Air Force Academy
American International
Air Force beats AIC, 6-2, sweeps series
1/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Freshman Erik Baskin and senior Scott Holm each scored two goals as Air Force beat AIC, 6-2, in an Atlantic Hockey Conference game, Saturday, Jan. 24, at the Olympia Ice Center in Springfield, Mass. Air Force swept the two-game series, and extended its winning streak to six games, tying as the longest in the nation. The streak is the longest by the Falcons since 2010-11. Air Force improved to 11-13-3 overall and 10-6-2 in the league. AIC fell to 3-18-5 overall and 3-12-5 in the AHC.
Air Force took a 1-0 lead early in the game as freshman Erik Baskin scored from Ben Carey. Baskin walked out of the corner to the bottom of the right circle and whistled a wrister past AIC goalie Alex Murray at 2:33.
AIC tied the game at 1-1 on the power play when Alexander MacMillan scored at the 5:55 mark. The Falcons then scored three unanswered goals for a 4-1 lead after two periods. Baskin netted his second of night and fifth of the season at 9:24 of the second period. Jonathan Kopacka took a shot that was saved and Baskin put back the rebound. Air Force took a 3-1 lead at 11:02 when freshman Ben Kucera scored his first career goal. On the rush, Kucera ripped a wrister from left circle. Late in the second period, Air Force took a 4-1 lead when Scott Holm scored his team-leading 13th of the season at 18:44. On the rush, Cole Gunner carried the puck into the zone and sent a pass to the slot. Holm's back-hander from the slot slid inside the far post.
Early in the third period, AIC's Chris Porter skated through the neutral zone and sent a wrister from the blue line that got past Connor Girard at 4:51. With AIC putting pressure on the Falcons, Air Force clung to the two-goal lead behind several saves from Girard. Late in the third on the power play, Kopacka took a shot from the center point, through traffic, that was saved and Holm scored his second of the night for a 5-2 lead at 13:26. Late in the game, AIC went on the power play and pulled the goalie for a two-man advantage. George Michalke III forced a turnover and passed to Kyle Mackey in the Air Force end. From his own blue line, Mackey sent a wrister over everyone's head and into the empty net for a 6-2 lead with 1:56 left.
Air Force outshot AIC, 37-20, in the game. AFA was 2-for-3 on the power play while AIC was 1-for-4. Girard made 18 saves for the Falcons while Alex Murray made 30 for the Yellow Jackets.
"I liked our energy tonight," head coach Frank Serratore said. "Give our guys credit for finding a way to win six straight games. But we did not manage the puck very well at times. They have some opportunistic players and we just can't play that way. We'll find out a lot about ourselves next weekend when Robert Morris comes to town."
Air Force returns home for a two-game series against league-leading Robert Morris, Friday-Saturday, Jan. 30-31, at the Cadet Ice Arena.
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