Army West Point Athletics
Friday, February 20
USAF Academy, Colo.
7 p.m. MT/9 p.m. ET
Army West Point
12-14-5, 7-13-3
4
at
3
Air Force
15-13-3, 11-10-2
1
2
3
F
Army West Point
0
3
1
4
Air Force
1
1
1
3
Hockey Claims 4-3 Win Over Falcons
February 21, 2026 | Hockey
USAFA, Colo. – Army West Point hockey (11-14-5, 6-13-3 Atlantic Hockey America) traveled out west for the first game of a two-game road series against service academy rival Air Force (15-12-3, 11-9-2 Atlantic Hockey America) on Friday night.
After Air Force scored early, the Black Knights put on a show for the Army fans in Colorado as they surged to a 4-3 victory at Cadet Ice Arena.
Sophomore netminder JJ Cataldo stepped out onto the ice to face the Falcons, delivering 50 saves against Air Force's 53 shots on goal – the first time an Army goalie has recorded 50 or more saves since 2012 when Rob Tadazak put up 50 saves against No. 13 Maine.
Air Force placed Dominik Wasik at the other end of the ice where the Falcon put up 19 saves against Army's 23 shots on goal.
Friday night's action began with the tension that comes part and parcel of the storied rivalry and the Falcons wasted no time in capitalizing on the home-ice advantage as they scored the first goal of the night three minutes into the game.
The Black Knights' defense locked down after that, holding off the Falcons while the Army's defense fought to get on the board.
The two teams battled hard, but despite power play opportunities for both teams, the Falcons carried their 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
Army's offense worked to find even the balance in the second period, tallying a power play goal just under three minutes into the second frame as Ben Ivey and Nils Forselius set up Jack Ivey on an open patch of ice for the sophomore forward to bury the puck past Wasik and tie the game 1-1.
The Falcons answered Army's challenge with a goal at 11:23 on the clock to retake the lead, but the Black Knights offense had found its stride and Ben Ivey tied the game once more after carrying the puck up through the neutral zone to score his 12th goal of the season.
The tense battle continued but the Black Knights continued to click on production as Barron Woodring scored Army's third goal of the night with just 33 seconds remaining in the second period.
Nils Forselius and Lukas McCloskey combined to escape the Air Force pressure in Army's defensive end and send the puck to Woodring who fired a shot bar down to give Army its first lead of the night heading into the final period of regulation.
Air Force returned to the ice on a mission, tallying a whopping 28-3 shot differential throughout the final frame.
Despite the pressure from the Falcons, the Black Knights broke open the scoring just a minute and 45 seconds back into the third period as Ben Ivey buried the rebound of a shot that ricocheted off the boards into the open net for his second goal of the night.
Army's defense rose to the Falcons' challenge, delivering nine blocks in the third period alone to help hold the home team to just one goal midway through the period.
UP NEXT
Army returns to Cadet Ice Arena on Saturday, February 21 for game two of their series at Air Force. Puck drop is set for 5:05 p.m. ET.
After Air Force scored early, the Black Knights put on a show for the Army fans in Colorado as they surged to a 4-3 victory at Cadet Ice Arena.
Sophomore netminder JJ Cataldo stepped out onto the ice to face the Falcons, delivering 50 saves against Air Force's 53 shots on goal – the first time an Army goalie has recorded 50 or more saves since 2012 when Rob Tadazak put up 50 saves against No. 13 Maine.
Air Force placed Dominik Wasik at the other end of the ice where the Falcon put up 19 saves against Army's 23 shots on goal.
Friday night's action began with the tension that comes part and parcel of the storied rivalry and the Falcons wasted no time in capitalizing on the home-ice advantage as they scored the first goal of the night three minutes into the game.
The Black Knights' defense locked down after that, holding off the Falcons while the Army's defense fought to get on the board.
The two teams battled hard, but despite power play opportunities for both teams, the Falcons carried their 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
Army's offense worked to find even the balance in the second period, tallying a power play goal just under three minutes into the second frame as Ben Ivey and Nils Forselius set up Jack Ivey on an open patch of ice for the sophomore forward to bury the puck past Wasik and tie the game 1-1.
The Falcons answered Army's challenge with a goal at 11:23 on the clock to retake the lead, but the Black Knights offense had found its stride and Ben Ivey tied the game once more after carrying the puck up through the neutral zone to score his 12th goal of the season.
The tense battle continued but the Black Knights continued to click on production as Barron Woodring scored Army's third goal of the night with just 33 seconds remaining in the second period.
Nils Forselius and Lukas McCloskey combined to escape the Air Force pressure in Army's defensive end and send the puck to Woodring who fired a shot bar down to give Army its first lead of the night heading into the final period of regulation.
Air Force returned to the ice on a mission, tallying a whopping 28-3 shot differential throughout the final frame.
Despite the pressure from the Falcons, the Black Knights broke open the scoring just a minute and 45 seconds back into the third period as Ben Ivey buried the rebound of a shot that ricocheted off the boards into the open net for his second goal of the night.
Army's defense rose to the Falcons' challenge, delivering nine blocks in the third period alone to help hold the home team to just one goal midway through the period.
UP NEXT
Army returns to Cadet Ice Arena on Saturday, February 21 for game two of their series at Air Force. Puck drop is set for 5:05 p.m. ET.
Team Stats
AWP
AF
Shots
23
53
PPG
2
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
10
7
Penalty Mins
20
14
Faceoffs Won
22
42
Game Leaders
+/-
1
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
3
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ HockeyF
/ Hockey
D
/ HockeyF
/ Hockeyvs. Sacred Heart
Saturday, November 10
Test
Wednesday, November 07