Erie, P.A. — Less than 24 hours after being shutout 3-0 at the Mercyhurst Ice Center by the winless Lakers, Army would respond with a shutout of its own, defeating Mercyhurst 5-0 on Saturday night.
It would be a massive win for an Army team, which was looking to jumpstart its game in Atlantic Hockey America play in the second half of the season. Six points this weekend would have been perfect, but leaving Erie with a split was important for the Black Knights.
“Every team wants six points, but you have to focus on one game at a time,” Army head coach Zach McKelvie said post-game. “Bottom line is we didn’t get it done last night, and you need to reset quickly. Our guys did that and played pretty good tonight.”
Tonight, Army would get goals from five different goal scorers, with three players finishing the game with multiple points. In goal, JJ Cataldo was perfect, making 19 saves for his third shutout of the season.
“It was huge to get points as we start the late-season push,” Senior defensemen Jude Brower said of the win tonight.
The victory improves Army to 8-10-5 on the season, and 3-9-3 (14 points) in Atlantic Hockey play. For Mercyhurst, they are now 1-18-1 in 2025-2026 with a conference record of 1-10-1 (4 Points).
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Army Starts Fast and Gets on the Board Early
In the first period, Army got off to a similar start as they did last night. The big difference tonight? They scored.
Around the twelve-minute mark, Mercyhurst looked like they were set to exit the zone, except the puck carrier toe-picked and fell just before the blueline. Sophomore Nils Forselius took advantage, stealing the puck and producing instant offense.
Forselius toe-dragged the puck around one defender, and thanks to a screen from Ben Ivey, picked the top right corner to beat Charles-Edward Gravel for the first time this weekend and give the Black Knights a 1-0 lead.
On Friday night, Army allowed the Lakers to stay in the game with its lack of scoring. Tonight, they wouldn’t make that mistake, and they would double their lead three minutes and twenty-seven seconds later.
Forselius, along the left board, passed the puck back to the blue line from his knees to set up Jude Brower for a one-time. Brower’s shot got past a sliding defender and would be tipped past Gravel by last week’s AHA forward of the week, Brent Keefer.
That would be Keefer’s fourth goal in his last four games to give Army a 2-0 lead heading into the locker rooms.
Head coach Zach McKelvie liked how his team responded in the first after last night’s loss.
“We had a lot of good looks last night, but we just couldn’t find the back of the net. So, we challenged our guys that the execution has to be there tonight. Last night, we missed the net a lot and had many of our shots blocked, which is a credit to them, but also execution on our part. The guys responded very well, and I thought we had a solid first period.”
Army Athletics News:
- Army Lose in Disappointing Fashion Handing Mercyhurst its First Victory of the Season
- Army Hockey Has Twenty-Five Members Named to Dean’s List for Fall of 2025
- Army Men’s Rugby Welcomes Danny Breda as Assistant Coach for 2026 Spring Season
- Army’s Andon Thomas Earns Spot at College Gridiron Showcase: Senior Linebacker to Represent Black Knights Among NFL Hopefuls
- Army Junior Brent Keefer Named Atlantic Hockey Forward of the Week
The Black Knights Build on Their Lead in the Second Period
Up 2-0, Army would go on to dominate the second period. In the middle frame, the Black Knights outshot the Lakers 16-5, with the guests improving upon their lead.
Four minutes into the period, sophomore Adam Marshall would make it 3-0 Army. Playing a give-and-go with junior Nik Hong just inside the blue line, Marshall was able to find himself open in the slot, and Hong put the puck right on his tape for a grade-A opportunity.
Charles-Edward Gravel looked like he made a windmill save, sliding to his right, but the puck popped out of his glove and bounced over the goal line for Marshall’s fourth goal of the season.
Not long later, Army would make it 4-0 just before the halfway point of the game. On the power play for the first time tonight, junior captain Barron Woodring would get his name on the score sheet.
The Black Knights did a good job of moving the puck a man up, and it got Mercyhurst a bit scrambly in their own zone.
On the right wall, Ben Ivey passed the puck back to Jude Brower at the point, who would then slide it over to Jack Ivey at the left circle. Handling the puck for a couple of strides, Ivey sent a soft shot towards an unmarked Woodring and the net. With no pressure on his back, the captain redirected the puck under Gravel and over the goal line as the second-ranked AHA power-play found paydirt once again.
A big thing for Zach McKelvie tonight was getting pucks toward the net after being limited to the perimeter on Friday night.
“We were all perimeter last night outside of one look. Tonight we were crisp and took advantage of opportunities to attack.”
Securing the Shutout in the Third
Holding a sizeable lead with twenty minutes left on the clock, the goal for the Black Knights was to get JJ Cataldo his third shutout of the season.
Last night in the third period, Army suffered a couple of defensive breakdowns, which ultimately cost them at least a point.
“After not scoring on our chances, the guys started to grip their sticks and do some things that we shouldn’t have done. It magnified because we didn’t score last night, but overall, we did not give up a lot. Mercyhurst did a great job of being opportunistic.”
Army was a different team on Saturday night. They were playing free as they had against Northeastern just a week ago, and it paid off. Senior defenseman Jude Brower talked about the team needing a short memory after being shut out 3-0 less than 24 hours ago.
“It’s important to have a short memory when playing back-to-back games, but you need to learn lessons from the mistakes that you make and constantly strive to improve. There was a heavy emphasis on moving the puck north and blocking shots. Playing simple, fast hockey.”
One-Sided Special Teams Battle
Army didn’t make it easy on themselves, taking four penalties in the third period. But Cataldo and his teammates in front of him were up to the test, allowing just two shots combined on those power plays.
The Black Knights controlled every aspect of special teams tonight, and on the third Lakers power play of the period, they would pot their fifth goal of the game.
Off a turnover in the Army zone, Barron Woodring slapped a pass on his backhand and put it into the path of Stephen Willey. From just inside the blue line, Willey’s shot would be blocked, but he kept with the play.
Woodring, now in the offensive zone, picked up the loose puck and slid it to Willey, who darted through the blue paint and backhanded his shot past the glove of a diving Charles-Edward Gravel to give Army a 5-0 lead and seal the game.
Cataldo would face just seven shots in the third period. With twelve minutes left and hanging onto a five-goal lead, Cataldo withstood any remaining pressure from Mercyhurst and claimed his third shutout of the season. In his last seven starts, Cataldo is 4-2-1 with two shutouts. Army will need this type of play from its goaltender to climb the conference standings the rest of the season.
Looking Forward to Next Weekend
Army (8-10-5, 3-9-3 AHA) is back in action next weekend when they take on seventh-placed Robert Morris for the first time this season for a battle at Tate Rink. The Colonials are just 4-14-2 in 2025-2026 and have lost four straight games since the start of the second half of the season.
Robert Morris is second-to-last in goals for (2.25) and goals against (3.75) this season. They are led by their junior captain Tanner Klimpke, who has 13 points (7 Goals & 6 Assists). Behind Klimpke is his co-captain, Cameron Garvey, with 11 points (5 Goals & 6 Assists), and Clarkson transfer Ryan Taylor, who also has 11 points (4 Goals & 7 Assists).
In between the pipes, the Colonials lean on Charlie Schenkel out of the CHL. In his freshman season, Schenkel owns a record of 4-11-2 with a goals against average of 3.18 and a save percentage of .894%.
Puck drop for Friday night is scheduled for 7 p.m., with the game Saturday afternoon set for a 4 p.m. start.
Game Summary
Final Score: Army 5, Mercyhurst 0
Date: January 10th, 2026
Venue: Mercyhurst Ice Arena, Erie, P.A.
Attendance: 706
Officials: Referee – Christopher Binkley & Deric Boehm; Linesman: Patrick O’Mara & Brian Kimmins
Scoring Summary
First Period
- 12:21 — Army: Nils Forselius (Unassisted) EV — 1-0 Army
- 15:48 — Army: Brent Keefer (Jude Brower & Nils Forselius) EV — 2-0 Army
Second Period
- 4:12 — Army: Adam Marshall (Unassisted) EV — 3-0 Army
- 8:36 — Army: Barron Woodring (Jack Ivey & Jude Brower) PP — 4-0 Army
Third Period
- 7:48 — Army: Stephen Willey (Barron Woodring) SH — 5-0 Army
Team Stats
| Stats Categories | Mercyhurst Lakers | Army Black Knights |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 0 | 5 |
| Shots | 19 | 34 |
| Power Play (Shots) | 0-5 (4) | 1-5 (6) |
| Penalty Minutes | 10 | 10 |
| Faceoffs Won | 34 | 31 |
| Blocked Shots | 12 | 10 |
Goaltending
Mercyhurst Lakers
- Charles-Edward Gravel (L): 29 Saves on 34 shots (0.852 SV%)
Army Black Knights
- JJ Cataldo (W): 19 Saves on 19 Shots (1.000 SV%)
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