Tensions Boil Over At Tate Rink as Army Falls 5-1 to Holy Cross

WEST POINT, N.Y. — Everything went right for the Black Knights on Friday night, but everything changed on Saturday with Army falling 5-1 to the Holy Cross Crusaders. Army could not build on their big win, and Holy Cross came to play, forcing star goaltender JJ Cataldo to be pulled from the game in the second period after allowing five goals on 18 shots.

The loss drops Army to 3-2-1 overall and 1-2-0 in Atlantic Hockey play, while Holy Cross improves to 2-5 overall and 2-1 in conference action.

First Period

Friday night was a very physical game between the Black Knights and Crusaders at Tate Rink, dominated by Army, but it would be Holy Cross to get off to an early 1-0 start with a blistering snap shot by senior Jack Seymour.

Army junior Vincent Salice had a chance to give the Black Knights the lead, but junior goaltender Connor MacKenzie saved it. Seconds later, the Crusaders went down the other end of the ice, and senior Jack Seymour sniped one past the glove of sophomore goaltender JJ Cataldo 31 seconds into the contest.

Seymour would make it 2-0 Holy Cross a couple of minutes later. A scramble in the Army net mouth that saw the puck eventually deflect off Army senior Jude Brower’s skate and just over the goal line past a late reacting Cataldo to give the Crusaders the perfect start to Saturday night’s game.

Army ended the period strong, creating a lot of dangerous chances in and around the slot area, but Connor MacKenzie stood on his head to send the Crusaders into the first intermission up 2-0.

It was a sloppy period for Army. Holy Cross dominated time of possession thanks to winning 20 of 25 faceoffs in the first period. Good fundamentals helped the Black Knights last night, but Holy Cross showed major improvement after their poor performance on Friday night.

Second Period

The middle period began just like the first, with Holy Cross controlling play. On back-to-back plays, the Crusaders hit the crossbar, but it was a sign of things to come.

Less than five minutes into the second period, Holy Cross would make it 3-0. Sophomore Matt Kursonis pushed both Army defenders on their heels as he entered the zone, and his wicked snap shot from the high slot beat JJ Cataldo, once again, glove side.

Nothing had gone right for Army all night, and things got worse before they got any better. On the power play, the Crusaders made it 4-0 with a soft shot from senior Michael Abgrall at the point that made it through multiple bodies and past the pad of Cataldo.

Before you could even blink, a cherry-picking Matt DeBoer made it 5-0 Holy Cross on a breakaway for Holy Cross. It was all Crusaders through 36 minutes, and things were getting ugly for the Black Knights. Tonight was a complete 180° from Army’s Friday night victory

Now down 5-0, head coach Zach McKelvie decided to pull starting goaltender JJ Cataldo, who didn’t necessarily have a bad game, with sophomore Jacob Biron taking his place in between the pipes for the first time this season.

Following Cataldo being pulled, Army was able to beat Connor MacKenzie and get on the board with 2:45 left in the period. Down a man, Holy Cross’ penalty killers were throwing their bodies at every Army shot and made three consecutive blocks.

Jude Brower was finally able to get a one-timer through the traffic, and it got through MacKenzie short side to give Army some momentum heading into the third period.

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Third Period – Tensions Finally Boil Over

Both games this weekend have been very physical between both teams, stemming back to their playoff series last season. Friday night, tempers flared multiple times, and all those emotions spilled over into Saturday.

Things erupted after Holy Cross was called for an offside, and Michael Abgrall proceeded to throw the puck on Army goaltender Jacob Biron from the blueline. The Black Knights did not appreciate that, and defenseman Owen Nolan jumped Abgrall, and a mini melee began right in front of the Army bench.

Following a lengthy review, a handful of penalties were handed out. Nolan was given a five-minute major for roughing and a game misconduct, Abgrall two minutes for roughing, and both Army’s Easton Zueger and Lachlan Getz received five minutes for facemasks and a game misconduct.

Talking about Nolan’s response for his goaltender, head coach Zach McKelvie said, “I probably would have responded when I was his age.”

McKelvie also mentioned that he and his players felt “disrespected” after Michael Abgrall “saluted” the cadets as he was celebrating his goal.

“That’s just very disrespectful to Cadets at West Point to do that. Obviously, he was doing it on purpose. I was worried that if he did something again in the game, our guys were going to respond, and it was a couple of minutes later that he shot the puck at Jacob after the whistle. Owen wears his heart and soul on his sleeve — he’s an Army guy every day. I didn’t particularly like the penalty, and their player clearly shot the puck at our goalie after, but you do have to protect your goalie.”

The rough stuff continued for the rest of the period. In the third period combined, there were 27 total penalties, four major penalties, 11 players ejected, and 154 penalty minutes.

Discipline is a key component of the type of people we want at West Point. It’s a key component to what we want in our team, and we didn’t have that this weekend, and that’s all on me. That all comes from the coaching staff down, and it starts with me, and our guys got emotional tonight,” said McKelvie. “Some things triggered us, I feel like, but we have to learn that you can’t be your own worst enemy. Friday night, I didn’t think it was that bad, but tonight, obviously, emotion boiled over for both teams. Both teams are highly competitive, so that sometimes happens, but it just got a little bit out of hand.”

Black Knights News:

• Army West Point Hockey Dominates Holy Cross 5-2 in Physical Battle at Tate Rink
• Army Hockey Begins AHA Conference Play with a Loss to Canisius
• Army’s JJ Cataldo Earns AHA Goaltender of the Week After Dominant Two-Game Stretch

Looking Ahead to Next Weekend

Army (3-2-1) is back in action next weekend when they travel up to Buffalo to cap off their early-season home-and-home series with Canisius College (5-3).

The Griffins defeated the Black Knights 3-1 back on October 14th at Tate Rink. Zach McKelvie and his group will look to avenge that loss this time in upstate New York.

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Game Summary

Final Score: Army West Point 1, Holy Cross 5
Date: October 25, 2025
Venue: Tate Rink, West Point, N.Y.
Attendance: 1,597
Officials: Referees: Kevin McManus, Mark Dungan; Linesmen: Josh Cleary, Adam Drexel

Scoring Summary

First Period

• 0:31 — Holy Cross: Jack Seymour (Jack Stockfish & Lachlan Getz) EV — 1-0 Holy Cross
• 2:27 — Holy Cross: Jack Seymour (Matt DeBoer & Matt Kursonis) EV — 2-0 Holy Cross

Second Period

• 4:33 — Holy Cross: Matt Kursonis (Unassisted) EV — 3-0 Holy Cross
• 14:57 — Holy Cross: Michael Abgrall (William Elias) PP — 4-0 Holy Cross
• 16:09 — Holy Cross: Matt DeBor (Owen Kim) EV — 5-0 Holy Cross
• 17:45 — Army: Jude Brower (Jack Ivey & Nils Forselius) EV — 5-1 Holy Cross

Third Period

• No Goals

Team Stats

Goaltending

Holy Cross

• Connor MacKenzie (W): 21 Saves on 22 Shots (.955 SV%)

Army Black Knights

• JJ Cataldo (L): 13 Saves on 18 Shots (.722 SV%)
• Jacob Biron: 9 Saves on 9 Shots (1.000 SV%)

Goal Scorers For Army

• Jude Brower (2)

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