Air Force Academy
Mercyhurst
Mercyhurst beats Air Force, 4-2
10/11/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - Senior goaltender Jimmy Sarjeant made 40 saves to lead Mercyhurst to a 4-2 win over Air Force in an Atlantic Hockey Association game, Saturday, Oct. 11, at the Academy's Cadet Ice Arena.
After a scoreless first period, Air Force opened the scoring on the rush. Johnny Hrabovsky fed Scott Holm in the neutral zone and he chipped it forward to Cole Gunner. Skating down the left side, Gunner tried to pass across to Chad Demers, but the puck hit a skate and came right back to him. Gunner then snuck the puck inside the post for his first of the season, 43 seconds into the second period. Midway through the second period, Air Force had a 27-9 shot advantage, but the second half of the period was all Mercyhurst. Kyle Dutra tied the game at 1-1 at the 9:38 mark as he put back a rebound of Jonathan Charbonneau's shot. Later in the period, the Lakers scored three goals in a span of 2:03. Charbonneau put back a rebound of Matt Zay's shot at 16:38 for the Lakers' first lead of the series. Just over a minute later, the Lakers scored on the rush as Alec Shields scored on a rebound of Chris Bodo's shot at 17:05. An Air Force turnover led to the Lakers' fourth goal. Zac Frischmon intercepted a pass in the Air Force end and his pass was tipped in by Nardo Nagtzaam with 1:19 left in the second.
Early in the third period, the Falcons cut the Laker lead to 4-2 after winning a faceoff in the offensive end. Chad Demers won the draw and Scott Holm sent the puck to Gunner in the far circle. Gunner netted his second of night 30 seconds into the third period. Air Force pulled its goalie with 2:58 remaining, but managed just one shot on goal.
"It is tough to come from behind when you put yourself in a hole like we did," head coach Frank Serratore said. "I like our team. I wasn't sure how we would match up with a veteran team like Mercyhurst, especially our young guys, but we did just fine. Top to bottom, we have a lot of guys that can play."
Air Force outshot Mercyhurst, 42-28, in the game. The Falcons were 0-for-2 on the power play while Mercyhurst was 0-for-3. Chris Truehl made 24 saves for the Falcons while Jimmy Sarjeant made 40.
Air Force travels to Fairbanks, Alaska for the annual Brice Alaska Goal Rush Tournament, Oct. 17-18.
