Photo Credit- Army West Point Athletics

For the Black Knights, when things are working as they have with the streak of consistent play they have been on, trying to keep things going is the challenge. A young team that lost winnable games at the beginning of the year is playing better as the year goes on with contributions from up and down the lineup. Veterans to rookies, everyone is playing a part.

Tonight was no different as the Black Knights used two goals from senior Brett Abdelnour, multiple assists from Max Itagaki, and a strong night on defense in front of a rocking Tate Rink to earn three big points in the Atlantic Hockey race for home ice.

Associate Head Coach Zach McKelvie takes us through some key points on the night.

On the night and what went well for the group.

“The three things we liked was our first period, we had a lot of good chances in the first. Second our power play had two very timely goals. Third, Justin was really good in net.”

McKelvie praised his team for taking the initiative and scoring early and credited Holy Cross for their effort

“We scored on the chances we had, always good when you are opportunistic. Holy Cross had some really good looks they just didn’t put them away. They work hard, have great effort, a lot of good players and are very well coached…I thought in many regards they outplayed us. But our guys stuck with it and made some nice plays to get on the board.”

On Brett Abdelnour who set the pace early “Brett is just a really solid player. He thinks the game very well and likes to set guys up but he does have good poise around the net which showed tonight and recently. He’s a phenomenal teammate so the boys love it when he scores.”

The story of this year for Army is the growth of their plebe class. This is one of the youngest teams in terms of games played in the country, and they have grown and learned throughout the year. As Zach said “ our freshmen are getting better every game. You can see them developing and gaining confidence. The whole class is committed to getting better.”

On the atmosphere the team played with tonight, McKelvie said that it was a “great atmosphere tonight, crowds have been great which helps a ton. We love playing at home.”

On the standout freshman, one in the hunt for national rookie of the year honors and a strong contender to win it for this conference, Max Itagaki McKelvie said , “Max makes an impact in nearly every game in a positive way, that’s really tough to do especially as a freshman. His consistency shouldn’t go unnoticed, he is not a streaky player & brings every night. He has such good awareness and sense of the game that he sees plays that a lot of guys don’t. The great thing about Max is he is not at all satisfied, he wants to be a complete player and is becoming one.”

He has another chance tomorrow to add to his resume as this Army team looks to build more cushion in their race for home ice and pass AIC with a regulation win tomorrow.

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