Falcons blank Trinity Western, 8-0, in exhibition

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Freshman Willie Reim and senior Erich Jaeger each scored twice as Air Force defeated Trinity Western, 8-0, in a college hockey exhibition game, Sunday, Oct. 6, at the Cadet Ice Arena.

The Falcons scored first as a pair of freshmen combined on the goal. Reim cleaned up a rebound of Luke Manning's shot at 1:37 for the 1-0 lead. Late in the period, senior captain Matt Pulver drew a penalty and the Falcons scored on the power play. Zach Mirageas' wrister from the top of the right circle gave the Falcons a 2-0 lead with 33 seconds left in the first period. Air Force outshot TWU, 24-0, in the first period.

Early in the second, on the rush, Reim netted his second of the game from Brady Tomlak at 4:13. The Spartans first shot on goal came with 13 minutes left in the second period. Air Force took a 4-0 lead with a short-handed goal by Erich Jaeger. Just after a 4-on-4 expired as TWU returned to full strength, Jaeger gained the zone down the left wing, cut the middle and scored at 8:01. Freshman defenseman Brandon Koch had the assist. The Falcons had a 21-8 shot advantage in the second period.

Another freshman got on the scoresheet in the third period as Blake Bride scored at 4:02. Kieran Durgan led the odd-man rush and Jake Levin's shot was saved. Bride cleaned up the rebound for a 5-0 lead. Just two minutes later, the Falcons struck again as Tomlak buried Trevor Stone's centering pass for a 6-0 lead. Jaeger's second of the game came with 3:47 remaining as he put back a rebound of Andrew Kruse's shot. With 31 seconds left, and on the power play, Stone scored with a slap shot from the right circle. Freshmen defensemen Brandon Koch and Dalton Weigel had the assists.

Air Force outshot Trinity Western, 71-12, in the game. Junior Zach LaRocque started in goal for the Falcons and played the first two periods, stopping all eight shots he faced. Sophomore Alex Schilling played the third period and stopped all four he faced.

"We accomplished everything we could tonight," head coach Frank Serratore said. "We were able to get a lot of guys ice time and our attitude and effort were really good. I really like this group. They are so much fun to work with. One thing that was really cool tonight is that Willie Reim scored a goal on his first collegiate shift. Now, the speed limit goes up big time at No. 9 Notre Dame next week."

Air Force opens the regular season with a two-game, non-conference series at the ninth-ranked Irish, Oct. 11 and 13, in South Bend, Ind.

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