RMC Paladins travel to West Point to face Army Black Knights in 79th Challenge Cup
One of the oldest rivalries in university hockey will be renewed Saturday night at 7 p.m. when the RMC Paladins travel to West Point, N.Y. to take on the Army Black Knights in the 79th Challenge Cup.
One of the oldest rivalries in university hockey will be renewed Saturday night at 7 p.m. when the RMC Paladins travel to West Point, N.Y. to take on the Army Black Knights in the 79th Challenge Cup.
The game will be a continuation of the longest-running international series which dates back to the first matchup in 1923 – a game which RMC won 3-0 in West Point.
Since the inaugural game, the teams have met each year except for when the series was interrupted by war and a hiatus from 2007-2011 due to scheduling conflicts.
Though RMC initially dominated going 14-0-1 when the series began, Army has since taken control of the series amassing a 42-29-7 record and is presently on a seven-game unbeaten streak. Army scored three third-period goals last year and came away with a 5-2 win, and has not lost to the Paladins since 2002 when RMC won 3-2 in overtime.
RMC heads into West Point winless this season with a 0-18-2 record in OUA play, but is coming off a game in which it nearly upset the nationally-ranked McGill Redmen. In the game against McGill, RMC goaltender Evan Deviller made 53 saves on 57 shots, but it wasn't enough as a third period powerplay goal by the Redmen denied RMC's upset bid and handed the Paladins a 4-3 loss. Last year against Army, Deviller turned aside 32 of 36 shots in a losing effort (Army added an empty net goal). RMC was outshot 37-18 in the game.
Like the Paladins, Army has also struggled at times this season and has a 5-16-2 record while sitting in ninth place in the Atlantic Hockey conference standings.
Tyler Pham leads the Black Knights with 21 points in 22 games this season, for a team that averages just 2.1 goals per game.
For RMC, Eric Louis-Seize has set the pace averaging over a point per game, scoring 10 goals and adding 12 assists in 21 games. The Paladins are averaging 2.57 goals per game, but have struggled on the defensive end allowing 6.57 goals per game.
Regardless of the teams' records, with so much history surrounding the game and so much national pride on the line, expect a very intense, exciting and competitive game when the puck drops Saturday night.
79th Challenge Cup By The Numbers
66 – Goals allowed by Army in 23 games; an average of 2.86 per game. The Black Knights have allowed the second most goals of any team in their conference.
2 – Goals in last year's game for Army forward Maurice Alvarez, including the game winner midway through the third period. Alvarez has just eight points in 23 games this season, but leads his team with three goals and two assists in games against RMC.
838 – Saves made by RMC goaltenders this season, the most of any team in the league. The Paladins starting goaltender Evan Deviller has posted a respectable .880 save percentage despite having a 5.81 goals against average.
