2025–26 Army Black Knights men's ice hockey season

2025–26 Army Black Knights
men's ice hockey season
Conference9th AHA
Home iceTate Rink
Rankings
USCHONR
USA HockeyNR
Record
Overall12–17–6
Conference7–15–4
Home6–10–0
Road6–7–6
Coaches and captains
Head coachZach McKelvie
Assistant coachesJack Riley
Taylor Ward
Brian Gibbons
Riley McVeigh
CaptainBarron Woodring
Alternate captain(s)Nik Hong
Sean Vlasich
Easton Zueger
Army Black Knights men's ice hockey seasons
« 2024–25 2026–27 »

The 2025–26 Army Black Knights men's ice hockey season was the 123rd season of play for the program, the 116th at the Division I level, and the 2nd in Atlantic Hockey America. The Black Knights represented the United States Military Academy in the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, played their home games at the Tate Rink and were coached by Zach McKelvie in his 1st season.

Season

With the departure of their All-American defenseman, Mac Gadowsky, Army's first task was to try and find a way to replace his offensive contributions. While the Knights were one of the nation's most stable lineups, only losing one player outside of graduation, Army's ability to recruit is always limited due to the requirements of military service. While the team was able to put together a modest offense, the Knights were were unable to overcome a poor November from their starting goaltender, J. J. Cataldo. The 9-game winless streak put Army behind the eight ball, particularly in the conference standings. A rare appearance in goal by Jacob Biron coincided with the end of the skid and when Cataldo got back into the cage two games later, his performance improved mightily.

Army posted a winning record after Thanksgiving with the balk half of their season dominated by outstanding play in goal. Nine times, shutouts were recorded in Black Knights games (4 for and 5 against) with the final two happening in the same game. The even play resulted in Army treading water throughout the latter portion of the regular season and, though they came close to earning a postseason home game, they were unable to overcome their poor start.

The conference postseason began with Army travelling to face Niagara. The Knights found themselves down by three goals after one period but used the second to fight back. With the game tied after 40 minutes, Army took a lead midway through the third. With momentum seemingly on their side, the Knights were stunned 14 seconds later when the Purple Eagles knotted the score at 4-all. A subsequent power play goal by Niagara proved too much for the Knights to overcome and their season was over.[1]

Departures

Player Position Nationality Cause
Joey Baez Forward  United States Graduation (retired)
Josh Bohlin Forward  United States Graduation (retired)
Mac Gadowsky Defenseman  United States Transferred to Penn State
Andrew Garby Defenseman  United States Graduation (retired)
Andrew Gilbert Defenseman  United States Graduation (retired)
Hunter McCoy Forward  United States Graduation (retired)
Michael Sacco Forward  United States Graduation (retired)
Evan Szary Goaltender  United States Graduation (retired)

Recruiting

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Billy Batten Forward  United States 21 Phoenixville, PA
Liam Chapman Defenseman  United States 21 Weare, NH
Kareem El-Bashir Forward  United States 21 Reston, VA
Brock Jones Forward  United States 20 Lake View, NY
Jacob Ligi Forward  United States 21 South Lyon, MI
Lukas McCloskey Defenseman  United States 20 Newport Beach, CA

Roster

As of July 31, 2025.[2]

No. Nat. Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Jacob Biron Sophomore G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2004-06-26 Buffalo, New York Kemptville 73's (CCHL)
2 Lukas McCloskey Freshman D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2005-03-25 Newport Beach, California Wenatchee Wild (WHL)
3 Easton Zueger (A) Junior D 5' 8" (1.73 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2003-06-07 Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)
4 Benjamin Ivey Sophomore F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 2004-02-12 San Diego, California Amarillo Wranglers (NAHL)
5 Jack Ivey Sophomore F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 2004-02-12 San Diego, California Amarillo Wranglers (NAHL)
6 Pierce Patterson Junior D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2002-02-26 Valrico, Florida Amarillo Wranglers (NAHL)
7 Liam Chapman Freshman D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2004-03-11 Weare, New Hampshire Rochester Jr. Americans (NAHL)
8 Vincent Salice Junior F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2003-02-28 Commerce Township, Michigan Omaha Lancers (USHL)
9 Nils Forselius Sophomore F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2003-10-30 Guilford, Connecticut Maine Nordiques (NAHL)
10 Dylan Wegner Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2004-06-01 Nashville, Tennessee Merritt Centennials (BCHL)
11 Brock Jones Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 2004-11-15 Lake View, New York Philadelphia Rebels (NAHL)
12 Sam Groebner Sophomore F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 2003-03-03 Apple Valley, Minnesota Wisconsin Windigo (NAHL)
13 Jacob Ligi Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 2004-03-16 South Lyon, Michigan Chippewa Steel (NAHL)
14 Owen Nolan Senior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-03-10 Mahopac, New York Lone Star Brahmas (NAHL)
15 Lucas Kanta Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-04-20 Grand Forks, North Dakota Minnesota Magicians (NAHL)
16 Kareem El-Bashir Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 2004-03-02 Reston, Virginia Maryland Black Bears (NAHL)
17 Noah Alvarez Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2003-03-30 Los Angeles, California Nanaimo Clippers (NAHL)
18 Jon Bell Junior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2002-06-22 St. Cloud, Minnesota Wisconsin Windigo (NAHL)
19 Nik Hong (A) Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-08-27 Minneapolis, Minnesota St. Cloud Norsemen (NAHL)
20 Sean Vlasich (A) Senior D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2001-04-20 Hillsdale, New Jersey North Iowa Bulls (NAHL)
21 Stephen Willey Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-03-26 Shelton, Connecticut New Jersey Titans (NAHL)
22 Jude Brower Senior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-06-11 Mahopac, New York Boston Junior Bruins (NCDC)
23 Joey Baez Senior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-01-12 Tampa, Florida Lone Star Brahmas (NAHL)
24 Billy Batten Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2004-09-24 Phoenixville, Pennsylvania Minot Minotauros (NAHL)
25 Barron Woodring (C) Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2002-07-05 Chicago, Illinois Rockets Hockey Club (NCDC)
26 Joey Dosan Senior F 6' 6" (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 2001-03-20 Bloomington, Minnesota Springfield Jr. Blues (NAHL)
27 Trevor Smith Senior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-03-02 Raleigh, North Carolina Boston Advantage (NCDC)
28 Brent Keefer Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2001-09-28 Colorado Springs, Colorado Northeast Generals (NAHL)
29 Adam Marshall Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2003-07-14 Wayzata, Minnesota Trail Smoke Eaters (NAHL)
30 J. J. Cataldo Sophomore G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2003-02-20 Stuart, Florida Springfield Jr. Blues (NAHL)
33 Gus Holt Junior G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 206 lb (93 kg) 2003-02-21 Bowling Green, Ohio Victoria Grizzlies (BCHL)

Standings

Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OW OL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#20 Bentley 26 16 6 4 1 0 2 53 85 56 38 22 11 5 119 87
Sacred Heart 26 15 8 3 1 0 1 48 80 61 39 23 13 3 116 93
Robert Morris 26 13 11 2 0 2 2 45 69 69 40 16 21 3 103 128
Holy Cross 26 14 10 2 1 1 1 45 81 69 38 18 18 2 113 116
RIT 26 13 11 2 2 1 2 42 69 68 36 17 17 2 93 96
Air Force 26 13 10 3 2 1 0 41 75 73 37 18 15 4 108 112
Canisius 26 12 12 2 1 0 2 39 81 74 35 17 16 2 107 105
Niagara 26 9 16 1 1 3 0 30 67 83 37 13 23 1 93 118
Army 26 7 15 4 2 3 2 28 61 75 35 12 17 6 91 96
Mercyhurst 26 5 18 3 0 0 1 19 47 87 37 6 28 3 65 143
Championship: March 21, 2026
† indicates conference regular season champion (DeGregorio Trophy)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated March 16, 2026
Source: AHA

Schedule and results

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 3 5:00 pm Long Island* Tate RinkWest Point, New York (Exhibition) FloHockey Cataldo L 0–3  1,573
Regular Season
October 4 5:00 pm at Union* M&T Bank CenterSchenectady, New York ESPN+ Cataldo T 1–1  2,241 0–0–1
October 10 7:00 pm at Northeastern* Matthews ArenaBoston, Massachusetts ESPN+ Cataldo W 2–1  3,198 1–0–1
October 12 4:00 pm Stonehill* Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Cataldo W 6–1  1,899 2–0–1
October 14 7:00 pm Canisius Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Cataldo L 1–3  1,038 2–1–1 (0–1–0)
October 24 7:00 pm Holy Cross Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Cataldo W 5–2  1,257 3–1–1 (1–1–0)
October 25 5:00 pm Holy Cross Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Cataldo L 1–5  1,597 3–2–1 (1–2–0)
November 1 7:00 pm at Canisius LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Cataldo T 2–2 SOL 877 3–2–2 (1–2–1)
November 7 7:00 pm at Bentley Bentley ArenaWaltham, Massachusetts FloHockey Cataldo T 3–3 SOW 1,700 3–2–3 (1–2–2)
November 9 2:00 pm Bentley Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Cataldo L 2–3  2,086 3–3–3 (1–3–2)
November 14 6:00 pm at Niagara Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Cataldo L 4–6  863 3–4–3 (1–4–2)
November 15 5:00 pm at Niagara Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Biron L 1–4  657 3–5–3 (1–5–2)
November 21 7:00 pm Air Force Tate RinkWest Point, New York (Rivalry) FloHockey Cataldo L 3–6  2,432 3–6–3 (1–6–2)
November 23 4:00 pm Air Force Tate RinkWest Point, New York (Rivalry) FloHockey Cataldo L 2–3 OT 2,088 3–7–3 (1–7–2)
November 25 7:00 pm Bentley Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Cataldo L 1–3  1,346 3–8–3 (1–8–2)
November 29 4:00 pm #18 Massachusetts* Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Biron W 5–4  1,858 4–8–3
December 5 7:00 pm at Sacred Heart Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Biron T 3–3 SOL 2,360 4–8–4 (1–8–3)
December 6 5:00 pm at Sacred Heart Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Cataldo W 2–0  2,588 5–8–4 (2–8–3)
December 12 7:00 pm at #8 Dartmouth* Thompson ArenaHanover, New Hampshire ESPN+ Cataldo L 0–3  2,539 5–9–4
December 13 6:00 pm at Vermont* Gutterson FieldhouseBurlington, Vermont ESPN+ Cataldo W 3–0  2,103 6–9–4
December 28 5:00 pm at Long Island* Northwell Health Ice CenterEast Meadow, New York FloHockey Cataldo T 4–4 OT 600 6–9–5
January 2 7:00 pm #12 Northeastern* Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Cataldo W 5–2  2,588 7–9–5
January 9 7:00 pm at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, Pennsylvania FloHockey Cataldo L 0–3  897 7–10–5 (2–9–3)
January 10 5:00 pm at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, Pennsylvania FloHockey Cataldo W 5–0  706 8–10–5 (3–9–3)
January 16 7:00 pm Robert Morris Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Cataldo W 3–2 OT 2,288 9–10–5 (4–9–3)
January 17 4:00 pm Robert Morris Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Cataldo L 0–3  2,243 9–11–5 (4–10–3)
January 24 7:00 pm Royal Military College Tate RinkWest Point, New York Rivalry, Exhibition FloHockey Cancelled due to weather conditions [3]
January 29 7:00 pm at Holy Cross Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Cataldo W 3–2 OT 807 10–11–5 (5–10–3)
January 30 7:00 pm at Holy Cross Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Cataldo L 0–3  1,175 10–12–5 (5–11–3)
February 6 7:00 pm RIT Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Cataldo W 6–2  1,834 11–12–5 (6–11–3)
February 7 4:00 pm RIT Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Cataldo L 2–3 OT 2,508 11–13–5 (6–12–3)
February 10 7:00 pm at Bentley Bentley ArenaWaltham, Massachusetts FloHockey Cataldo L 3–4 OT 1,157 11–14–5 (6–13–3)
February 20 9:00 pm at Air Force Cadet Ice ArenaAir Force Academy, Colorado (Rivalry) FloHockey Cataldo W 4–3  2,820 12–14–5 (7–13–3)
February 21 7:00 pm at Air Force Cadet Ice ArenaAir Force Academy, Colorado (Rivalry) FloHockey Cataldo T 0–0 SOW 2,809 12–14–6 (7–13–4)
February 27 7:00 pm Sacred Heart Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Cataldo L 2–3  1,893 12–15–6 (7–14–4)
February 28 4:00 pm Sacred Heart Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Cataldo L 3–4  2,586 12–16–6 (7–15–4)
Atlantic Hockey America Tournament
March 3 7:00 pm at Niagara* Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York (AHA First Round) FloHockey Cataldo L 4–5  323 12–17–6
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[4]

Scoring statistics

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Jack Ivey F 35 14 14 28 2
Nils Forselius F 32 5 21 26 20
Ben Ivey F 31 13 11 24 4
Barron Woodring C 35 7 17 24 14
Nik Hong F 35 11 10 21 31
Adam Marshall LW 35 7 9 16 26
Brent Keefer F 35 6 9 15 29
Jude Brower D 34 5 10 15 26
Billy Batten F 35 4 10 14 10
Vincent Salice C 35 7 2 9 20
Lukas McCloskey C 27 2 5 7 24
Owen Nolan D 35 2 5 7 39
Samuel Groebner D 35 0 7 7 29
Easton Zueger D 30 1 5 6 41
Pierce Patterson D 17 0 5 5 4
Liam Chapman D 20 1 3 4 6
Sean Vlasich D 33 1 3 4 26
Stephen Willey LW 14 2 0 2 6
Dylan Wegner F 20 2 0 2 2
Brock Jones LW 26 1 1 2 10
Lucas Kanta LW 24 0 1 1 16
J. J. Cataldo G 32 0 1 1 4
Noah Alvarez F 2 0 0 0 0
Joey Dosan F 2 0 0 0 0
Jacob Biron G 4 0 0 0 0
Jon Bell D 11 0 0 0 2
Trevor Smith C 13 0 0 0 2
Jacob Ligi C 14 0 0 0 6
Total 91 149 240 401

[5]

Goaltending statistics

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals against Saves Shut outs SV % GAA
J. J. Cataldo 32 1914:46 11 16 5 79 917 4 .921 2.48
Jacob Biron 5 207:33 1 1 1 10 114 0 .919 2.89
Empty Net - 22:48 - - - 7 - - - -
Total 35 2144:31 12 17 6 96 1031 4 .909 2.69

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: — = Not ranked
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526Final
USCHO.com [6]*
USA Hockey[7]*

Note: USCHO did not relaease a week 12 poll
Note: USA Hockey did not relaease a week 12 poll

References

  1. ^ "Hockey's 2025-26 Campaign Closes After Gritty First Round Battle at Niagara". Army Black Knights. March 3, 2026. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  2. ^ "2025-26 Hockey Roster". Army Black Knights. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  3. ^ "Hockey's Saturday Game Against RMC Canceled". Army Black Knights. January 22, 2026. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  4. ^ "2025-26 Hockey Schedule". Army Black Knights. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  5. ^ "2025-2026 Army (U.S. Military Academy) Player Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
  6. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  7. ^ "2025-26 NCAA Division I Men's Poll". USA Hockey. Retrieved 9 February 2026.