Army hockey: Challenge of new season is defining new roles in lineup
Ken McMillanIt seemed like the Army hockey trio of Colin Bilek, Eric Butte and Daniel Haider had been around forever, filling up the scoring sheets. But now they are gone and the Black Knights are going to have to rely on a sturdy defense until a new source of scoring is found.
“We are going to have to rely on our goaltending (and) on three senior defensemen that have played a lot of minutes,’’ said Brian Riley, headed into his 18th season as head coach.
The 2022-23 season of Army hockey gets underway on Sunday as Union visits Tate Rink. The Black Knights will debut the Atlantic Hockey season with two games at Rochester Institute of Technology on Oct. 7-8 but return with six more non-league games before mid-November, allowing the squad to find its way.
There was question as to whom would fill in for All-American goalie Parker Gahagen heading into last season, but sophomore Gavin Abric made his statement in an early season set at Wisconsin and would go on to play 30 games, posting a 13-13-4 mark, 2.51 goals against average and .925 save percentage. He was named second-team all-conference. Capable backup Justin Evenson, now a senior, was 1-4 with a .334 GAA. Sophomore Evan Szary has impressed during preseason.
Army’s strength will be across its blueline. Senior Anthony Firriolo returns as a second-team All-Atlantic pick and will be paired with Noah Wilson. Firriolo is actually Army’s top returning goal scorer (9 goals, 21 points). Thomas Farrell, who ranked third in blocked shots nationally, will be paired with U.S. Hockey League product John Driscoll. A host of players are battling for the next line, led by sophomores Andrew Gilbert and Andrew Garby.
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League scoring champ Colin Bilek posted 11 goals and 31 points last season and 43 tallies and 93 points for his star-studded career. He since signed with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose for the upcoming season. Butte netted nine of his 25 career goals as a senior and Haider had eight of his 22 career tallies in 2021-22.
Despite losing 32 of 98 goals scored last season, the cupboard is not bare but the returnees will find themselves in new roles. A group of talented underclassmen will need time to mix and match.
“We're going to have to bring along a team that can kind of produce offensively and also bring along what is a large group of plebes,’’ Riley said of his 11 freshmen. “We're going to have to allow some guys a little time to grow into everyday players.’’
Senior John Kernanen (seven goals last season) will center a line with classmate Brett Abdelnour (6 G) and sophomore Joey Baez (7 G). Sophomore Michael Sacco (3 G) will skate between junior Ricky Lyle (8 G) and freshman Max Itagaki. Junior Jake Felker is paired with wingers Eric Huss, a junior, and sophomore Hunter McCoy. A fourth line is coming along, Riley said.
“Right off the bat we're looking for guys that can start filling in those roles as far as scoring (and) just good defense,’’ Firriolo said, “in general, just guys stepping up to the plate.
“No one is kind of the star player. Nobody is like ‘Oh, we’ve got to follow this guy.’ Everybody's just kind of playing their role and taking control. Guys just (have) to find a way to contribute to the team. I think it's more of a team game than an individual game so I think if we all do the right thing (and) play our role I think everybody's going to be successful.’’
The early schedule features an Oct. 23 visit to Tate Rink by the U.S. under-18 National Development team, a squad that features numerous Division I prospects and eventual pros.
Army (14-17-4, 12-11-3 league) finished tied for third in Atlantic Hockey last season but the Black Knights lost a pair of overtime games to visiting Air Force in the quarterfinals.
Army has been picked for sixth in the preseason coaches’ poll, trailing four-time champion American International, Sacred Heart, Air Force, RIT and Canisius. RIT sophomore forward Carter Wilkie, Sacred Heart senior forward Neil Shea and Canisius senior goaltender Jacob Barczewski were voted as the league’s preseason players of the year, joining AIC senior forward Blake Bennett and senior defensemen Logan Britt of Sacred Heart and Brandon Koch of Air Force on the preseason all-star team.
Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
Army roster
Seniors – No. 2 Thomas Farrell (captain), D; No. 3 Kendrick Forst, F; No. 12 John Keranen, F; No. 17 Anthony Firriolo (captain), D; No. 19 Brett Abdelnour, F; No. 22 Noah Wilson, D; No. 25 Patrick Smith, F; No. 34 Justin Evenson, G
Juniors – No. 1 Gavin Abric, G; No. 8 Ricky Lyle, F; No. 10 Jake Felker, F; No. 29 Eric Huss, F
Sophomores – No. 7 Andrew Gilbert, D; No. 11 Josh Bohlin, F; No. 13 Michael Sacco, F; No. 16 Hunter McCoy, F; No. 23 Joey Baez, F; No. 24 Andrew Garby, D; No. 31 Evan Szary, G
Freshmen – No. 4 John Driscoll, D; No. 9 Reese Farrell, F; No. 14 Owen Nolan, D; No. 15 Lucas Kanta, F; No. 18 Max Itagaki, F; No. 20 Sean Vlasich, D; No. 21 Stephen Willey, F; No. 26 Joey Dosan, F; No. 27 Trevor Smith, F; No. 28 Jude Brower, D
Head coach: Brian Riley
Assistants: Zach McKelvie; Arlen Marshall
2022-23 schedule
October
Sun. 2 – vs. Union (14-19-4, 9-11-2 ECAC, 7th place), 4 p.m.; Fri. 7 – at RIT* (18-16-4, 12-11-2 AHA, 3rd); Sat. 8 – at RIT*, 5 p.m.; Sat. 15 – at RPI (18-23-3, 10-12-0 ECAC, 6th); Fri. 21 – at New Hampshire (14-19-1, 8-15-1 Hockey East, 9th); Sun. 23 – vs. U.S. National Team Development Program, 2 p.m.; Fri. 28 – vs. AIC* (22-12-3, 17-7-2 AHA, 1st); Sun. 30 – vs. Dartmouth (7-22-3, 5-15-2 ECAC, 11th), 2 p.m.
November
Fri. 4 – vs. Lindenwood; Sat. 5 – vs. Lindenwood, 4 p.m.; Fri. 18 – vs. Bentley* (14-20-2, 10-14-2 AHA, 9th); Sat. 19 – vs. Bentley*; Fri. 25 – at Canisius* (16-16-3, 13-11-2 AHA, 2nd), 1 p.m.; Sat. 26 – at Canisius*, 1 p.m.
December
Fri. 2 – vs. Niagara* (11-22-3, 10-13-3 AHA, 8th); Sat. 3 – vs. Niagara*, 4 p.m.; Fri. 9 – at Mercyhurst* (16-19-4, 10-12-4 AHA, 7th); Sat. 10 – at Mercyhurst*
January
Mon. 2 – at Yale (8-21-1, 7-14-1 ECAC, 12th), 7:30 p.m.; Thur. 5 – at Sacred Heart* (15-18-4, 11-12-3 AHA, 5th); Sun. 8 – vs. Providence (22-14-2, 12-11-1 Hockey East, 7th), 2 p.m.; Fri. 13 – vs. Canisius*; Sat. 14 – vs. Canisius*, 4 p.m.; Tues. 17 – vs. AIC*, 7 p.m.; Fri. 27 – vs. Air Force* (16-17-3, 11-12-3 AHA, 6th); Sat. 28 – vs. Air Force*, 4 p.m.
February
Fri. 3 – at Niagara*; Sat. 4 – at Niagara*, 5:30 p.m.; Tues. 7 – at Sacred Heart*; Fri. 10 – vs. Holy Cross* (12-23-2, 10-14-2 AHA, 10th); Sat. 11 – vs. Holy Cross*, 4 p.m.; Fri. 17 – vs. Mercyhurst*; Sat. 18 – vs. Mercyhurst*, 4 p.m.; Fri. 24 – at Bentley*; Sat. 25 – at Bentley*, 4 p.m.
March
Fri. 3-Sun. 5 – Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals (best of 3 at higher seed); Fri. 10-Sun. 12 – Atlantic Hockey semifinals (best of 3 at higher seed); Sat. 18 – Atlantic Hockey championship
All games at 7 p.m. unless indicated; all home games at West Point’s Tate Rink; asterisk marks Atlantic Hockey contest; last season’s overall and league records are in parenthesis