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Atlantic Hockey What To Watch: Army Freshman Goalie JJ Cataldo On Fire

Atlantic Hockey What To Watch: Army Freshman Goalie JJ Cataldo On Fire

Army freshman JJ Cataldo ranks among the NCAA's top goaltenders and has helped the Black Knights win three of their last four contests.

Nov 21, 2024 by Jordan McAlpine
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JJ Cataldo has made an immediate impact with Army this season and the freshman goaltender quietly ranks among the NCAA’s best.

Cataldo currently leads the nation with a .956 save percentage and his 1.34 GAA ranks second among NCAA netminders, while his eight goals against are the fewest by a goalie with more than five starts. His four wins are also tied for second among freshmen as UMD’s Adam Gajan (CHI) leads the way with five.

The Stuart, Florida native has made 30 or more saves in four of his first six starts and is a big reason why Army (5-6-0, 5-5-0) has won three of its last four.

Cataldo, who is listed at 6-foot and 183 pounds, spent last season with the NAHL’s Springfield Jr. Blues and finished the season with a 16-19-7 record, .918 save percentage and 3.16 GAA. 

He spent parts of four seasons in the NAHL or NCDC and also made one USHL appearance -- with Waterloo during the 2022-23 season -- before arriving at West Point.

Cataldo has made 172 of a possible 180 saves this season and he already finds himself in pretty good company. His .956 save percentage is the third-best by an NCAA goaltender through their first six starts since 2002.

He’s allowed a goal or less in four of those six starts and made 120 of 124 possible saves since the calendar flipped to November, going 3-1-0 in that stretch.

Cataldo has been named the AHA Rookie of the Week twice this season and is coming off a 51-save weekend as Army swept RIT. He’s gotten plenty of help in front of him too as Army is averaging 16.73 blocked shots per game, which leads Atlantic Hockey.

Cataldo will look to keep his hot start going as the Black Knights host Holy Cross on Friday.

2024 Holy Cross vs Army - Men's Hockey


Atlantic Happenings

Men's Hockey

  • Air Force senior goaltender Guy Blessing is 5-1-0 in conference play this season with a .962 save percentage and 1.01 GAA. Blessing made 56 of a possible 57 saves last weekend against Mercyhurst and has won back-to-back AHA Goalie of the Week honors.
  • Three AHA schools received votes in this week’s USCHO Men's Hockey Poll as Niagara, Bentley and Air Force received eight, five and one vote respectively. Niagara is 6-4-3 and has points in three straight games (2-0-1). The Purple Eagles currently sit atop the AHA standings with 19 points.
  • Bentley’s Ethan Leyh carries a seven-game point streak into this weekend. The graduate forward has 11 points (4-7-11) in the stretch and a team-leading 13 points (4-9-13) on the season.
  • Bentley’s power play currently leads AHA and ranks 18th in the country at 22.7%. The Falcons are 10-for-44 this season.
  • Sacred Heart forward Felix Trudeau currently leads Atlantic Hockey with eight goals. The Maine transfer scored twice last Saturday in a 6-3 win over Robert Morris.
  • AIC officially announced it will move its hockey program to the Division II level last week as the school will undergo a series of changes, both in academics and athletics. The news was first reported last week.

2024 RIT vs Sacred Heart - Men's


Women's Hockey

  • Penn State's Tessa Janecke, unsurprisingly, was named to the U.S. Collegiate Women's Select Team that will play in a Six Nations tournament in Finland in December. Janecke has been a member of the U.S. Women's National Team over the last two Women's World Championships and will likely be one of the top players for Team USA.
  • The numbers for Mercyhurst goalie Jorden Mattison don't even seem real. Over her first two weekends of action in Atlantic Hockey conference play, she has a 0.33 goals-against average and .982 save percentage with 54 saves on 55 shots over her last three starts. She is the reigning AHA Goalie of the Week.
  • Speaking of unreal goaltending, Allie Kelley of Syracuse faced 75 shots against RIT last weekend, but allowed just two goals. Kelley made 33 saves in a 1-0 shutout on Saturday.
  • Mercyhurst's power play has been cooking in conference play so far this season. The Lakers have a 37.5% success rate on the advantage over their four AHA games.

Atlantic Hockey America On FloHockey This Week

Friday, Nov. 22 (Women's Hockey)

Friday, Nov. 22 (Men's Hockey)

Saturday, Nov. 23 (Women's Hockey)

Saturday, Nov. 23 (Men's Hockey)

Sunday, Nov. 24 (Men's Hockey)

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