	Senior	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1999-08-20	Minnetonka, Minnesota	Amarillo Bulls (NAHL)	—

Standings

2022–23 Atlantic Hockey Standings v t e
	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

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Site	TV	Decision	Result	Attendance	Record
Regular Season
October 2	4:00 PM	Union*	Tate Rink • West Point, New York	FloHockey	Abric	T 2–2 ^OT	1,463	0–0–1
October 7	7:00 PM	at RIT	Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York	FloHockey	Abric	L 2–3	2,325	0–1–1 (0–1–0)
October 8	5:00 PM	at RIT	Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York	FloHockey	Abric	L 1–4	1,760	0–2–1 (0–2–0)
October 15	7:00 PM	at Rensselaer*	Houston Field House • Troy, New York	ESPN+	Abric	L 4–7	2,085	0–3–1
October 21	7:00 PM	at New Hampshire*	Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire	ESPN+	Abric	L 1–3	5,608	0–4–1
October 23	2:00 PM	USNTDP*	Tate Rink • West Point, New York (Exhibition)		Evenson	L 6–7 ^OT	1,948
October 28	7:00 PM	American International	Tate Rink • West Point, New York	FloHockey	Abric	L 2–8	1,492	0–5–1 (0–3–0)
October 30	2:00 PM	Dartmouth*	Tate Rink • West Point, New York	FloHockey	Abric	W 8–3	1,230	1–5–1
November 4	7:00 PM	Lindenwood*	Tate Rink • West Point, New York	FloHockey	Abric	L 1–2	1,133	1–6–1
November 5	4:00 PM	Lindenwood*	Tate Rink • West Point, New York	FloHockey	Abric	L 3–5	1,214	1–7–1
November 18	7:00 PM	Bentley	Tate Rink • West Point, New York	FloHockey	Evenson	W 2–0	1,286	2–7–1 (1–3–0)
November 19	7:00 PM	Bentley	Tate Rink • West Point, New York	FloHockey	Abric	W 5–2	1,347	3–7–1 (2–3–0)
November 25	1:00 PM	at Canisius	LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York	FloHockey	Evenson	T 2–2 ^SOL	589	3–7–2 (2–3–1)
November 26	1:00 PM	at Canisius	LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York	FloHockey	Abric	W 3–1	627	4–7–2 (3–3–1)
December 2	7:00 PM	Niagara	Tate Rink • West Point, New York	FloHockey	Evenson	W 3–0	1,846	5–7–2 (4–3–1)
December 3	4:00 PM	Niagara	Tate Rink • West 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 Center • Erie, Pennsylvania	FloHockey	Evenson	L 3–4	1,184	5–9–2 (4–5–1)
December 10	7:00 PM	at Mercyhurst	Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania	FloHockey	Abric	W 3–2 ^OT	-	6–9–2 (5–5–1)
January 2	7:00 PM	at Yale*	Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut	ESPN+	Evenson	L 1–5	1,200	6–10–2
January 5	7:00 PM	at Sacred Heart	Total Mortgage Arena • Bridgeport, Connecticut	FloHockey	Abric	L 0–5	748	6–11–2 (5–6–1)
January 8	2:00 PM	#11 Providence*	Tate Rink • West Point, New York	FloHockey	Abric	T 3–3 ^OT	2,214	6–11–3
January 13	7:00 PM	Canisius	Tate Rink • West Point, New York	FloHockey	Abric	W 2–0	1,769	7–11–3 (6–6–1)
January 14	7:00 PM	Canisius	Tate Rink • West Point, New York	FloHockey	Abric	L 4–5	1,564	7–12–3 (6–7–1)
January 17	7:00 PM	American International	Tate Rink • West Point, New York	FloHockey	Abric	L 1–2 ^OT	977	7–13–3 (6–8–1)
January 27	7:00 PM	Air Force	Tate Rink • West 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 Rink • West 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 Arena • Lewiston, New York	FloHockey	Evenson	W 3–2 ^OT	678	9–14–3 (8–9–1)
February 4	5:30 PM	at Niagara	Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, 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 Arena • Fairfield, Connecticut	FloHockey, SNY	Evenson	W 4–1	2,643	10–14–4 (9–9–2)
February 10	7:05 PM	Holy Cross	Tate Rink • West Point, New York	FloHockey	Evenson	W 5–2	2,129	11–14–4 (10–9–2)
February 11	4:00 PM	Holy Cross	Tate Rink • West Point, New York	FloHockey	Abric	L 0–7	1,976	11–15–4 (10–10–2)
February 17	7:00 PM	Mercyhurst	Tate Rink • West Point, New York	FloHockey	Evenson	W 3–2 ^OT	1,441	12–15–4 (11–10–2)
February 18	4:00 PM	Mercyhurst	Tate Rink • West Point, New York	FloHockey	Evenson	L 3–7	1,700	12–16–4 (11–11–2)
February 24	7:05 PM	at Bentley	Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts	FloHockey	Evenson	W 5–3	1,555	13–16–4 (12–11–2)
February 25	4:05 PM	at Bentley	Bentley Arena • Waltham, 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 Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York (Quarterfinal Game 1)	FloHockey	Evenson	L 2–5	231	13–18–4
March 4	7:30 PM	at Canisius*	LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York (Quarterfinal Game 2)	FloHockey	Abric	W 1–0 ^OT	361	14–18–4
March 5	5:00 PM	at Canisius*	LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, 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

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

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

Poll	Week
Poll	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

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

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

[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.

[AHA-8] 1 2 3 "Atlantic Hockey Announces 2022-23 All-Conference Teams". Atlantic Hockey. March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.

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