Worst Seasons in the Past 25 Years Part 7: Army West Point

Welcome to the Worst Season in the Past 25 Years, a series in which r/CollegeHockey reviews the worst season for all 60 Division I teams over the summer to alleviate the crushing boredom known as the off-season and take a horrific tour down memory lane.

If you are interested in writing an entry for your team, please let me know via PM. I’ll be posting entries on weekdays at approximately at 6 pm Eastern time and will be going in alphabetical order. If an entry is not posted at that time, assume that “real life” has gotten in the way and that I am not able to post. If I am aware in advance that I will not post at 6 pm on a particular day, I will announce it in prior posts as a heads up.

And now.../r/CollegeHockey presents the Army West Point Black Knights! Army West Point have been coached by Brian Riley, who assumed the responsibility in 2004. It shall be noted that the Black Knights (or the Cadets, as they were previously known as) by a member of the Riley family since 1950! Currently, Army are members of Atlantic Hockey, having been part of the MAAC, men’s CHA and ECAC in the past, as well as stints in DII and as a DI independent.

In recent memory, the worst season for the Black Knights is…

2011-2012 Record: 4-7-23 (W-D-L); 3-5-19 (W-D-L; T-11th/11th) in Atlantic Hockey

Record: @Sacred Heart, RPI*, @Bentley, @UConn

Ties: Colgate, @AIC, Brown, @Robert Morris, Mercyhurst, Air Force

Losses: Union, UConn, @Merrimack, @RIT, Bentley, @Robert Morris, Mercyhurst, @Holy Cross, @UConn*, Canisius (x2), @Niagara (x2), Air Force, Bentley, Holy Cross (x2), @AIC, AIC, @Sacred Heart, Sacred Heart, @Holy Cross (x2)**

*UConn Hockey Classic

**AHC tournament, first round

Biggest Beatdown: Army 1 - Union 8

Head Coach: Brian Riley

For the most part, Army West Point’s seasons would have at least 10 wins each. However, whenever the 10 win threshold is not obtained, that first season usually has the least amount of wins. The next couple of seasons would simply rebuild to that baseline. In any case, Andy Starczewski lead the team with 13 goals and Mike Hull had the most assists, with 17. Between the pipes, Ryan Leets had a save percentage of .889 and a GAA of 3.50.

The Black Knights’ season started with what would be the worst defeat of the season (get that squared away) against Union. Games against UConn and Merrimack would also end in defeat, while the Colgate match ended in a draw.

November started on the road away to RIT and Sacred Heart, where the Black Knights would notch their first win of the season. A match versus Bentley was in defeat then Army would get draws away to American International and at home to Brown. The month ended with a trip to Robert Morris, only gaining a point in the process.

A home series against Mercyhurst garnered a point for Army followed by a trip to Holy Cross in defeat. Army participated in the UConn Hockey Classic, losing to the hosts UConn and winning against RPI.

Canisius was the Black Knights’ first opponent of the New Year, which Army lost both games. Likewise, Army lost both games away to Niagara. Air Force traveled to West Point for two game; Army only managed one tie. January ended with a home-and-home with Bentley, splitting the series.

February opened with an exhibition game with the Royal Military, where Army ran out as 9-1 victors. This was followed by a victory at UConn. This winning form did not last long; they lost their home series to Holy Cross. Two home-and-home series against AIC and Sacred Heart ended in defeat. The Black Knights’ season was ended by Holy Cross in the first round of the AHC tournament.

Army West Point would improve their record year by year; at the end of the 2016-17 season, they obtained 18 wins. This is the highest since 2007-08, which was the only time that Army has won the regular season title since they joined the AHC. Hopefully they can maintain this form and punch their ticket to the Ice Dance.

For Week 2 of this series, we will look at the worst seasons in recent memory for the following schools: Bemidji State, Bentley and Boston College. Once again, if you are interested in doing the entry for your favorite school, shoot me a PM. Your school, name, and date will be added at the end of each post to serve as a reminder. So far, the following people have inquired about a spot:

School	Username	Tentative Date
Brown	u/kdb77	6/21
Cornell	u/ABigRedWallaby	6/29
LSSU	u/binkelman	7/10
UML	u/LantisEscudo	7/13
Penn State	u/saucysalesman	8/8
RPI	u/Nicholas1227	8/16
Union	u/azureamor	8/22
Vermont	u/LocksTheFox	8/23

Finally, a shoutout to u/saucysalesman who inspired the idea of this series for doing one for football over at r/cfb. Additionally, thanks to r/CollegeBasketball for the idea of the sub-par MS Paint logos for each school.

Previous Entries in the Worst Seasons Series:

AHA	WCHA	Independent
Air Force	Alabama Huntsville	Arizona State
American International	Alaska Anchorage
Alaska Fairbanks