Dominic Franco poised for big season at Army

After a successful rookie season, some athletes suffer from a sophomore slump, with the second season fails to live up to the first. Army West Point forward Dominic Franco already is proving that label does not apply to him.

In the Black Knights’ series sweep of AIC to open the season, Franco shined, tallying a goal and two assists in a 5-1 victory over the Yellow Jackets on Oct. 6. After totaling 22 points as a freshman, the Portsmouth, R.I., native has picked up right where he left off.

“Dom is coming off a great first year for us,” said Army head coach Brian Riley. “Sometimes it takes people a while to get acclimated to college hockey coming from juniors, and he made that transition really quickly. Coming into this season, we just feel that he has the potential to be a top player in this league.”

Franco is not the only sophomore Black Knight who produces. Zach Evancho (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Brendan Soucie notched 23 and 21 points last year, respectively.

The 6-foot-5, 218-pound Franco believes his class must now work on becoming leaders on and off the ice.

“Just kind of keeping true to what the coaches harp on in terms of how we want to play. I think that will return the same amount of points and hopefully help us develop more as leaders,” Franco said.

Needless to say, Franco was pleased to get back on the ice and play some meaningful hockey.

“The offseason is a long time, all the way from March until the first weekend in October,” Franco said. “It felt really good to get out there and stop beating your own team up for six weeks and play somebody else.”

THE NOTEBOOK

First-year head coaches Jason Lammers and Trevor Large won their first games with their respective teams early last month.

Lammers’ Niagara squad snuck past Robert Morris, 4-3, in overtime at Dwyer Arena on Oct. 6. Meanwhile, Canisius defeated Robert Morris, 4-1, on Oct. 14 at home. …

Army opened the season with an impressive sweep over AIC, outscoring the Yellow Jackets 7-2 in the series. Sophomore forward Michael Wilson notched four points in a 5-1 victory on Oct. 6. Sophomore forward Brendan Soucie and senior defenseman Nick Dicenzo each found the back of the net in a 2-1 win on Oct. 7. …

Bentley’s Jake Kauppila scored with 2:04 left in the final period against AIC to force OT in the Falcons’ first game of the season Oct. 10. The contest ended in a 3-3 tie, thanks to two goals from the sophomore Kauppila and another goal from classmate Jonathan Desbiens. For the Yellow Jackets, Brennan Kapcheck, Blake Christensen and Shawn McBride scored in the draw. …

After a rough series at Northeastern to begin the season, Sacred Heart bounced back with a 3-1 win on the road vs. the University of Connecticut on Oct. 14. Pioneers goaltender Brett Magnus made a whopping 44 saves, including 30 in the final two periods. …

Ranked No. 19 in the USCHO rankings, Air Force took care of business with a weekend sweep of Arizona State at home. Senior forward Eric Baskin scored twice in the series, while junior blueliner Matt Koch notched two points, including the game-winning goal in a 3-2 victory on Oct. 14. Freshman Zach Mirageas tallied two assists in the series.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Brady Ferguson, Robert Morris

Last year’s conference scoring champ, the Robert Morris senior already is one of the top point-getters after just a few games. He scored twice in an Oct. 6 loss at Niagara and recorded two assists in an Oct. 13 win vs. Canisius. Ferguson will look to somehow build off his extraordinary 50-point season a year ago.

Cole Bruns, Army

Bruns was fantastic in net for Army in a sweep of AIC. In two games, the senior netminder made 63 stops, for a save percentage of .969. It’s not easy replacing a star goalie like Parker Gahagen (Buffalo, N.Y.), who graduated from West Point in the offseason. However, Bruns showed his talent in a backup role last season, recording a .949 save percentage in four contests.

Dylan McLaughlin, Canisius

The Golden Griffins’ top scorer a year ago, the junior made his presence felt in a weekend series against Robert Morris. McLaughlin assisted two goals in game one, then scored once and added another helper in a 4-1 Canisius win on Oct. 14. Expect the Lancaster, N.Y., native to anchor an offense that ranked third in the conference in GPG last season.

THE CLASH

Robert Morris at RIT | Friday, Nov. 10, 7:05 p.m. Gene Polisseni Center, Rochester, N.Y.

The Colonials head to New York to try and slow down the Tigers’ high-powered offense. Last season, these two teams met for four games, splitting them. RIT will look to make a statement in this weekend series against a top conference squad after falling in the first round of last year’s conference tournament against Niagara.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

▸ Matt Koch | Air Force The Two-way Player

As if No. 19 Air Force didn’t have enough talented playmakers already, Koch has put together a strong performance for the Falcons. Through four games, the junior defenseman is tied for the team lead in points with four. His two points and four blocked shots in a season-opening weekend series at Alaska-Fairbanks earned him conference Defensive Player of the Week honors.

▸ Michael Louria | Robert Morris | The Transfer

So far, Louria has made a smooth transition to the Colonials after spending two seasons with UMass-Lowell. The redshirt junior has two goals and assist in three contests. He had his bright moments with the River Hawks, scoring nine points in the 2015-16 season. If he continues to put up points for a team that already has Brady Ferguson and Alex Tonge, conference opponents better look out.

▸ Derian Plouffe | Niagara | The Comeback Kid

Last year, the junior forward totaled eight points in 12 games before an injury cut his season short. Now fully healthy, Plouffe is back contributing for the Purple Eagles. He scored Niagara’s first goal of the season in a 5-1 loss to Colgate on Sept. 30, then added another goal in a 4-3 overtime win vs. Robert Morris on Oct. 6.

THE QUOTE

‘The most important thing about getting off to a good start was the fact that we picked up four points. Once you get the points, they can’t take them away from you.’
— Army head coach Brian Riley on his team’s season-opening sweep of AIC