Army Black Knights men ' s ice hockey The Army Black Knights men ' s ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the United States Military Academy . The Black Knights are a member of Atlantic Hockey and play at the Tate Rink in West Point , New York . History . The men ' s ice hockey program at West Point has been in existence since the 1903 – 04 season . The team played outdoors until 1930 when the Smith Rink opened . The team competed as independent members of NCAA Division I from the inaugural season through the 1960 – 61 season . In 1961 the program became a member of the ECAC . The team , known at the time as the Army Cadets , played as members of the ECAC from 1961 – 62 season through the 1972 – 73 season before returning to an independent team . After another 11 seasons as an independent the Cadets re - joined the ECAC for the 1984 – 85 season . The Cadets would remain in the ECAC for seven years before returning to an independent team in 1991 . The Cadets joined the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference ( MAAC ) , which began sponsoring men ' s hockey at the time , in 1999 and in 2001 the team name was changed to Army Black Knights along with the other athletic programs at the Academy . In 2003 ice hockey was split from the MAAC and became the Atlantic Hockey Association , a hockey - only NCAA Division I conference . In 2007 – 08 season the Black Knights won their only conference title to date , the Atlantic Hockey Regular Season Championship . In that season the Knights finished with an overall record of 19 wins , 14 losses , and 4 ties and went 17 – 8 – 3 in conference play . Took the No . 1 seed into the Atlantic Hockey playoffs and swept ( # 10 ) American Int ' l two games to none in the three game first round series . The Black Knight ' s season came to an end in the semifinal game when they lost to ( # 5 ) Mercyhurst 2 – 4 . Army – RMC rivalry . The Army Black Knights have a long - standing rivalry with the Royal Military College of Canada ( RMC ) Paladins . It is considered one of the longest - running annual international sporting events in the world . The tradition originated when the commandant of RMC , Sir Archibald McDonnell , and the superintendent of the U . S . Military Academy , Brigadier General Douglas MacArthur , suggested a game of ice hockey between the two schools in 1921 . After two years of exchanging ideas , the first game was played on February 23 , 1923 at West Point . The Redmen won that first game 3 – 0 . In 1924 the series moved to Kingston , Ontario ( the location of RMC ) , thus beginning the tradition of rotating venues . This was Army ' s first away game and up until 1941 , the West Point Game was the only time that Army played away from the Academy . From 1923 to 1935 RMC ran up a record of 14 – 0 – 1 , the only blemish being a 4 – 4 tie in 1935 . 1939 saw Army win its first game , 3 – 1 . As a result of World War II , only one game was played , a 3 – 1 Army win in 1942 , over the next 10 years . In the 1950s and 1960s Army won 15 of 20 games , bringing the series close with RMC holding a 21 – 18 – 1 advantage . Throughout the 1970s and 1980s the teams played fairly closely . In 1986 the record stood at 26 – 25 – 4 in favor of RMC . From 1988 to 1999 , Army dominated the rivalry , going undefeated . RMC last won in 2002 by a score of 3 – 0 and Army won in 2004 , 3 – 2 . The 2006 game was a 3 – 3 tie in front of 3100 fans in Kingston . Currently Army leads the Series 39 – 29 – 7 . The game was played continually after the World War II years , from 1949 until 2007 . The 2007 edition of the rivalry was to take place on Saturday Feb 10 , at Tate Arena in West Point , New York , but was cancelled due to regular season scheduling conflicts and for 2008 the teams will not play a competitive game but instead the Paladins will travel to New York to spend 3 days practicing , playing and socializing with the West Point cadets . The series was re - established on February 4 , 2011 , with Army hosting the Paladins at West Point . This rivalry will continue on an annual basis , counting as an exhibition game for both teams . Roster . As of October 20 , 2012 . Notable former players . Notable alumni include :