Army hockey: Black Knights' season ends with Game 3 shutout loss to Canisius

Final statistical leaders

Goals: Joey Baez 21; Ricky Lyle 13; John Keranen 11; Brett Abdelnour 10; Michael Sacco 8

Assists: Max Itagaki 29; Anthony Firriolo 24; John Keranen 17; Brett Abdelnour 14; Thomas Farrell 14; Ricky Lyle 11; John Driscoll 10

Points: Max Itagaki 33; Anthony Firriolo 29; Joey Baez 28; John Keranen 28; Ricky Lyle 24; Brett Abdelnour 24; Thomas Farrell 20; Michael Sacco 16; Noah Wilson 12; John Driscoll 12

Power play goals: Joey Baez 12; Brett Abdelnour 5; Anthony Firriolo 4; John Keranen 4

Plus/minus (for players with at least 30 games): Ricky Lyle +1; Noah Wilson 0; Anfrew Gilbert -2; Michael Sacco -5; Sean Vlasich -6; Lucas Kanta -8; John Driscoll -9; John Keranen -9; Jake Felker -9; Anthony Firriolo -10; Brett Abdelnour -10

Shots: Joey Baez 112; Thomas Farrell 99; Anthony Firriolo 96; Ricky Lyle 88; Michael Sacco 78; Max Itagaki 76; John Keranen 67; Brett Abdelnour 63

Goalies: Gavin Abric, 25 games (all starts), 3.23 GAA, .901 save percentage; Justin Evenson 13 games (12 starts), 2.65 GAA, .911 save percentage; Evan Szary 2 games, 5.87 GAA, .769 save percentage.

Roundups

Canisius 3, ARMY 0, game 3 (March 5): Visiting Army (14-19-4) was eliminated from the Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals, 2 games to 1. The Black Knights gave up a goal at 1:35 and 19:55 of the second period and an empty netter with 1:19 to play. Gavin Abric made 33 stops. It was only the third time Army had been held scoreless.

ARMY 1, Canisius 0, OT, game 2 (March 4): Brett Abdelnour scored at 6:17 of extra time, pulling Army into a 1-1 series tie in the Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal in Buffalo. Gavin Abric made three of his 23 saves in overtime.

Canisius 5, ARMY 2, game 1 (March 3): Visiting Army fell behind 2-0 in the first period and drew within a goal on two occasions before dropping the opener of the Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal series. Joey Baez and Thomas Farrell scored power play goals for Army (13-18-4), which was 2-for-8 with the man advantage. Justin Evenson had 22 saves.

Bentley 5, ARMY 4, OT (Feb. 25): Nicholas Niemo scored 22 seconds into overtime. John Keranen and John Driscoll staked visiting Army to a 2-0 lead in the opening 3:24. Joey Baez moved the Knights to a 3-1 lead at 6:19 of the second period, only to have the Falcons score three in a row. Reese Farrell tied the game at 6:20 of the third. Gavin Abric stopped 40 shots. Army finished the regular season at 13-17-4, 12-12-2 in Atlantic Hockey.

ARMY 5, Bentley 3 (Feb. 24): Brett Abdelnour moved visiting Army to a 2-0 lead through 21-plus minutes. Max Itagaki, Anthny Firriolo and Joey Baez (empty netter) also scored for the Black Knights. Justin Evenson made 28 saves.

Mercyhurst 7, ARMY 3 (Feb. 18): Anthony Firriolo, Andrew Garby and Joey Baez scored in Army's home finale. Each team had two power-play goals. Justin Evenson made 31 stops.

ARMY 3, Mercyhurst 2, OT (Feb. 17): Max Itagaki scored at 2:10 of overtime. Lucas Kanta and Joey Baez also scored for the host Black Knights (12-15-4, 11-10-2 Atlantic). Justin Evenson made 19 saves.

Holy Cross 7, ARMY 0 (Feb. 11): Host Army (11-15-4, 10-10-2 Atlantic) was blanked for only the second time this season. Gavin Abric gave up six goals on 24 shots. Evan Szary stopped seven of eight in relief. Black Knights were 0-for-3 on power play.

ARMY 5, Holy Cross 2 (Feb. 10): The Black Knights extended an unbeaten streak to four games. Brett Abdelnour, John Keranen and Michael Sacco scored to snap what was a 1-1 tie late in the first period. Ricky Lyle also scored. The Black Knights (11-14-4, 10-9-2 Atlantic) were two for seven on the power play. Justin Evenson stopped 34 of 36 shots for the win.

ARMY 4, Sacred Heart 1 (Feb. 7): Army went 2-for-4 on the power play, earning the road win. Staked to a 1-0 lead by Michael Sacco, John Keranen and Joey Baez added power play goals. Kernanen also scored an empty netter. Justin Evenson stopped 32 of 33 shots for the win.

ARMY 3, Niagara 3, OT (Feb. 4): Joey Baez made the only goal to give Army the three-round shootout win at home. Army, which trailed 2-0 midway through the second period, rallied for goals by Ricky Lyle, Brett Abdelnour and Joey Baez, the latter an extra-attacker goal with less than 14 seconds remaining. Gavin Abric earned the win, stopped 29 of 32 shots through four periods.

ARMY 3, Niagara 2, OT (Feb. 3): Joey Baez scored at 34 seconds of overtime to lift visiting Army (9-14-3, 8-9-1 Atlantic). The Black Knights came from behind twice, tying the contest on goal by Baez at 16:27 of the second and Brett Abdelnour's power play goal at 11:24 of the third. Justin Evenson posted 33 saves for Army.

Air Force 6, ARMY 4 (Jan. 28): Visiting Air Force jumped out to a 3-1 first-period lead and built to 5-1. Joey Baez scored twice with two other Army goals from Sean Viasich and Thomas Farrell. The Black Knights (8-14-3, 7-9-1 Atlantic) were 3-for-8 on the power play. Justin Evenson took the loss, with 18 saves. Gavin Abric stopped eight of 11 shots to start.

ARMY 3, Air Force 1 (Jan. 27): Host Army picked up goals from Michael Sacco and Lucas Kanta in the second period and an empty-netter from Ricky Lyle with 14 seconds to play. The Black Knight (8-13-3, 7-8-1 Atlantic) was 1-for-3 on the power play. Army's Gavin Abric stopped 33 of 34 shots.

American International 2, ARMY 1, OT (Jan. 17): Brian Kramer scored at 38 second of overtime for visiting AIC. Lucas Kanta gave Army a 1-0 lead at 11:11 of the third period. Army (7-13-3, 6-8-1 Atlantic) was 0-for-4 on the power play. Army's Gavin Abric stopped 39 of 41 shots.

Canisius 5, ARMY 4, OT (Jan. 14): Nick Bowman scored with less than 27 seconds remaining. Ricky Lyle, Thomas Farrell, Michael Sacco and Joey Baez scored for host Army, the last three coming in the third period. Army (7-12-3, 6-7-1 Atlantic) was 1-for-6 on the power play. Gavin Abric made 19 stops.

ARMY 2, Canisius 0 (Jan. 13): Ricky Lyle scored twice, at 2:42 of the second period and 19:01 of the third (an empty netter). Gavin Abric made 32 stops for host Army (7-11-3, 6-6-1 Atlantic).

ARMY 3, Providence 3, OT (Jan. 8): Host Army came from behind three times - twice in the final period. Ricky Lyle scored once and Joey Baez twice, including the tying tally with 1:20 left in regulation. Baez and Kendrick Frost converted shootout attempts as Army prevailed. Army was 2-for-5 on the power play. Gavin Abric made 34 stops.

Sacred Heart 5, ARMY 0 (Jan. 5): Visiting Army gave up two power-play goals. Winger Eric Huss suffered a sliced neck during a collision and was saved by the quick thinking of Army trainer Rachel Leahy; doctors repaired his neck in surgery.

Yale 5, ARMY 1 (Jan. 2): Visiting Army (6-10-2) gave up three goals in the opening 24 minutes. Ricky Lyle had the lone tally for the Black Knights. Justin Evenson made 22 stops for Army.

ARMY 3, Mercyhurst 2, OT (Dec. 10): John Keranen produced the unassisted game winner on a breakaway at 2:28 of overtime for visiting Army (6-9-2, 5-5-1 Atlantic Hockey). Keranen (now with seven goals) and Reese Farrell scored within 60 seconds of one another early in the final period to seize a 2-1 lead. For the second night in a row, the Lakers tied the contest as Kyler Head tallied on the power play at the 11:11 mark. Gavin Abric stopped 26 of 28 shots. Army doesn't return to action until January 2.

Mercyhurst 4, Army 3 (Dec. 9): Army scored twice in the final three minutes to pull into a tie only to have Mickey Burns of Mercyhurst score with 12.1 seconds remaining. Anthony Firriolo (on the power play), John Keranen and Max Itagaki scored in the final period. Justin Evenson stopped 28 of 32 shots for Army (5-9-2, 4-5-1 AHA).

Niagara 4, Army 2 (Dec. 3): Down 3-0 early in the second period, host Army (5-8-2, 4-4-1 AHA) pulled within one on goals from Noah Wilson and Thomas Farrell. Niagara's Glebs Prohorenkovs restored the two-goal margin with 8:44 to play. Army was 1-for-5 on the power play. Gavin Abric stopped 33 of 37 shots.

Army 2, Niagara 0 (Dec. 2): Anthony Firriolo scored in the second minute of the second period and assisted on Ricky Lyle’s empty netter with 35 seconds remaining. Justin Evenson made 33 stops for the shutout win. Host Army (5-7-2, 4-3-1) has points in its last five games.

Army 3, at Canisius 1 (Nov. 26): Army (4-7-2, 3-3-1 AHA) got goals from Joey Baez (7), Noah Wilson (2) and an empty netter from John Kernanen (3) – one per period – before 627 in Buffalo. Gavin Abric (3-7-1) made 12 of his 28 stops in the first period. Patrick Smyth won 8 of 19 draws.

Army 2, at Canisius 2 (Nov. 25): Army could not hold a 2-0 lead, allowing two goals in the final 17 minutes before 589 in Buffalo. Canisius won the tie-breaker shootout but Army managed points for the third game in a row with the official tie. Max Itagaki (1) scored on the power play 12:13 into the first period. Jake Felker (3) doubled the lead at 11:45 of the second. Justin Evenson made four of his 23 stops in overtime but gave up a pair in the 2-0 shootout loss. John Keranen was 17-for-26 on draws.

At Army 5, Bentley 2 (Nov. 19): Army (3-7-1, 2-3 AHA) picked up third-period goals from Joey Baez (5, 6), Eric Huss and Jake Felker to snap a 2-2 draw and complete the weekend sweep. Baez and Patrick Smyth tallied in the second for a 2-1 lead. Black Knights were 2-for-4 on the power play. Gavin Abric made 12 of his 28 stops in the final period. John Keranen was 10-for-20 on draws.

At Army 2, Bentley 0 (Nov. 18): Anthony Firriolo scored in the second minute of the second period and assisted on Ricky Lyle’s empty netter with 35 seconds left. Justin Evenson made 33 stops. Host Army moved to 2-7-1, 1-3 Atlantic Hockey.

Lindenwood 5, at Army 3 (Nov. 5): Lindenwood completed the weekend sweep before 1,214 at West Point. Thomas Farrell, John Driscoll and Ricky Lyle scored for the Black Knights, the first and last coming on the power play. Gavin Abric made 26 stops.

Lindenwood 2, at Army 1 (Nov. 4): Brett Abdelnour staked Army to the first-period lead. Hunter Johannes scored the tie-breaker at 8:32 of the third. Gavin Abric made 37 stops for Army (1-6-1), which did not get a single power play.

At Army 8, Dartmouth 3 (Oct. 30): Army posted six second-period goals to blow open the contest played before 1,230 at West Point. Michael Sacco scored twice. Anthony Firriolo, Trevor Smith, Noah Wilson, Lucas Kanta and Ricky Lyle also tallied. Gavin Abric made 37 stops, including 19 in the middle stanza. It was Army’s first win of the season.

American International 8, at Army 2 (Oct. 28): John Keranen scored on the power play and Lucas Kanta at even strength for Army before 1,492 at West Point. Gavin Abric made 20 stops.

U.S. under-18 team 7, at Army 6 (Oct. 23): In the exhibition played before 1,948 at West Point, Army bowed in overtime. Joey Baez posted four goals for Army. Max Itagaki and Josh Bohlin also tallied.

At New Hampshire 3, Army 1 (Oct.21): New Hampshire scored twice in the opening 10 minutes. Joey Baez tallied for Army at 15:32 of the first. Gavin Abric stopped 26 of 29 shots.

At RPI 7, Army 4 (Oct. 15): RPI took a 4-1 lead into the third period in Troy. Goals by Brett Abdelnour and Jake Felker drew Army within one but the Engineers scored twice inside 69 seconds to restore the two-goal advantage. Joey Baez and Michael Sacco also scored for the Black Knights. Gavin Abric made 26 stops.

At RIT 4, Army 1 (Oct. 8):

At RIT 3, Army 2 (Oct. 7):

At Army 2, Union 2 (Oct. 2):

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army West Point college hockey NCAA Atlantic Black Knights