Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, your Army Black Knights Hockey team is ranked #19 in the country. This is just the third time ever that the Black Knights find themselves ranked – though Top 20 hockey rankings have only existed since the 90s.
Zach McKelvie is in just his second season as the Black Knight’s head coach. A 2009 graduate, McKelvie played for and followed the Riley dynasty – a 75 year run of Riley Family coaches which accounted for 1,057 wins, good for 84% of the entire win total of the Army program. The famed Jack Riley coached for 36 seasons while sons Rob and Brian coached for 18 and 21 seasons respectively. It should be noted that Brian Riley’s son – also named Jack – is still on staff as an assistant.
This Season
Army started out the year with a 2-4 loss to Union, a team that also finds itself in the USCHO Top 20. They followed that up with the annual Challenge Trophy game with rival RMC. If you’ve never gone to this game, it is a bucket list event for any Army or northeast hockey fan. The next home game will be in 2028. The Black Knights have won every home matchup since 1987. This makes the 1987 matchup the only time the Paladins were victorious since the opening of Tate Rink (1985-86 season).
Since that game, the Black Knights have won every non-exhibition game with a road sweep against Holy Cross, a road win over #8 Quinnipiac, and a home sweep – and double shutout – against RIT. The win of Quinnipiac marked the first T10 win for the Black Knights since they knocked off #2 Miami on a pair of short-handed goals in 2009.
The win over Quinnipiac was a seesaw affair with Army up 1-0, down 2-1, up 3-2 and then headed to overtime. In the extra period, Army went down a man to 4-on-3 for 2 minutes after a holding penalty. As time expired on the penalty, senior Brent Keefer left the box and found himself open in a 2-on-1 breakaway. Keefer’s first shot was blocked, but his rebound shot found the back of the net with just 17 seconds left.
All this leaves Army atop the AHA standings with 12 points. They still have 22 games left, but it’s the best start the Black Knights have had in a long time. This weekend, they’ll head to Colorado Springs to take on Air Force in a pair of conference matchups.
Come December, Army will take on Penn State in the Prudential Center on Thursday, the10th. So if you’re in town for Army Navy by Thursday night, go check out the Black Knights on ice!
If you’re in the West Point area, Army will get the Air Force return trip on February 19th and 20th.
Go Army! Beat Air Force!!!
*Cover image and trophy image via @ArmyWP_Hockey
