Army West Point Athletics
Saturday, February 28
West Point, N.Y.
4 p.m.
Army West Point
12-16-6, 7-15-4
3
vs
4
Sacred Heart
19-12-3, 15-8-3
1
2
3
F
Sacred Heart
1
0
3
4
Army West Point
0
1
2
3
Hockey Falls 4-3 to Sacred Heart
February 28, 2026 | Hockey
WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army West Point hockey (12-16-6, 7-15-4 Atlantic Hockey America) closed out its regular season against the Sacred Heart Pioneers (19-12-3, 15-8-3 Atlantic Hockey America) Saturday at Tate Rink.
The Black Knights celebrated senior night prior to the game, honoring the team's seven seniors and placing five of them on their starting line.
What was a back-and-forth matchup heading into the third period saw a three-goal period by the Pioneers to hand Army its second straight loss, sealing Army's fate of playing on the road in the first round of the Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) postseason.
The Black Knights returned JJ Cataldo between the pipes where he saved 24 of the Pioneers' 28 shots on goal.
Across the ice, Sacred Heart placed Teagan Kendrick in goal where he recorded 22 saves on 25 shots on goal from Army.
The Pioneers began the game aggressively from the opening puck drop, logging four shots on goal after 4:07 had elapsed off the clock while holding Army to only one shot on goal of their own.
A Sacred Heart penalty gave Army a chance to gain momentum in the matchup. The Pioneers' penalty kill held Army off the board before the Black Knights killed off a Sacred Heart power play in return to send the back-and-forth matchup past the halfway point of the first period.
After the eleven-minute mark, the Pioneers opened the scoring with a 1-0 lead that would hold through the rest of the first frame and into the first intermission.
Starting the second period of play, both teams traded shots on goal with no luck in finding an opening to score for their team.
An Army penalty sent the Pioneers on their second power play of the game after 8:55 had come off the clock in the second period but three saves from JJ Cataldo along with four blocked shots from the Black Knights' defense kept the threat at bay, giving Army momentum coming off the penalty kill.
After taking control of the puck in the defensive zone on a blocked shot, freshman Liam Chapman skated across the ice and buried a shot beneath Kendrick's blocker for his first career goal, tying the score at one apiece with nine minutes left in the second period.
With no team able to take the lead for the remainder of the second frame, the game's fate fell on the final period of play.
The Pioneers got off to a quick start in the third period, taking the lead on their second goal just 1:17 into the frame.
Following a Sacred Heart penalty, the Black Knights responded with a goal of their own to tie the game at two. Brent Keefer found Jack Ivey just outside the crease where he buried an open shot to take advantage of the power play opportunity and even the score once more.
Just under three minutes later, the Pioneers retook the lead with a power play goal of their own before netting another goal 44 seconds later to jump ahead 4-2.
Army continued to fight in front of their home crowd, scoring their third goal of the day just 36 seconds later.
Nik Hong redirected a shot by Jude Brower from the point for his 10th goal of the season to bring the Black Knights back to within one goal of the Pios.
With time running out, Army pulled Cataldo for the extra attacker with just under two minutes left to play.
Despite taking four shots with two shots on goal in the final minutes of play, the Pioneers' defense held strong to carry their 4-3 lead through the rest of Saturday's action.
UP NEXT
The Black Knights will head to Niagara to take on the Purple Eagles for the first round of the 2026 Atlantic Hockey America postseason tournament on Tuesday, March 3rd.
The Black Knights celebrated senior night prior to the game, honoring the team's seven seniors and placing five of them on their starting line.
What was a back-and-forth matchup heading into the third period saw a three-goal period by the Pioneers to hand Army its second straight loss, sealing Army's fate of playing on the road in the first round of the Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) postseason.
The Black Knights returned JJ Cataldo between the pipes where he saved 24 of the Pioneers' 28 shots on goal.
Across the ice, Sacred Heart placed Teagan Kendrick in goal where he recorded 22 saves on 25 shots on goal from Army.
The Pioneers began the game aggressively from the opening puck drop, logging four shots on goal after 4:07 had elapsed off the clock while holding Army to only one shot on goal of their own.
A Sacred Heart penalty gave Army a chance to gain momentum in the matchup. The Pioneers' penalty kill held Army off the board before the Black Knights killed off a Sacred Heart power play in return to send the back-and-forth matchup past the halfway point of the first period.
After the eleven-minute mark, the Pioneers opened the scoring with a 1-0 lead that would hold through the rest of the first frame and into the first intermission.
Starting the second period of play, both teams traded shots on goal with no luck in finding an opening to score for their team.
An Army penalty sent the Pioneers on their second power play of the game after 8:55 had come off the clock in the second period but three saves from JJ Cataldo along with four blocked shots from the Black Knights' defense kept the threat at bay, giving Army momentum coming off the penalty kill.
After taking control of the puck in the defensive zone on a blocked shot, freshman Liam Chapman skated across the ice and buried a shot beneath Kendrick's blocker for his first career goal, tying the score at one apiece with nine minutes left in the second period.
With no team able to take the lead for the remainder of the second frame, the game's fate fell on the final period of play.
The Pioneers got off to a quick start in the third period, taking the lead on their second goal just 1:17 into the frame.
Following a Sacred Heart penalty, the Black Knights responded with a goal of their own to tie the game at two. Brent Keefer found Jack Ivey just outside the crease where he buried an open shot to take advantage of the power play opportunity and even the score once more.
Just under three minutes later, the Pioneers retook the lead with a power play goal of their own before netting another goal 44 seconds later to jump ahead 4-2.
Army continued to fight in front of their home crowd, scoring their third goal of the day just 36 seconds later.
Nik Hong redirected a shot by Jude Brower from the point for his 10th goal of the season to bring the Black Knights back to within one goal of the Pios.
With time running out, Army pulled Cataldo for the extra attacker with just under two minutes left to play.
Despite taking four shots with two shots on goal in the final minutes of play, the Pioneers' defense held strong to carry their 4-3 lead through the rest of Saturday's action.
UP NEXT
The Black Knights will head to Niagara to take on the Purple Eagles for the first round of the 2026 Atlantic Hockey America postseason tournament on Tuesday, March 3rd.
Team Stats
SHU
AWP
Shots
28
25
PPG
1
1
SHG
0
0
Penalties
3
3
Penalty Mins
6
6
Faceoffs Won
29
42
Game Leaders
+/-
1
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
2
+/-
2
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
0
Players Mentioned
D
/ Hockey
G
/ HockeyD
/ Hockey
F
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