By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
Beware, the sleeping anti-giant.
As the Army West Point hockey team learned on Saturday evening.
Losers to Rochester Institute of Technology by a 4-2 score on Friday night, Army unleashed a tank brigade of physicality for the rematch with the Tigers.
But after getting steamrolled for the first few minutes, the Tigers responded in a big way and rallied for another 4-2 win in front of 3,372 fans at the Gene Polisseni Center.
“They kind of punched us in the face for the first five minutes,” sophomore winger Jake Hamacher said, “but then I think it energized us and woke us up.”
And two of RIT’s smaller skaters played the biggest roles as the Tigers won for the sixth time in nine games (6-1-2).
Hamacher, at 5-foot-8 and 174 pounds, scored the first two goals and helped create the third while 5-foot-6, 167-pound defenseman Dan Willett dished out far more hits than he took in a take-charge-of-the-defensive-zone effort in front of goalie Ian Andriano.
“When you’re playing a team that is trying to run you every time you get the puck, I personally like that kind of game,” said Willett, a sophomore who assisted on Erik Brown’s power-play goal at 2:13 of the third period that provided a 3-1 lead.
Coach Wayne Wilson has seen that come-alive performance from Willett in the past, so he was hardly surprised.
“Maybe they woke him up,” Wilson said after the Tigers improved to 13-9-3 and 11-7-3 in Atlantic Hockey. “Usually you say that about the 6-foot-3 guy; ‘Don’t wake him up.’ But for a little guy, he likes to get involved. It seems to be what he likes.”
The Tigers trailed for nearly a full period before Hamacher tied the score with his ninth goal of the season, whipping a wrist shot from the high slot in over the glove of goalie Trevin Kozlowski 3:58 into the second period.
The score didn’t change until Hamacher found the net again, this time by firing home a carom off the end glass after Shawn Cameron’s shot off a three-on-two fast break missed the net.
Army’s Taylor Maruya also was assessed a hooking penalty on the play and the Tigers used the power play to create Brown’s goal and the 3-1 lead.
Hamacher has produced 6 goals, 2 assists and 8 points in the past nine games, and his 10 goals are second-most on the team.
“He has kind of a sneaky way about him,” Wilson said. “He doesn’t have that size or quickness but he’s got a head about him. Even when recruiting him, I said, ‘Geez, he’s got a lot of points but how does he do it?’ Some players just have that hockey sense.”
While the Tigers scored four times in the final two periods, Andriano was playing well in goal. Relegated to watching from the bench all season, he finally got a chance to play on Friday because of an injury to goaltending mainstay Logan Drackett.
The sophomore made 32 saves on Friday in a decent performance and was very sharp on Saturday with 35 saves.
“I thought last night he looked kind of nervous,” Wilson said. “Even on soft shots he was kind of attacking it instead of letting the puck come to him.
“But he was good tonight and that’s reassuring for us now, too, that we have someone else who has put together two good games in a row.”
Andriano’s most important saves came early, especially the stop on a Kevin Dineen breakaway at 8:45 of the first period that could have given Army a 2-0 lead.
“You feel if they get that second one, they’re kind of on their way,” Andriano said. “As long as the team’s winning, I’m happy with any playing time I get but you always want to contribute.”
Leave a Reply