Score: Army West Point 8, Holy Cross 1
Records: Holy Cross (6-7-3, 3-4-3 AHC); Army West Point (9-6-1, 9-4-0 AHC)
Location: Worcester, Mass. (Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016
Time: 7:05 p.m.
THE LEAD: Brendan Soucie posted three goals and one assist for four points for the Black Knights as the Holy Cross men's hockey team fell to first-place Army West Point, 8-1, on Saturday evening at the Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Just 53 seconds after the opening face-off, Conor Andrle scored on a wrist shot from the right face-off circle.
- At 11:01 of the first period, Army increased its lead to 2-0 when Ian Mansfield backhanded the puck to the net and Tipper Higgins knocked it in.
- The Black Knights then made it a 3-0 contest at 18:26 when Soucie found the back of the net. Brendan McGuire stole the puck in the Holy Cross zone and sent the pass to Soucie who fired a wrist shot from the slot to the upper corner of the net over junior Paul Berrafato's stick side.
- Army outshot Holy Cross, 13-9, while the Crusaders went 0-1 on the power play.
- Opening the second period, Ryan Nick sent a one-timer from the slot at 3:23 to give the Black Knights a 4-0 lead.
- Junior forward Danny Lopez scored the first goal of the game for the Crusaders at 6:36 of the second period with a wrist shot to the upper right corner glove side. The score remained 4-1 at the end of second period.
- Holy Cross outshot Army, 17-5, while the Crusaders went 1-3 on the man-advantage and Army went 1-2.
- At 5:42 of the third period, Tyler Pham sent a shot that was deflected off of a Crusader, which then went to Dalton MacAfee who took a slap shot from the left face-off circle to make the score 5-1.
- Then at 14:02, Higgins took a shot and hit the post, but Zach Evancho knocked in the rebound.
- Just 58 seconds later, Soucie fired a shot into the net from right outside of the top of the left face-off circle.
- With 34 seconds left, Trevor Fidler sent a pass to the left post to Soucie who fired a one-timer to the back of the net for an 8-1 final score.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Holy Cross outshot Army, 32-30.
- Berrafato posted 10 saves, while sophomore goalie Tommy Nixon made 11 and freshman Anthony Tirabassi recorded one. Gahagen posted 31 saves to earn the win for the Black Knights.
- The Crusaders went 1-6 on the power play, while the Black Knights went 2-4.
- Holy Cross won 36 face-offs, while Army had 25.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- Lopez has posted at least one point in 14 straight games with nine goals and six assists for 15 points. His 14-game point streak is the longest in the Division I history of the program.
UNITED STATES MARINES THREE STARS
UP NEXT
- The Crusaders return to action on Tuesday, Dec. 27, when they play an exhibition game versus the U.S. Men's National University Team at the New England Sports Center at 7:05 p.m.
BE PART OF THE ACTION THIS SEASON
- To purchase tickets for the 2016-2017 Holy Cross men's hockey season, call 1-844-GOCROSS or visit GoHolyCross.com/Tickets.
STAY CONNECTED
