Rob Riley (former West Point Coach)   

I was fortunate to be a part of the Army-RMC rivalry for nearly twenty years.  For me, I grew up with this rivalry, and understood the magnitude and importance of the game.  When the game was the final one for both teams it had a great build up, but over time with league and playoff implications, the timing of the game changed.  One thing that did not change was the intense competitive spirit of both teams.  Similar to the Army-Air Force rivalry, our players (Army-RMC) did have a lot in common as their military training prepared them for a much bigger cause than other college athletes experience.  It is unfortunate that this seems be changing. 

My best memory is of our 9-7 win at Kingston in 1986. It was significant because we had not won there since 1970, it was the first time we stayed in a hotel as a team( and nearly had our team taken by RMC personnel in a planed bomb scare    that Friday night), and most importantly it was my dad's 18th and final visit to Kingston.  My most disappointing memory was the following year when RMC visited Tate Rink for the first time and beat us.  

The best played game was the 1996 game in Kingston where we visited with one of Army's best teams.  We won 24 games that season and two freshmen, Dan Hinote and Andy Lundbohm scored for us as goalie Daryl Chamberlain had an incredible performance in a 2-0 game.  Hinote was drafted by Colorado that year and Lundbohm went on to become the only Army player to score in four consecutive RMC games. 

I enjoyed the visits to Kingston, especially the Canadians love and passion for the sport of hockey.  Being able to see Danny McLeod after we became great family friends was always a thrill.  Getting to know Bill Oliver after his AD days also became a highlight of the rivalry.  We were able to look beyond the game and the challenges and develop a great relationship.  Those around me said I was softening with all my new RMC friends!!  I also enjoyed getting to know Andy Scott during his years as the RMC coach. We had a very respectful relationship during those years.  It did suffer when I saw a picture of a linesman and referee (the next day) who was a staff member of the athletic department in their gym.  So please, do not start with officiating!!!  

Once again, I feel lucky for those memories. 

Rob Riley

14080 Andy Scott (RMC ’83)  - former Redmen player & former RMC Head Coach. 

I have been fortunate to take part in seven games in the RMC-West Point hockey series; two as a player and five as head coach.  For me personally, there were two important aspects to the series.  Firstly, when you took part in an RMC-West Point game you were representing your country and for those sixty minutes you wanted to do everything in your power to win.  Secondly, you realized at the end of it all that the team you were competing against was made up of players with whom you shared a common bond; you were both officers in training for a career of defending the common interests of both countries and our allies.

Anybody who has played in the game has at least one or two humorous stories connected with the rivalry.  One of my favourites centers around the psychological warfare that our coach Wayne Kirk tried to wage with our opponents.  In 1982 (both my and Wayne's first game), he wanted to try and fuel over-confidence in what was supposed to be a very strong West Point team.  He had sent several signals via different sources to West Point that we did not have a particularly strong team that year.  He capped off this strategy the day before the game at our practice which was attended by the West Point team.  He had us dress in old jerseys and socks, mixed up the lines, and threw a bunch of new and complicated drills at us.  The results were predictable.  West Point could be forgiven for being a little over-confident!  You could almost see our opponents salivating with anticipation of the massacre to come the next day.  Whether this ploy had anything to do with our 4-3 win, I don't know.  But, you can't argue with success.

The following year, Wayne took the opposite tack.  He tried to make us out to be stronger than we probably were.  His final touch that year was to have several cases of champagne brought into the rink in full sight of the West Point team.  Again, I'm not sure it had any effect on our opponents, but the thought of free champagne certainly made an impact on us.  We skated away with a 3-2 victory; at the time, the first at West Point since 1959.

By comparison, I enjoyed coaching in the series (1997-2001) less than playing in it.  There was a lot of pressure (perceived or otherwise) to win, compounded by the fact that we had not prevailed since 1987.  It was certainly considered the most (only?) important game of the year by the College at large.  Additionally, there was the ever-present institutional desire for us to "play nice".  As a coach, this kept you walking a razor thin line.  I think the lowest point of those five years came with 37 seconds left in the 1998 game when Greg Buckmeier scored to turn our almost 2-1 win into a 2-2 loss (or what felt like a loss).  I felt poorly for our players who had given everything they had that day and had come so close to beating a very good West Point team.  The high point came two years later when we finally ended the 12 year-old winless streak with a 3-0 win in Kingston (and managed to "play nice" at the same time!).

Coaching also allowed me to get to know Rob and Brian Riley, the West Point coaches.  It was great to be able to talk to two people who experienced the same unique rewards and problems inherent in coaching cadets.  I was also flattered at being remembered by their legendary father who referred to me in 1997 at our first meeting since the 1983 game as "...that bastard who stole to games from us in the early '80's".  I viewed that as high praise from a giant of USA hockey.

It is my sincere hope that many more classes of hockey-playing cadets at each institution will enjoy the unique and rewarding experience of playing in the RMC-West Point series. 

14080 Andy Scott (RMC ’83)

Editor’s Note: Andy Scott is currently the General Manager and Head Coach of the Central Penn Panthers Junior Hockey Club in Lancaster, PA.  He is also the Central Penn Panthers Youth Hockey Director and a vice-president of USA Hockey's Atlantic District.