Air Force Academy
Mercyhurst
Falcons blank Mercyhurst, 7-0
2/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Feb. 9, 2008
ERIE, Penn. - Air Force scored four power-play goals and Andrew Volkening stopped all 25 shots he faced in a 7-0 win over Mercyhurst in an Atlantic Hockey Association game Saturday night, Feb. 9, at the Mercyhurst Ice Center in Erie, Penn.
The two teams split the two-game series as Air Force improves to 14-11-5 overall and 11-9-4 in the AHA. Mercyhurst fell to 10-15-5 overall and 10-7-5 in the league.
Air Force took control of the game early with two first-period goals. Freshman Owen Kelly gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead at the 3:20 mark. Kelly's second of the season was assisted by Greg Flynn and Matt Becker. Flynn took a shot from the left point and Kelly pushed the puck in from the top of the crease in a scramble. Josh Frider's ninth of the season gave Air Force a 2-0 lead at the 12:51 mark. Brent Olson led a rush down the right side and fed Frider in the slot for a two-goal advantage.
The Falcons took a 3-0 lead in the second period on the power play at the 15:21 mark. Just after a penalty to Matt Charbonneau expired, the senior defenseman came out of the box and joined the rush through the neutral zone. Josh Schaffer skated the puck down the right side and his writer from just inside the circle beat Matt Lundin for his third of the year. Mercyhurst outshot Air Force, 15-7, in the period, but Andrew Volkening made all 15 saves.
Air Force scored four goals in the third period, three of them on the power play. Frank Schiavone gave Air Force a 4-0 lead 41 seconds into the period in a four-on-four situation. Derrick Burnett led the rush and Schiavone scored from the right circle. The Falcons took a 5-0 lead when Jeff Hajner score a power-play goal from the slot.
AFA extended its lead to 7-0 with two power-play goals on back-to-back penalties on Mercyhurst. Matt Fairchild scored a 5-on-3 goal at the 12:00 mark from when he put in a rebound of a Michael Mayra shot. Then, 48 seconds later, Frider tipped in a shot by Flynn for the Falcons' fourth power play goal of the game.
Air Force outshot Mercyhurst, 36-25, in the game. Volkening made 25 saves for Air Force while Lundin made 29 for the Lakers. AFA was 4-for-10 on the power play and killed all 10 of the Lakers power plays.
"I still think we played very well last night but everything went Mercyhurst's way," head coach Frank Serratore said. "Tonight, everything went our way. We might have played better last night, but we got some puck luck tonight. We played well all weekend. The power play that didn't score last night came through in a big way tonight. Nothing is worse than losing going into an off-week and thankfully we don't have to do that."
Air Force is now off until Feb. 22-23 when the Falcons travel to Buffalo, N.Y., for a two-game league series with Canisius. The Falcons close out the regular season, Feb. 29, March 1, vs. AIC at the Cadet Ice Arena. If the Falcons finish in the top five of the league standings, Air Force will host a league playoff series, March 7-9, at the Cadet Ice Arena. Should the Falcons be home that weekend, tickets will be available at www.GoAirForceFalcons.com or by calling 1-800-666-USAF.
--30--
