Falcons fall at No. 1 Omaha, 4-1

Oct. 24, 2015

Box Score Highlights

The No. 1 team in the nation, the Omaha Mavericks, scored three first-period goals en route to a 4-1 win over Air Force in a non-conference college hockey game, Saturday, Oct. 24, at the brand new Baxter Arena in Omaha, Neb.

Omaha (6-0-0 overall) struck first on the rush as Luke Nogard fed Aaron Pearce who was flying down the slot. Pearce tipped in his first of the season at 7:54. The Mavericks erupted for two goals in the final three minutes. At 17:01, Jake Randolph scored his fifth of the season on a rebound of Justin Parizek's shot. The Mavs took a 3-0 lead when Austin Ortega netted his nation's best seventh goal of the season. Jake Guentzel skated the puck into the zone and fed Ortega on the back door.

In the second period, UNO extended its lead to 4-0 on the rush. Guentzel sent a puck toward the net and Fredrik Olofsson tipped it in at 7:03 of the second.

Air Force got on the board in the third period when freshman Evan Okeley scored his first career goal. Max Hartner won a faceoff in the offensive end and then his shot was saved. Okeley put back the rebound to cut the Omaha lead to 4-1. Air Force pulled the goalie late and, despite several chances, could not get another.

Omaha outshot Air Force, 36-28. Each team was 0-for-4 on the power play. Freshman Shane Starrett started for the Falcons and made 11 saves in the first period. Freshman Billy Christopoulos made 21 saves in the final two periods.

"They found a weakness in our game and they exploited it," head coach Frank Serratore said. "They attacked us on the rush and we didn't do a good job of contesting passes and defending the front of the net. They have some handy guys. All four goals were scored the same way. Our goalies did not have a chance on any of them. We know what we have to work on this week in practice. They were the better team tonight. They converted."

Air Force (1-4-1 overall) is now idle until a conference road trip to Mercyhurst, Nov. 6-7

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Box Score Highlights

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Players Mentioned

Billy Christopoulos

Max Hartner

Evan Okeley

Shane Starrett

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