Friday, January 31
USAFA, Colo
7:05 PM MT
Air Force Academy
8-13-4, 8-9-4AHA
4
vs
5
Sacred Heart
17-8-2, 14-6-1AHA
1
2
3
OT 1
F
Sacred Heart
1
2
1
1
5
Air Force
1
0
3
0
4
Falcons fall to Pioneers in overtime, 5-4
1/31/2020 10:24:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
Air Force took a 4-3 lead with three goals in the third period
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Sacred Heart, ranked 20th in the nation, came from behind for a 5-4 overtime win over Air Force, Friday, Jan. 31, at the Cadet Ice Arena.
Sacred Heart (17-8-2, 14-6-1 AHA) struck first on the rush. Evan Wisocky put back a rebound of Nick Boyagian's shot for a 1-0 lead at 2:23. Air Force tied the game five minutes later as Trevor Stone scored his third of the season with a wrap-around goal at 7:36. Ty Pochipinski and Brandon Koch assisted on the play.
The Pioneers scored two goals in second period for a 3-1 lead. On the rush, Austin McIlmurray took a pass from Ryan Steele and skated in uncontested at 2:47. Steele gave SHU a 3-1 lead at 15:34. Jordan Kaplan skated around the back of the net and found Steele with a wrap around on the back door.
The Falcons battled back in the third period with three goals in less than six minutes. Freshman Luke Rowe scored his first career goal with a blast from the center point at 5:58. Air Force tied the game at 3-3 as senior Matt Pulver scored with a shot from the red line. As the Falcons were going off for a change, Pulver sent a puck toward the net the snuck by goalie Josh Benson at 10:17. Freshman Bennet Norlin collected his first career point and Koch assisted on the play. Less than a minute later, the Falcons took a 4-3 lead. Marshall Bowery chipped a puck out of the corner and Luke Manning batted it in on the doorstep at 11:23.
Late in the period and trailing by a goal, the Pioneers went on the power play. Mike Lee set up McIlmurray who scored with a one-timer from the left circle with 3:59 remaining. Late in the third, with the score tied at 4-4, the Falcons took another penalty that carried over into overtime. On almost the exact same play, Lee set up McIlmurray on the weak side. McIlmurray's one-timer ended the game just 29 seconds into overtime.
Each team had 24 shots on goal in the game. Air Force was 0-for-2 on the power play while SHU was 2-for-3. Benson made 20 saves for the Pioneers while Alex Schilling made 19 for the Falcons.
"We put ourselves in position to win this game," head coach Frank Serratore said. "But we found ways to beat ourselves. They are a really good team. They have that one-timer from the weak side that is such a weapon. Championship teams have that weapon. They took advantage of all of our mistakes. I am so proud of our spirit and winning that third period, but we are not ready to win games against good teams."
Air Force (8-13-4, 8-9-4 AHA) and Sacred Heart conclude the two-game league series on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 5:05 pm at the Cadet Ice Arena.
--30--
Sacred Heart (17-8-2, 14-6-1 AHA) struck first on the rush. Evan Wisocky put back a rebound of Nick Boyagian's shot for a 1-0 lead at 2:23. Air Force tied the game five minutes later as Trevor Stone scored his third of the season with a wrap-around goal at 7:36. Ty Pochipinski and Brandon Koch assisted on the play.
The Pioneers scored two goals in second period for a 3-1 lead. On the rush, Austin McIlmurray took a pass from Ryan Steele and skated in uncontested at 2:47. Steele gave SHU a 3-1 lead at 15:34. Jordan Kaplan skated around the back of the net and found Steele with a wrap around on the back door.
The Falcons battled back in the third period with three goals in less than six minutes. Freshman Luke Rowe scored his first career goal with a blast from the center point at 5:58. Air Force tied the game at 3-3 as senior Matt Pulver scored with a shot from the red line. As the Falcons were going off for a change, Pulver sent a puck toward the net the snuck by goalie Josh Benson at 10:17. Freshman Bennet Norlin collected his first career point and Koch assisted on the play. Less than a minute later, the Falcons took a 4-3 lead. Marshall Bowery chipped a puck out of the corner and Luke Manning batted it in on the doorstep at 11:23.
Late in the period and trailing by a goal, the Pioneers went on the power play. Mike Lee set up McIlmurray who scored with a one-timer from the left circle with 3:59 remaining. Late in the third, with the score tied at 4-4, the Falcons took another penalty that carried over into overtime. On almost the exact same play, Lee set up McIlmurray on the weak side. McIlmurray's one-timer ended the game just 29 seconds into overtime.
Each team had 24 shots on goal in the game. Air Force was 0-for-2 on the power play while SHU was 2-for-3. Benson made 20 saves for the Pioneers while Alex Schilling made 19 for the Falcons.
"We put ourselves in position to win this game," head coach Frank Serratore said. "But we found ways to beat ourselves. They are a really good team. They have that one-timer from the weak side that is such a weapon. Championship teams have that weapon. They took advantage of all of our mistakes. I am so proud of our spirit and winning that third period, but we are not ready to win games against good teams."
Air Force (8-13-4, 8-9-4 AHA) and Sacred Heart conclude the two-game league series on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 5:05 pm at the Cadet Ice Arena.
--30--
Team Stats
SHU
AF
Shots
24
24
PPG
2
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
2
3
Penalty Mins
4
6
Faceoffs Won
26
31
Game Leaders
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
2
+/-
+2
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
0
+/-
+2
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Ice HockeyD
/ Men's Ice HockeyF
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
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/ Men's Ice HockeyF
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