Photo Credit: Army West Point Athletics

For Army West Point, they needed a moment. A young team that has been improving since their opening trip to North Dakota didn’t have a lot to show for it with wins over high-powered foes.

Tonight that changed.

Head Coach Brian Riley’s team beat the number 11 ranked ( pairwise) Wildcats 6-3 with a 40 plus save night from Gavin Abric in net. When his team needed him the most he delivered. “It’s a clean slate , it’s a whole new season, I was really excited to see Gav get this opportunity. To see the look on his face when the final buzzer went off was pretty neat.”

Riley praised Chris Azzano for his work with Abric and the goalies. Azzano liked how Gavin looked the past couple of days.

Along with the grizzled veteran performance of Abric, we saw another standout for Army tonight amongst many. Tall plebe Barron Woodring put home his first two goals in spectacular fashion to lead the scoring effort for the Black Knights . His night included a goal that went in and out so fast it was challenged to no avail. Barron is known for his size and strength but showed a scoring upside to his game tonight that hopes to grow in the years ahead.

“He just has such an upside to his game and one of those things is his shot. For us that’s another freshman that if he gets going here he could really make an impact like he did tonight.”

Another standout for Riley’s group was plebe Brent Keefer. The responsible US Military Prep School alum played a sound defensive game and put home the empty netter to provide the final margin and his eighth of the season. Joey Baez also provided the steadying goal in the third. “It was huge.. that goal gave us a little breathing room, but Joey’s a goal scorer.”

Riley praised the fourth line for two goals on the night “ when your fourth line scores that was a big difference.”

“We have guys that play hard for each other.. I told them these were the games that you always remember .”

Riley also praised Keefer “ to think he didn’t play hockey last year, he plays big minutes for us.” Keefer is the latest in the growing line of players who have spent a year at the Prep school before coming to the main West Point Campus.

Associate Head Coach Zach McKelvie had some things to share as well.

What did you see from Barron on his goals and how has he grown for you this year?

“Barron has always had that ability to score like that, he has done it his whole career. He does it in practice a lot and I think it’s just part of a freshman’s development, sometimes it doesn’t happen as quick as you like but nobody is surprised by Barron scoring tonight.”

How did Gav get back to the form we all know he can be ?

“Hard work and commitment. He just shows up everyday and works, pours everything he has into this team and his game. Things haven’t gone how he had planned the first half but he never stopped working and moving forward. He has handled everything like a pro and tonight he got the result he deserved, he was by far the best player on the ice tonight.”

What did you learn about your team with how they responded in the third?

“We were in the same position our last game and did not handle it well. Tonight they score right away in third but our guys dig in an responded with a big power play goal. They did a much better job tonight in a similar situation and UNH threw a lot at us in the third.”

Who was your unsung hero of the night and why ?

“ I don’t know if there was one tonight. A lot of our guys sold out and blocked a ton of shots, so that’s something we want to celebrate. And with that the shots that made it through, Gavin managed the game really well and got us stoppages when we needed them.”

What did this atmosphere mean to you ?

“Great fans tonight, definitely made a difference for us.”

What’s it mean to be a part of this ranked win .. the first one in a long time

“It’s always good, UNH is very well coached and has a lot of good players so when you win it’s great boost to confidence.”

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