Army Battles Back From Down Three in Overtime Loss to Bentley

Photo Credit: Ryan DeSantis

Waltham, M.A. — Midweek games have not been too kind to Army hockey this season, and for a majority of Tuesday night, it seemed the trend would continue. Except this time, the Black Knights fought back to earn something out of nothing.

Down 3-0 five minutes into the second period against Bentley, Army mounted a comeback and forced overtime against the number-one team in Atlantic Hockey America this season.

“I did like our battle back and compete to get a point,” said head coach Zach McKelvie post-game. “As a coach that’s what you always want to see from you guys.“

Army scored three consecutive goals by Jack Ivey, Nik Hong, and Ben Ivey. Bentley would eventually win the game in overtime, beating JJ Cataldo, who made 24 saves in the loss.

The loss sees Army’s record fall to 11-14-5 on the season and 6-13-3 (23 points) in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Falcons continue to hold a firm grip on first place with a record of 16-8-5 this season, with a conference record of 14-3-4 (47 Points).

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Things got off to a horrific start for Zach McKelvie and his team, trailing by three goals after twenty-five minutes of play. And with just four games left on their schedule, they need to improve how they start games.

“You can’t get behind at this level and expect to win a lot of games,” McKelvie said. “It’s hard enough to win as it is, so when you get behind, it just makes it more challenging. Part of it for us is learning to play for a whole 60+ minutes to our identity. Although I wouldn’t call our team young, we have guys that, because of losing guys recently, are playing in bigger moments, and it takes time for them to get comfortable with that. We feel we can be a pretty good team when we play to our strengths and identity for a whole game.”

Bentley got off to a flying start in the first period, scoring two goals in a span of thirty seconds. The Falcons got on the board first thanks to a fantastic solo effort from defenseman David Helledy, who stick-handled through three Army players before beating JJ Cataldo five-hole to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

Jake Black would score the next two goals for Bentley. His second goal came at 5:10 of the second period, as he followed up his own rebound and beat Cataldo over his glove, giving the Falcons a commanding three-goal lead with over half the game remaining.

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Down 3-0, Army needed a spark, and they found it on the power play. Last weekend against RIT, Army went 4/7 on the man-advantage, and it would stay hot in Waltham.

Sophomore Nils Forselius picked up a rebound in the left circle and got a pass down to Barron Woodring at the side of the net after reloading the play. After kicking the puck to his stick, the Army captain hit Ivey coming down from the blue line, and the sophomore picked his corner and got Army on the board before the period ended.

Third Period Magic Again!

In the third period, for a second straight game, Army was the better team. The Black Knights outshot the Falcons 9-4 in the final twenty minutes of play.

Needing two goals, Army took the game to Bentley, and they would cut the lead to one with 10:17 left in regulation. Freshman Billy Batten has been a revelation since the start of the second half of the season and helped set up another goal for the Black Knights.

Coming down the left boards, Batten beat his defender, but his shot was blocked into the corner. Johnny-on-the-spot was junior Nik Hong, and he recovered possession. All alone on the left boards, Hong made his way to the center of the dot and fired the puck past a screened Nicholas Bevilacqua.

With the clock now the enemy, Zach McKelvie pulled JJ Cataldo. Against RIT three days ago, Army peppered the Tigers’ goaltender but couldn’t find the tying goal before Dylan Wegner scored on his penalty shot.

Tonight, Army would get that breakthrough with Ben Ivey scoring his third goal in as many games. Defenseman Jude Brower had his one-timer go wide of the net, but Barron Woodring corralled the puck below the goal line and centered the puck to the front of the net. Crashing the crease, Ivey beat the three defenders around the puck and got enough stick on the puck to jam it past Nicholas Bevilacqua and tie the game at three.

For a second straight game, Army forced overtime. Bentley would spoil the comeback effort when Oliver Salo caught JJ Cataldo out of position on the game-winning goal. Army is now 2-3 in overtime this season.

The Black Knights skated off the ice with the loss, but were able to steal points in Waltham for the second time this season, something only two other teams in the conference have done.

Every point matters at this stage in the season for Army. The Black Knights own just a two-point advantage over ninth-place Niagara for home ice in a one-game playoff to make the Atlantic Hockey America post-season tournament. With just four games left, every goal and every second means a bit more for the Black Knights.

Looking Forward to Next Weekend

Army (11-13-5, 6-12-3 AHA) has this weekend off. The next time they will hit the ice is on February 20th when they take on their rivals at the Air Force Academy. The Black Knights travel to Colorado Springs, Colorado, looking for revenge after the Falcons left Tate Rink with a sweep last November.

The Falcons are coming off a two-point series with Niagara and will look to bounce back this weekend against Mercyhurst before the Black Knights come to town.

Air Force is led by captain Chris Hedden (11 Goals & 15 Assists), who recently eclipsed 100 points in his collegiate career. Up front, Air Force boasts the number-two offense in the AHA, with Samuel Stitz (10 Goals & 18 Assists) and Nick Sajevic (7 Goals & 21 Assists) leading the team with 28 points apiece.

Talking about this upcoming week off, here’s what Army head coach Zach McKelvie had to say:

“It’s a long season, so when you get breaks like this, you have to use them to recover and rest a little. But Air Force is a huge series, and we need to use the time to regroup and dial in our details of the game. Continue to grow and be ready to bring our best out West.”

Puck drop on Friday, February 20th, at Cadet Field House is scheduled for 9 p.m.

Game Summary

Final Score (OT): Army 2, Bentley 3
Date: February 10th, 2026
Venue: Bentley Arena, Waltham, M.A.
Attendance: 1,157
Officials: Referees – William McGoldrick III & Jared Waitt; Linesmen – Daniel Chisholm & Jack Seamus Ross

Scoring Summary

First Period

• 13:10 — Bentley: David Helledy (Marton Nemes & Owen Goodbrand) EV — 1-0 Bentley
• 13:40 — Bentley: Jake Black (Kellan Hjartarson & Stephen Castagana) EV — 2-0 Bentley

Second Period

• 5:10 — Bentley: Jake Black (Kellan Hjartarson & Jack Dalton) EV — 3-0 Bentley
• 16:53 — Army: Jack Ivey (Barron Woodring & Nils Forselius) PP — 3-1 Bentley

Third Period

• 16:53 — Army: Nik Hong (Billy Batten & Liam Chapman) EV — 3-2 Bentley
• 17:38 — Army: Ben Ivey (Barron Woodring & Jude Brower) EV — 3-3

Overtime

• 1:53 — Bentley: Oliver Salo (Garrett Horsager & Marton Nemes) EV — 4-3 Bentley

Team Stats

Goaltending

Bentley Falcons

• Nicholas Bevilacqua (OTW): 26 Saves on 29 shots (.896 SV%)

Army Black Knights

• JJ Cataldo (OTL): 24 Saves on 28 Shots (0.857 SV%)

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