Photo Credit: Mady Salvani-Army West Point Athletics

Today, Head Coach of Army West Point, and his staff needed his leaders’ hard work to manifest itself on the scoresheet. It did just that as Eric Butte potted two markers and Thomas Farrell put home his first of the year which ended up being the game winner. Gavin Abric pitched a 29 save shutout and the team earned its first win of 2022.

Hear from Associate Head Coach Zach McKelvie with his thoughts on the evening.

What was the focus with the team this morning?

“Number one thing coach talked about was showing up in all three periods. We had some good spurts last night but it was inconsistent and to late in the game. Then we also focused on just playing a little more smart efficient hockey. We thought the guys responded really well.”

How did the players inserted into the lineup do?

“They brought the energy we needed. Anytime you insert new guys you want to make sure they bring pace, energy and compete to the game…and the guys that came in definitely did that. We had to kill some penalties late and Michael Sacco, who hasn’t killed much if at all this season, had big time shift late in the game to help us kill the penalty. Thats what you hope for when you inject guys into the lineup.”

What does Thomas Farell getting his first mean to this group?

“He is a very good defensemen who makes a lot of good plays and creates chances for our team, so its always nice to get the first one. Sometimes that’s all it takes and pucks seem to start going in for you. Regardless if he scores or not he brings a lot to the table for us, very complete player.”

How reassuring for you guys was it to turn in this performance after the last three where you’ve been scored on first ?

“ It was a good response. Coach challenged the team this morning and everyone responded really well. It started on our backend with our goalie, our defense played much better and we had four lines going. It’s tough to win at this level and anytime someone comes into your building and beats you on night one, you need to respond the way our guys did tonight.”

What’s the next step this team has to take in the next series ?

“Every weekend need to learn and continue to grow as a team. Canisius is a really well coached team with a lot of good players, so there is a lot to learn from both a win or loss when you get the opportunity to play teams like that.”

What did you see out of Gavin today ?

“Gavin had a great response. He was big time, they had some good chances and a few early that he stopped and our team’s confidence just grew from that. That was a big time response from him.”

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