Vermont’s Billy Kelly scored twice and Bryson Busniuk added a goal and three assists as the Catamounts defeated Army, 8-4, in a nonconference game Saturday.
Vermont broke open a tight game with four goals from four different players in the first 8:02 of the third period and never looked back.
Army (5-8-0), took a 1-0 lead when Vermont’s Travis Russell misplayed the puck in the crease and it trickled over the goal line at 4:27. Tim Quinlan was credited with the goal, his second of the season. Chris MacLeod and Joe Dudek assisted on the goal.
Vermont (5-7-2), tied it when senior captain John Longo scored while the teams were skating four-on-four. Oriel McHugh and Scott Mifsud assisted on the goal, Longo’s fourth of the season and the 17th of his career.
Vermont added two more before the end of the period, with Billy Kelly scoring his first of the year at 14:36 and Bryson Busniuk notching his second of the season at 19:12 on the power play. Freshman defenseman Phil Youngclaus assisted on both goals, with Scott Mifsud also getting an assist on Longo’s goal. Busniuk made the pass to Kelly for his goal, which caromed off an Army defender and bounced over Army goaltender Brad Roberts.
The Black Knights came back with a goal just 15 seconds into the second period when Chris Casey scored from a tough angle. Chad Mayfield and Nic Serre assisted on the goal, Casey’s sixth of the season.
Vermont retook a two-goal lead at 5:08 when Brady Leisenring tipped a shot from Oriel McHugh while Vermont was on a 5-on-3 power play. Mifsud picked up his second assist of the night on the goal, Leisenring’s fifth of the season.
Army made it 4-3 at 10:56 when Brett Osness scored with assists going to Mike McLean and Nick Cahill, but Vermont broke it open early in the third with three goals in the first six minutes. Mifsud scored at 3:17, Kelly at 3:29 and Baron Becker at 5:18. Longo and Busniuk assisted on Mifsud’s goal, while Ben Driver and Hajek got the helpers on Kelly’s tally.
Longo got another assist, his second of the game, with a nice pass to Becker, who steamed down the center of the ice and beat Roberts cleanly while Vermont was shorthanded. Vermont, which did not score a shorthanded goal all of last season. now has three this year.
Ben Driver scored his first of the year at 8:02, with Busniuk getting his third assist of the game, to give Vermont an 8-3 lead. Black Knight Matt Field scored late to make for the final margin.
Roberts had 19 saves and Bill Moss made three stops for Army, while Russell recorded 25 saves for Vermont to pick up his second career win.
For Vermont, Mifsud had a goal and two assists, as did Longo. Senior captain Thomas Hajek had two assists.
