Army scored three unanswered goals in the third period to upset Mercyhurst, 3-2, Friday night in front of 1,482 fans at Tate Rink. The win keeps the Black Knights’ hopes of a seventh-place finish alive.
Freshman defenseman Matt Field’s shot from the left point found its way through a screen and between Mercyhurst goaltender Peter Aubry’s legs for the game-winner at 10:20 of the final period. Field’s magic moment came with just three seconds left on a 4-on-3 advantage for Army.
The win was the first in six tries for Army (11-17-5/9-11-5 MAAC) against the two-time defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular-season champions, and was the fourth consecutive win in goal for Army senior Scott Hamilton. The Clinton Township, Mich., native made 33 saves between the pipes for his 34th career victory and evened his season record at 8-8-0.
The Black Knights trailed 2-0 at the end of two periods, but scored twice one minute apart in the early stages of the third period to tie the game. Senior Joe Carpenter tucked a shot underneath Aubry’s pads from the goalmouth at 2:58. Junior Derek Hines broke in all alone 57 seconds later, while Army was killing a power play, and beat Aubry high in the right corner for a shorthanded tally.
Mercyhurst (21-9-3/20-2-3) dropped its second straight game in MAAC play. The visitors jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second period on goals by Nolan Brown, while both teams were playing 4-on-4, and Louis Goulet, while Army was on a power play. Mike Carter had two assists for the Lakers.
Army moves within two points of Connecticut, which lost at Quinnipiac Friday night. A win by the Black Knights Saturday over Canisius, coupled with a loss by UConn to Bentley on Sunday, would leave Army in a tie for seventh with the Huskies. The Black Knights’ win over Mercyhurst would give them the tiebreaker with UConn and the seventh seed in the MAAC tournament.
