Ian McDougall scored his first career goal to lead Army to a 2-1 victory over home standing Connecticut Saturday afternoon at the Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum.
Playing its first eight league contests on the road, Army (3-8-2, 1-4-2 Atlantic Hockey) picked up its first win of the season away from West Point and its first league win on the strength of a spectacular first period. The win was just the second in Army’s last eight tries in Storrs, Conn., dating back to 1979.
Chase Podsiad started things off with a power-play goal at the 12:04 mark off an assist by Tim Manthey. Nearly three minutes later, sophomore defenseman McDougall registered his first collegiate goal and first career point when his wrister beat UConn goalie Jon Anderson over his left shoulder on the short side. McDougall’s tally gave the Black Knights a 2-0 advantage after 20 minutes of play.
“I was aiming for the short side,” McDougall said. “I just snapped it off and was glad to see it ended up in the net. It was really great to win our first road game of the year.”
Connecticut (3-6-1, 2-5-0) fought back with a shorthanded goal by Trevor Stewart midway through the second stanza.
However, the story of the middle frame was UConn’s inability to capitalize on its power play opportunities. The Huskies failed to score on a five-minute major penalty to Army senior captain Seth Beamer for hitting from behind just 26 seconds into the period.
The Huskies, boasting the nation’s 17th-ranked power play unit in the country, could not convert on four man-advantage opportunities. They were 0-for-6 overall in the game.
Brad Roberts made 22 saves, including eight in the third period, backstopping the Black Knights to the win. Anderson made 26 saves for UConn.
