WEST POINT, N.Y. – The LIU men's hockey team dropped a tough loss on the road Friday evening, as the Sharks fell to Army, 5-2.
LIU got on the board first at Tate Rink, as freshman
Nolan Welsh scored less than two minutes in. His second collegiate goal was assisted by
Garrett Worth and
Tanner Schachle, and put the Sharks up, 1-0. Army would even it up about five minutes later, 1-1.
The Black Knights added a power play goal in the second period, and a quick goal at the start of the third to go up, 3-1, but LIU was still in the hunt. Just after the five-minute mark, the Sharks got back on the board, when senior
Max Balinson scored a power play goal, assisted by Mitch Meek and
Mat Harris, cutting the gap to 3-2.
But ten minutes later, Army increased its lead to 4-2, and would add an empty net goal in the final minutes to finish the game on top, 5-2.
SHARK BITES
- Goalie Garrett Metcalf made 42 saves on the night, as Army out-shot the Sharks 85-31, including 47 shots on net.
- Ballinson, who scored his first goal of the season, also led LIU with five blocked shots on defense.
- It was the first time for head coach Brett Riley coaching against a family member at the Division I level, but matchups between Rileys aren't new. The meeting was the 18th head coaching meeting between members of the Riley family. Jack Riley faced his son Rob one time and his nephew Bill 13 times. Rob faced his cousin Bill three times.
- The two teams will face off again Saturday, January 18 at 7 p.m.
