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— Inside & Outside Army (@InOutArmy) December 29, 2019
Army hockey has just secured their 13th win in a 5-4 regulation thriller over Hockey East foe New Hampshire. It was one stacked with non-stop action that would have even a casual hockey fan on the edge of their seat.
The game started off with a New Hampshire goal roughly 23 seconds in. Not the best start, but Dominic Franco had an early answer on the power play. He and Micheal Wilson connected to finish off a beautiful tic-tac-toe.
But Franco decided one wasn’t enough for him. A few minutes later, and he gives Army the 2-1 lead, not even halfway through the first period.
12:42 1st | What’s better than one Franco goal? TWO!
Army 2 | UNH 1 pic.twitter.com/InKvjazlkP
— Army WP Hockey (@ArmyWP_Hockey) December 29, 2019
This was just a great, gritty example of finding the guy in front of the net and then hammering it home.
2 minutes and some change later though, UNH decided they’d answer too.
In the second, Anthony Firriolo reclaimed the lead for the Black Knights:
Big effort and a big goal! #GoArmy #AHF pic.twitter.com/TfEKB8swZK
— Army WP Hockey (@ArmyWP_Hockey) December 29, 2019
And then UNH would score 2 back-to-back to gain the 4-3 lead.
There was no reason to fret, however. The theme was “Star Wars Knight”, and if every Star Wars movie (even the *shudders* prequels) taught me anything, it’s that the good guys always win. Especially in front of a sold-out crowd.
And here begin my Star Wars puns.
53 seconds into the 3rd period of this trilogy, Alex Wilkinson forced a goal to settle the score at 4 with a shot harder than a blast from a Star Destroyer’s ion cannon.
Setup by Bilek ✔️
Execution by Wilkinson ✔️#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/T85TWmUWM8— Army WP Hockey (@ArmyWP_Hockey) December 29, 2019
And then, with the second Army power play goal of the night, Micheal Wilson redirected a blast home for the game winning goal. And unlike a stormtrooper, he hit the target with accuracy. This was no Solo effort, however, with assists coming from Dominic Franco (who has a rancor-sized game today) and John Zimmerman.
It’s a power play goal for the senior Wilson! Franco now has three points on the night with the primary assist here. #GoArmy #AHF pic.twitter.com/Qd8jvfpRTh
— Army WP Hockey (@ArmyWP_Hockey) December 29, 2019
It’s also worth noting that the Jedi Knights- I’m sorry- Black Knights killed off a 5 minute major penalty with goalie Trevin Kozlowski standing stronger than the Death Star.
This game was not only important for Army to try and finally be ranked and potentially lock up an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament, but for the conference as a whole. It’s no secret that there’s a gap in talent between the Atlantic Hockey Association and Hockey East, so a win like this helps the conference’s image as a whole.
Army faces a new challenge next when they face #13 Providence, first in Hockey East, in the first round of the Fortress Invitational in Las Vegas. Army, should they win, will face the winner of Ohio State and Cornell, both of whom are also top 2 in their conferences.
If Army wins this tournament but falls short of winning the AHA, they should have a favorable shot at an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament.
