Army West Point and Northeastern faced off Friday in a tight matchup for their 25th meeting in the books, the first time since 1998. Army came out on top with a 2-1 victory in the historic Matthews Arena — its first win of the 2025-26 season and first for head coach Zach McKelvie.
The most prominent change on Northeastern’s bench is junior netminder Lawton Zacher, a transfer from Brown, starting in the crease for his second game. The Huskies sported their pink jerseys for their annual “Skating Strides” game in support of the Ellie Fund and its breast cancer awareness program.
First Period
While the Huskies came into the contest with a home win under their belt from the season opener, they couldn’t sustain the pressure of Army’s offense consistently getting pucks to the net fast and early.
Although the Black Knights were scoreless on the only power play of the period — just over five minutes into regulation — the top lines generated some momentum following the one-man advantage to put the puck over the red line first.
Rewarded for its efforts, Army got on the board at 13:48. The tally was credited to freshman forward Billy Batten off a skate deflection for his first collegiate goal, assisted by defenders Jude Brower and Owen Nolan.
Army Hockey took the 1-0 lead and double the shots on goal (SOG), 14 to Northeastern’s 7, into the first intermission.
Second Period
After a sluggish first, Northeastern took over in the second period, dominating puck possession, tempo, and even surpassing Army in SOG.
The Huskies answered just over the midway point at 10:46 with a one-timer by senior defenseman Austen May. The equalizer, May’s first goal of the season, was assisted by forwards Giacomo Martino and Jacob Mathieu.
With minimal stoppage and no special teams in the middle period, Army couldn’t take back control or spark any offense. The Huskies tallied more than triple the SOG than the Black Knights at 16 to 5, respectively, for a total of 23-19 and a tied game at one-apiece after forty minutes.
Third Period
Northeastern may’ve won that battle, but Army won the war, tilting the ice back in its favor for the third.
The Huskies put up five shots on the early man-advantage, just 2:17 into the last frame, and the Black Knights killed it off with two blocked shots and a crucial save by sophomore goaltender JJ Cataldo.
Both benches played a tight game until Army’s Jack Ivey found the net off an odd-man rush with 9:25 left on the clock. The sophomore’s game-winning goal (GWG), his first goal of the season, was scored with help from junior captain Barron Woodring to give Army the one-goal edge.
In a game completely determined by even-strength play, Army secured the win by capitalizing on its chances up front.
Playing a 60-minute, 200-foot game is the key to coming out on top of close games — something that Northeastern head coach Jerry Keefe stressed as a focus point for his Hockey East team as the season progresses and league matches get underway.
“We probably had four or five of our best chances tonight that we didn’t even get a shot off,” said Keefe. “We have to find a way to bear down our chances.”
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