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

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.

## 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.

## Standings

2022–23 Atlantic Hockey Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall 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: ||||||||||

## 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:

## 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 | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | 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.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award |
| Noah Wilson | Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award |
| Max Itagaki | Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Year |
| Joey Baez | Atlantic Hockey Second Team |
| John Keranen | Atlantic Hockey Third Team |
| Max Itagaki | Atlantic Hockey Rookie Team |