Box Score

WEST POINT, NY – Junior forward Wayne Simpson recorded his first career hat trick and freshman forward Max Novak added two goals to lead the Union men's ice hockey team to a 8-1 win over Army in head coach Rick Bennett's debut behind the bench.

Six different Dutchmen had multiple points on the night, as Union scored eight unanswered goals after falling behind early, outshooting Army 44-18 for the contest.

Sophomore goaltender Troy Grosenick stopped 17 shots for his first career win in net.

Army took a 1-0 lead on its first scoring chance of the night. After a Union turnover in the defensive zone, Army freshman Zak Caremba beat  Grosenick on a stuff-in at 2:32 of the first period.

The Dutchmen picked up the pace shortly thereafter, and sophomore forward Matt Hatch evened the game after an impressive individual effort. Skating into the Army zone one-on-three, Hatch found Simpson in the middle. Simpson fired a shot, and Hatch batted the rebound of out of the air at the 12:07 mark.

Union took the lead just 2:31 later, as sophomore forward Kevin Sullivan stuffed in his own rebound at 14:38 to put the Dutchmen up 2-1. Junior defenseman Shawn Stuart and junior forward Kyle Bodie recorded assists on the play.

Novak put Union up 3-1, taking a pass from sophomore forward Cole Ikkala and finishing with a backhand over the blocker of Army goaltender Ryan Leets at 18:17.

The Dutchmen continued on the offensive in the final two periods, as senior forward Kelly Zajac forced a turnover and found Simpson in the slot, who scored at 11:18 of the second period.

Novak notched his second score of the night at 15:47, scooping a shot over Leets' blocker side for a 5-1 lead.

At 18:38, Union scored on its first power play opportunity of the night. With Army's Kyle Maggard in the penalty box for hooking, junior defenseman Greg Coburn snuck in from the point and scored off a pass from Kyle Bodie from behind the net to put Union up 6-1.

Grosenick made his best save of the night at the 13:30 mark of the second period sliding to his right to stop a shot from Army's Brian Schultz from the circle.

Simpson added his second goal of the night at 10:22 of the third period, beating Leets on the glove side. He added another from the slot at 16:12 to round out the scoring for the Dutchmen.

Union will take on Western Michigan on Oct. 14 at 7:00 p.m. at Messa Rink in its home opener