Army Can’t Complete the Sweep Over Robert Morris Falling 3-0 to the Colonials

West Point, N.Y. — Army had the opportunity to achieve its first sweep of the season, following Friday night’s 3-2 overtime victory over Robert Morris. Instead, the Black Knights fell to the Colonials 3-0 on Saturday evening to come away from the weekend with only two points, despite a split.

“I did like our first ten minutes. But that was about it, Army head coach Zach McKelvie said about his team’s performance. “The rest of the game, I thought Robert Morris was just a better team. And pretty much in every metric that you can measure— shots, shot attempts, blocks, 50-50 pucks— and were just a lot harder. They wanted a lot worse. It’s unfortunate because usually on Saturday night, after we didn’t feel like we played our best game, I thought we’d be better tonight.”

Sophomore goaltender JJ Cataldo made his ninth consecutive start, making 42 saves on 44 shots. There wasn’t much offensive output, generating just 22 shots. The big story from the weekend was the power play going 0-7. That includes not scoring on two five-on-three power plays and a five-minute major.

“Yeah, definitely, we have to own that,” junior captain Barron Woodring said about the team’s power play this weekend. “I mean, we had enough penalties throughout the weekend where we’ve got to capitalize on one of them, especially in those big moments yesterday and today. We’ve just got to find a way to put the puck in the net. I mean, they played pretty compact, so it was easy for us to possess on the outside. But they were pretty good at blocking shots and getting in shot lanes. And, yeah, we had the puck for a while, and we got some good looks. But at the end of the day, if you don’t put a puck in the net, it doesn’t really matter. So that one’s on us, and we’ve got to be a lot better on special teams there.”

The loss sees Army’s record fall to 9-11-5 on the season and 4-10-3 (16 points) in Atlantic Hockey play, while the victory for the Colonials improves their record to 5-15-2 this season, with a conference record of 5-8-1 (19 Points).

GAME DAY FUEL: BLACK RIFLE COFFEE 

Army West Point hockey delivers—and so does Black Rifle Coffee.

Premium coffee for those who refuse to settle.

Whether you’re covering the game or watching from the stands, Black Rifle Coffee keeps you sharp, focused, and ready for action.

 Veteran-owned. Mission-driven. Damn good coffee.

 Fuel Up at BlackRifleCoffee.com

In the first, both Army and Robert Morris traded power-play opportunities, but the score remained 0-0 heading into the locker room.

The Colonials were significantly more dangerous when they had a man advantage. Moving the puck crisply around the zone, Robert Morris found themselves with a couple of high-danger looks in front of JJ Cataldo.

The guests were mere inches away from getting on the board first as a shot redirected off a couple of bodies in the slot and bounced just wide of the right post before Army killed off the RMU power play.

Just before the horn to end the period, junior captain Barron Woodring had one last shot at goal that Lucas Massive saved through an Adam Marshall moving screen as the buzzer sounded.

Army Athletics News:

• Army Hockey Has Twenty-Five Members Named to Dean’s List for Fall of 2025
• Army Junior Brent Keefer Named Atlantic Hockey Forward of the Week
• Army Dismantles No. 12 Northeastern With 5-2 Upset Win
• Army Hockey Lets Late Lead Slip, Falls in Shootout to LIU: McKelvie Candid on Lessons Learned

As the second period got underway, Army saw their energy levels mirror the first forty minutes of Friday night’s game. The Black Knights were sloppy, and the Colonials eventually took advantage.

With the teams playing at four-on-four after a couple of minor penalties, Robert Morris exposed Army, which strayed away from their normal man-to-man defense. Cameron Garvey passed the puck over to Dominic Elliott along the blue line, and Elliott attacked the zone of the Black Knights.

Senior defensemen Owen Nolan attempted to meet him at the top of the right circle, but instead of blocking Elliott’s shot, the puck redirected off Nolan and underneath JJ Cataldo’s pads to give the Colonials a critical 1-0 lead.

Robert Morris wasn’t finished at four-on-four, as they doubled their lead just twenty-three seconds later. The Colonials owned a ton of possession in Army’s zone, and they had the Black Knights chasing. That led to the guests’ second goal.

Cataldo saved Braden Rourke’s initial shot, but Army wasn’t able to get to the loose puck. Gabriel Lunn regained possession and, from the left boards, found Luke van Why with a cross-ice pass. Van Why hasn’t been much of an offensive producer this season, but wired his shot top shelf past the glove of Catlado to give Robert Morris a 2-0 lead.

“Four-on-four, you just go man-on-man,” said Zach McKelvie. “We didn’t do that for some reason. We were playing it like it was five-on-five. You know, like our Ds stay closer than that five-on-five, but. They didn’t extend out and just gave them a lot of time and space. So, you know, back-to-back form four goals. It’s pretty frustrating.”

Army’s best chance to get on the scoresheet came at 14:38 of the second period when they rang the crosbar. Freshman Billy Batten was able to catch a Colonial defenseman flat-footed at the Army blue line and spring on a two-on-one with sophomore Adam Marshall.

Batten took the chance himself down the left side, but his shot was saved by Lucas Massie, who was making just his second start of the season. The play wasn’t dead, as Batten was able to pick up the rebound in the corner.

Marshall didn’t give up on the play either and found a pocket of space at the top of the right circle. Batten got a pass through the regrouping Colonials, and Marshall’s one-timer couldn’t have been hit any more pure.

Unfortunately for Army, instead of giving them the boost they and the crowd needed to get back into the game, the puck hit just under the cross-bar and out the other side. That could have been the turning point of the game, but it had the opposite effect.

It was much of the same in the third period. Robert Morris controlled possession in Army’s zone and all but killed any chance of a Black Knight comeback.

Head coach Zach McKelvie looked for one last push by pulling JJ Cataldo late, but Army could not generate any dangerous looks, and Robert Morris put the game to bed with a Tanner Klimpke empty net goal to give the Colonials the 3-0 victory and the series win with four points this weekend.

Army hasn’t been able to end a weekend with two consecutive wins all season. For McKelvie, it’s been a frustrating feeling for him and his coaching staff.

“Yeah, it’s weird because we’ve played a lot of good hockey this year, but then in the league, we have an opportunity to sweep a team. You know, it’s hard to sweep a team. You’ve got to be better the second night. And we just weren’t ready to play. And that obviously starts with me and the coaching staff. We’ve got to change how we kind of approach Saturdays after a win because we were really loose. You know, first 10 minutes, I was like, ‘All right, we’re going to play well,’ and then it just totally went away. But I think a lot of the credit goes to Robert Morris. They were dialed in tonight. They’re a really good hockey team.”

Looking Forward to Next Weekend

Army (9-11-5, 4-10-3 AHA) is back in action next weekend when they host the Royal Military College of Canada (2-16-4) for the right to retain the Challenge Trophy at Tate Rink.

Despite a couple of breaks in the series over the years, this is a historic matchup that has been played since 1923. Army has won fifteen consecutive games at West Point and is 31-12-1 on the banks of the Hudson. The Black Knights also lead the all-time series with a record of 49–30–7.

This game means everything to the alumni, the community, and the current players.

“Yeah, I mean, this game, it means a lot to me and the West Point community,” junior captain Barron Woodring said of the Army-RMC rivalry. “Obviously, we have the chance to honor our seniors here, so it means a lot for the team to be able to do that, and even alumni. I mean, alumni, they look back on this game, and everyone remembers every RMC game they played in. So for us, this is a huge weekend coming up. Just got one game— no league play. Obviously, a little bit different team that we usually play, but we’ve got to be, we’ve got to be, really good this week because this means a lot to us as a team. So it starts at practice, as I said, but for sure, this is a huge weekend.”

Head coach Zach McKelvie echoed what his captain had to say about this rivalry coming to West Point in 2026.

“This game and this rivalry versus RMC means a tremendous amount to our school, our alumni, and the program. We will also be honoring our seniors. So it’s a really important game for us on a lot of different fronts.”

McKelvie, being a 2009 graduate of the Academy, is one of the rare alumni who never experienced an RMC game as a player.

“I’m probably one of the only alumni who’s never played in an RMC game. The series, we actually stopped the series for a couple of years, and my class had one year. My freshman year, we played RMC, and I was injured in that game. So, you know, most classes have at least played RMC once. But for me, it’s the same approach. Like every time we step on the ice, you wear that jersey. It’s an opportunity to represent yourself, the team, and the school. And it’s no different with RMC. For sure it means more because the rivalry has been going on for over 100 years. Our alumni really keep an eye on that game, so we’ve got to make sure that we’re really dialed in next weekend.”

Saturday will be the first RMC game that McKelvie is the head man behind the bench. Army is 25-4-3 in the rivalry since 1985, and McKelvie will look to keep that trend going in Army’s favor. Puck drop for this fearsome rivalry is scheduled for 7 p.m Saturday.

Game Summary

Final Score: Army 0, Robert Morris 3
Date: January 17th, 2026
Venue: Tate Rink, West Point, N.Y.
Attendance: 2,243
Officials: Referees – Patrick Sharron & Chris Henry; Linesmen – Cameron Carlson & Spencer Wolf

Scoring Summary

First Period

• No Goals

Second Period

• 3:18 — Robert Morris: Dominic Elliott (Cameron Garvey) EV — 1-0 Robert Morris
• 3:41 — Robert Morris: Luke van Why (Gabriel Lunn & Braden Rourke) EV — 2-0 Robert Morris

Third Period

• 18:14 — Robert Morris: Tanner Klimpke (Unassisted) EV — 3-0 Robert Morris

Team Stats

Goaltending

Robert Morris Colonials

• Lucas Massie (W): 22 Saves on 22 shots (1.000 SV%)

Army Black Knights

• JJ Cataldo (L): 42 Saves on 44 Shots (0.954 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 $2/year. 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!

| Follow Daniel Rebain on X | Visit bad-dawgsports.com |