Photo Credit: Army West Point Athletics

“That was a close one.” Army West Point Associate Head Coach Zach McKelvie said of Nik Hong’s empty net goal to ice the game against Sacred Heart and keep Army moving in the right direction in the Atlantic Hockey Standings. He could have been talking about the 5-3 win which saw Army get the first three before having to fend off the Pioneers down the stretch.

McKelvie said of Hong and why the staff wanted him, “We saw him in the NAHL and just liked how he controls the game. He is very intelligent and can make plays, no brainer for us.”

For how he earned his ice time as a plebe McKelvie added “You can play him in any situation. He can play with anyone. Studies his shifts. Nik is a really good player and he is still getting better. Great person too.”

Hong’s line was one of the best on the ice for Army all night as Zach noted “His line was buzzing. Really solid all night.”

Given some of Army’s results recently with getting big leads and giving them up, their ability to hold on to this lead even after Sacred Heart fought back takes on even more meaning as McKelvie went through saying that it’s “Part of our group leaning and developing as a young team. We still can play better and more complete but certainly tonight helps with that as Sacred Heart is very good.”

Going forward McKelvie talks about what’s next as Army prepares to face Air Force at home saying , “We are figuring out how to play as a team. I don’t think people realize how inexperienced we are with all the freshmen and sophomores playing. As they get experience, each weekend we can see progress. Most importantly they are learning how to play for a full game, which we still did not do tonight but we are definitely moving in the right direction.”

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