JJ Cataldo Shuts Out Sacred Heart to Earn Army Its First Series Win of the Season

Photo Credit: Sacred Heart

Fairfield, C.T. — It took Army ten weeks, but the Black Knights can finally celebrate a series win in 2025-2026. On Saturday night at Martire Family Arena, Army shut out the Sacred Heart Pioneers 2-0 to claim four points out of six this weekend in Connecticut.

Two goals in the second period from junior Vincent Salice and junior captain Barron Woodring were all the offense needed, with sophomore goaltender JJ Cataldo shutting the door for the team’s first shutout of the season.

“It was a huge weekend for us,” Barron Woodring said. “We are obviously not in the spot we want to be in league play and we have to own that.  Moving forward we need to build off this weekend and use it as a blueprint for how we need to play. We know our team identity and I think this weekend show us that when we stick to that we will be successful. These are crucial points moving forward and every weekend is crucial for us.”

The win improves Army to 5-8-4 overall and 2-8-3 (11 points) in Atlantic Hockey play, while Sacred Heart drops to 7-7-2 on the season and 4-4-2 (15 points) in conference play.

Up Against It in the First Twenty

In what was a low danger period for both teams, Sacred Heart would get one excellent look at taking the lead before the period ended.

The Pioneers caught Army with too many players below the puck and sprung on a 2-on-1 the other way. Sacred Heart was able to get a pass by Lukas McCloskey, who slid to break up the pass, over to leading scorer Felix Trudeau, but the Quebec native found himself a bit too wide of the post, and his shot hit the netting behind the post.

The Black Knights almost were burned on the play, but they were able to get into the locker rooms tied. Head coach Zach McKelvie thought his team did well to limit Sacred Heart’s chances in the first period.

“Yeah, I thought like, the first period, they, they had the puck most of the period. But the good thing is we limited some of their chances to the outside and we kind of just weathered their storm and stayed with it. Um, it’s interesting how hockey works. Like, I thought we played better than them in the first last night and, you know, the results were a little bit different each night. But um, our guys just really battled hard through that first period and kind of found our game a little bit.”

Fuel Your Game Day with Doich Foods

Whether you’re watching from the stands or streaming from home, Doich Foods edible cookie dough keeps you fueled for every period. No baking, no waiting—just grab a spoon and enjoy. 

Bad Dawg Sports fans get 20% off! BUY NOW

Army Tilts The Ice in Its Favor

The first twenty minutes weren’t the best for Army, but they flipped the script in the second. The Black Knights heavily pressured the Pioneers’ zone in the period and were inches away from making it 1-0 just before the five-minute mark.

The Black Knights forced a turnover in their zone, and Vincent Salice turned on the jets. Salice’s got behind the Pioneers’ defense, and was 1-on-1 with freshman goaltender Teagan Kendrick. Salice beat Kendrick over the left shoulder with his shot, and the Army bench erupted, thinking they had taken the lead. But the puck kissed off the bottom of the crossbar and stayed out of the net to the relief of the home crowd.

That relief would not last for Sacred Heart, because Salice would get his goal on Army’s next odd-man rush. Sophomore Jack Ivey intercepted a cross-ice pass at the blue line to spark a 2-on-1 the other way.

Joined by Salice, Jack looked to shoot it himself, but had a Pioneer diving to block the shot. He was then able to adjust and get around the stick, slid it over to Salice, who was able to finish over the right shoulder of Tagan Kendrick for his fifth of the season to give the Black Knights the lead. It hasn’t been the most productive season for Salice, but he thinks this goal could be the start of more offense.

“For sure, especially after hitting that crossbar right right before on the first shift. I was like, ‘AHHH’. But I knew we were going to get another chance, and thank God Jack Ivey made an awesome pass there to bury and that was a fun. So just keep it going on throughout the rest of the year.”

Power Play Takes Over

Coming into the weekend, Army owned the #2-ranked power play in Atlantic Hockey America. The man-advantage went 1/4 on Friday night. Tonight, the Black Knights broke through yet again, giving the team a two-goal lead heading into the third period.

“Yeah, I mean the the late power play goal was huge. Like, that’s a momentum swing late in the period and to come into the intermission with a two-goal lead, you guys get a lot of confidence, right? And we’ve been battling with one-goal leads. So, I think just to get that extra insurance goal was good.”

The first power play of the period, Army was all over Sacred Heart. The first unit was fluid, finding the open pockets of space and getting its shots through the traffic. The stat sheet might say they only got one shot on goal, but the Black Knights made it feel like it was three or four.

Army would find the back of the net before the end of the period on its second man-advantage. Just as they were earlier, Army’s puck movement was forcing the Pioneers to open up shooting lanes. Then, from the point, senior Jude Brower saved a puck from leaving the zone and tapped a puck to Jack Ivey, who set up Brower for a one-timer.

Sacred Heart left Barron Woording all alone in front of Teagan Kendrick, and the captain was able to deflect the puck between his legs and over Teagan Kendrick’s left shoulder to give the Black Knights their first multi-goal lead heading into the third period this season.

The goal scorer, Woodring, has been impressed with the power play as of late.

“The power play has been great lately,” said Woodring. “I think our power play is so dynamic and just finds different ways to put the puck in the net. The way that they move the puck around up top makes it easy for me in front of the net. Sometimes all I have to do is stand there, and they will find a way to put the puck in.”

Army Hockey News:

• Ivey Brothers Shine as Army Hockey Battles Sacred Heart to 3-3 Draw, Falls in Shootout
• Army Captain Barron Woodring named Atlantic Hockey Forward of the Week
• Army Hockey Stuns No. 17 UMass 5-4, Earns Second-Ranked Win of Season

Penalty Kill Gives Army All the Momentum

Chasing with a two-goal deficit in the third period, Sacred Heart turned up the pressure in the Army zone. The Black Knights stood their ground.

With 16:21 to play, Army would take two penalties to send the Pioneers on a 5-on-3 for 1:52. This was a key moment in the game. A goal gets Sacred Heart back into the game. Instead, Army was able to kill both penalties. Goaltender JJ Cataldo led the way with 12 saves in the final frame, but it was his teammates in front of him, putting their bodies on the line to block shots and make his life much easier.

“Blocking shots is a huge part of our identity as a team, and we take pride in that, captain Barron Woodring said. “You never block a shot for yourself; it’s always for the team, and seeing that on the bench definitely provides some juice for the boys. Really makes you want to go out there and do it for your teammates next to you.

Head coach Zach McKelvie said he loved his team’s effort against the Pioneers. Army this weekend looked like the team that was able to beat Northeastern on the road earlier this season.

“I think our guys were just determined tonight. Like, they knew that it was going to be tough. Like, Sacred Heart is a really talented team and, um, you know, like when you get a five-on-three and you’re up, you got to you got to be willing to eat pucks and sell out a little bit because they’re going to get chances, and J.J. obviously made some big saves as well.”

Army would go on to score a third goal, but the on-ice officials waived it off, saying they blew the whistle. Jack Ivey’s shot on a breakaway was saved by Teagan Kendrick, but snuck through the goaltender’s arm, and Vincent Salice was there to clean it up and put the puck into an open cage. An unfortunate circumstance for Salice, who should have been credited with his second goal of the game.

Vintage JJ Cataldo in the Third

Down the stretch of the game, with Scared Heart looking for any daylight at a comeback, JJ Cataldo shut the door behind him.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Army’s bench stormed the ice to congratulate Cataldo before skating off the ice with a 2-0 victory in Fairfield, Connecticut.

With his 26-save performance, Cataldo earned his first victory in over a month (Holy Cross, 10/24) and his third career shutout. Talking about his goaltender’s performance this weekend, Vincent Salice says it’s “calming” knowing that they have two quality goalies behind them.

Jacob [Biron] and J.J [Cataldo] are phenomenal goalies. It’s no matter who plays in that, we know we’re going to have a good game and we know we’re going to have a good chance to win, so it’s it’s phenomenal play in front of them and know that uh we’re comfortable no matter what, no matter who we’re playing, so it’s been fun.

Zach McKelvie told the media post-game that JJ Cataldo has been dealing with a nagging injury that has impacted his game. But tonight, JJ looked like his old, healthy self.

“I think J.J.’s been banged up,” McKelvie said. “That was part of the reason why we were going with the [Jacob Biron], but the the best thing about this is we know that we have two goalies, I actually think we have three goalies that can play well for us. Biron played well last night. J.J. got the start tonight, and he played he played great.”

First Series Win of the Season

Since its 6-3 loss to Air Force on November 21st, the Black Knights have been a different team. A team similar to the one that got a tie on the road against Union and defeated Northeastern in Boston. This team is playing for one another, doing the simple things, putting their bodies on the line, and ultimately scoring more goals.

Now Army has won two of its last three games and picked up four out of six points this weekend against Sacred Heart. This stretch of games could be a turning point in Army’s season for Zach McKelvie.

“Yeah, it’s huge, McKelvie said. “We’ve been struggling a little bit in league, and like, we’ve been in games, but we just haven’t found ways to win. So, I think to kind of finish the first half of league play with a win is a good confidence boost, and we still have some business to take care of next weekend, but yeah, that’s the way you want to go into the Christmas break in league. Like, I keep saying, Sacred Heart is a really, really talented team. So to come in here and get four points, I’m just proud of the guys.”

Not only was it important for their short-term success, but looking ahead to the turn of the calendar year, the Black Knights have an easier start to 2026. Army’s next conference matchups are at last-place Mercyhurst (1/9 & 1/10) and at home against 7th-place Robert Morris (1/16 & 1/17).

If Army can collect 10 points in those four games, they will be right back in the thick of things for a tournament spot in Atlantic Hockey America.

Looking Forward to Next Weekend

Army (5-8-4, 2-8-3 AHA) is back in action next weekend when they head up to New Hampshire on Friday night to take on 10th-ranked Dartmouth College and then in Vermont Saturday night to take on the University of Vermont.

Dartmouth remains undefeated at 10-0 after a Friday 7-3 win over Brown and a 6-1 victory over Yale tonight. The Big Green have four players who are point-a-game players. Sophomore Hayden Stavroff leads the team in scoring with 20 points (13 Goals & 7 Assists) and has twelve points (7 Goals & 5 Assists) in his last five games.

It does get a tad easier when they travel an hour west to play the University of Vermont. The Catamounts haven’t had much success this season, but are coming off a road split with #18th-ranked Boston University. Freshman goaltender Aiden Wright made 30 saves in the 3-2 victory over the Terriers. The Vermont number one boasts a record of 4-8, with a goals against average of 3.40 and a save percentage of .897%.

“I mean, this is a confidence boost next week,” said Vincent Salice. “We got a really good challenge with Dartmouth and Vermont, but I feel like uh the confidence that we put against UMass, we’re going to bring that in. And obviously Dartmouth and Vermont are very good teams, so it’s going to be awesome to play them.”

Game Summary

Final Score: Army 2, Sacred Heart 0
Date: December 6th, 2025
Venue: Martire Family Arena, Fairfield, C.T
Attendance: 2,588
Officials: Referee – Robert Peterkin & Andrew O’Brien; Linesman – Patrick Philbin & Christopher Peterkin

Scoring Summary

First Period

• No Goals Scored

Second Period

• 9:06 — Army: Vincent Salice (Jack Ivey) EV — 1-0 Army
• 19:13 — Army: Barron Woodring (Jude Brower & Jack Ivey) PP — 2-0 Army

Third Period

• No Goals Scored

Team Stats

Goaltending

Sacred Heart Pioneers

• Teagan Kendrick (L): 15 Saves on 17 shots (.882 SV%)

Army Black Knights

• JJ Cataldo (W): 26 Saves on 26 Shots (1.000 SV%)

Don’t Miss a Moment of Black Knight Action!

For more Army hockey coverage, Black Knights athletics, and global sports news, stay connected with Bad Dawg Sports—your source for insider access and authentic storytelling.

• Game recaps and previews before anyone else
• Exclusive player and coach interviews
• Behind-the-scenes Black Knight coverage
• Breaking news alerts and roster updates
• Statistical deep dives and season analysis

Subscribe to our newsletter for just $24/year and get exclusive analysis, behind-the-scenes content, and breaking news delivered straight to your inbox. Current subscribers will always stay at the rate they signed up for—lock in your price today!