Air Force Academy
Army
Army beats Air Force, 4-2
1/29/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Jan. 29, 2010
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Army broke a 2-2 tie late in the third period for a 4-2 win over Air Force in an Atlantic Hockey Association game, Friday night, Jan. 29, at Tate Rink in West Point, N.Y.
Air Force fell to 12-10-5 overall and 12-6-5 in the AHA. Army improved to 9-12-4 overall and 8-8-3 in the league. With the loss, Air Force fell into second place in the AHA, two points behind league-leading RIT.
One of the least penalized teams in the nation, Air Force was called for four penalties in the first period. On a 4-on-3 power play, Eric Sefchik scored from Cody Omilusik at 14:23. Omilusik took a shot that was saved and led to a flurry in front of Andrew Volkening. With a pile of bodies in front of the net, Sefchik corralled the loose puck and scored his sixth of the season.
Early in the second period, Air Force went on the power play, but after an icing call found itself with a faceoff in its own end. Sefchik won the draw and Kyle Maggard scored short-handed on a rebound of his own shot at the 1:20 mark. Air Force then spent the majority of the second period on the penalty kill. Army had four power plays in the period, including two 5-on-3 advantages, one for 1:03 and the other for 46 seconds. Despite getting outshot, 16-5, in the period, the penalty kill was perfect and the Falcons found themselves down 2-0 after two periods.
Air Force battled back to tie the game at 2-2 in the third period with two goals in a span of 3:21. In a 4-on-4 situation, Derrick Burnett passed down low to Jacques Lamoureux who had some time to survey the situation. He found Eric Artman at the far post and the freshman defenseman scored at 4:34. After Matt Fairchild drew his third penalty of the period, Lamoureux scored to tie the game at 2-2 at 7:55. Jeff Hajner fed Stephen Carew at the center point. His shot was redirected by Lamoureux at the top of the crease. With the score tied, Air Force had a power play but was not able to convert.
With less than five minutes left in the period, Drew Pierson won a faceoff in the offensive zone and Cheyne Rocha took a shot that was saved by Volkening. However, Pierson put back the rebound for a 3-2 lead. Air Force pulled its goalie with 1:16 left, but Army's Bryant Skarda scored an empty-net goal with 54 seconds left to seal the win.
Army out-shot Air Force, 42-32, in the game and had a 30-16 advantage in the final two periods. Volkening had a season-high 38 saves. Jay Clark had 30 saves for Army. AFA was 1-for-6 on the power play. Army was 1-for-10.
"Army was more determined than we were. It was will over skill tonight," head coach Frank Serratore said. "We got back into the game in the third, but they imposed their will on us. We looked timid, soft and weak. Army wanted to prove they were more determined and tougher than us and they did. We almost stole that game, but it probably would have been an injustice if we did. All we had to do was take charge of the game when we tied it and we didn't. They were clearly the better, stronger and more assertive team tonight."
The same two teams conclude the series on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. ET in West Point. --30--
