Air Force Academy
Holy Cross
Holy Cross holds off Air Force, 4-2
2/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Holy Cross holds off a furious Air Force rally for a 4-2 win over the Falcons in an Atlantic Hockey Conference game Friday, Feb. 12, at the Hart Center in Worcester, Mass. Air Force and Holy Cross are now tied for second in the league standings.
Holy Cross (14-10-5 overall, 12-6-5 AHC) opened the scoring just 1:26 into the game when Michael Laffin scored unassisted with a wrister rom the right circle. The Crusaders took a 2-0 lead at 9:04 when Matt Scarth scored right off of an offensive zone faceoff. Holy Cross outshot Air Force, 9-5, in the first period. The two goals marked the first time the Falcons had trailed at any point in the last nine games.
Midway through the second period, T.J. Moore skated right down the center of the ice and ripped a wrister past Shane Starrett at the 10:33 mark. Following the goal, freshman Billy Christopoulos replaced Starrett in net. Late in the period, the Falcons got on the board with a short-handed goal. Just before a penalty expired, Jordan Himley fed Ben Carey and the senior team captain scored his eighth of the season at 18:23.
Air Force (14-10-5, 12-6-5 AHC) had several chances early in the third period, but was unable to score. Then, after a flurry in front of the net, Crusader defenseman Spencer Trapp scored at 11:15 for a 4-1 lead. With 5:25 left and an offensive zone faceoff, the Falcons pulled the goaltender in favor of the extra attacker. Less than a minute later, the Falcons scored. Matt Serratore scored his eighth of the season on a rebound from Carey and Kyle Haak to cut the Crusader lead to 4-2. The Falcons had several more chances late, but were unable to get another goal.
Air Force outshot Holy Cross, 16-6 in the third period and 33-24 in the game. Air Force was 0-for-3 on the power play while HC was 0-for-2. Shane Starrett made 10 saves in 31 minutes and gave up three goals. Billy Christopoulos played 24 minutes and made 10 saves while allowing on. For Holy Cross, Paul Beffafato made 31 saves.
"Holy Cross is a well-coached team and they were ready for us," head coach Frank Serratore said. "They were sharp and intense from the get-go. They played with a sense of urgency and we didn't match it early in the game. It's really tough to chase the scoreboard, especially down by three. I liked the way we played in the second half of the game. We have to learn from this experience. Tomorrow's game is gigantic for playoff positioning and it should be a terrific game."
The same two teams conclude the two-game series on Saturday, Feb. 13, at 7:05 pm ET from the Hart Center in Worcester, Mass.
