Air Force rally comes up short against Bentley

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Air Force rallied for three goals in the third period, but the rally came up short in a 5-4 loss to Bentley in an Atlantic Hockey Association game Saturday, Nov. 13, at the Cadet Ice Arena.

Bentley had a 5-1 lead with 11 minutes left in the third when Air Force rallied for three goals. Will Gavin and Brian Adams scored even strength and Clayton Cosentino scored after pulling the goalie in the final three minutes.

Bentley (5-6-0, 3-3-0 AHA) opened the scoring midway through the first period on a 2-on-1 rush as Matt Gosiewski scored from Danny Pearson and Collin Rutherford. Late in the first period and just after an Air Force power play ended, Bentley scored on a 2-on-1. With 11 seconds left in the period, Drew Bavaro set up Cole Kodsi for a one-timer and a 2-0 lead.
Bentley took a 3-0 lead early in the second period on a 5-on-3 as Gosiewski scored with a one timer from the high slot at 5:39. Air Force got on the board just after a power play expired. Parker Brown netted his first career goal on a flurry in front of the Bentley crease. Andrew DeCarlo and Will Gavin assisted on the play at 8:50. Bentley scored its second power-play goal of the game at 13:01 as Matt Lombardozzi scored with a blast from the center point for a 4-1 lead.

Early in third period, Lucas Vanroboys scored on a breakaway at 4:35 for a 5-1 lead. The Air Force rally started with 10:30 left in the third on Will Gavin's team-leading sixth goal of the season. Brown finished a check in the corner as Austin Schwartz and Brandon Koch worked the puck around. Gavin's goal came after his first two shots were saved and cut the Bentley lead to 5-2. Air Force kept the pressure on as Brian Adams cut the Bentley lead to 5-3 with 8:57 remaining. Andrew DeCarlo and Blake Bride forced a turnover and Adams went five hole for his second of the season.
Air Force (3-6-1, 1-2-1 AHA) pulled the goalie with 3:26 left and had several opportunities right away. With 2:38 remaining, Luke Rowe's shot was knocked down out front and Bennett Norlin pushed the puck in front. With goalie Jason Grande down on the ice, Clayton Cosentino went high for his second of the season as Bentley led 5-4. With two minutes remaining, Bentley's Brendan Walkom skated down the right side staring at the empty net. Just as Walkom shot at the empty net, Willie Reim dove in front and blocked it with his stick to keep the net clean. The Falcons had several flurries in front of the Bentley net, but could not get the equalizer.

Air Force had a season-high 42 shots on goal while Bentley had 31. Bentley was 2-for-8 on the power play while Air Force was 0-for-6. Grande made 38 saves for Bentley. Alex Schilling made 26 for Air Force.

"Bentley didn't beat us as much as we beat ourselves," head coach Frank Serratore said. "We had some chances early and their goalie made some good saves. We gave up two goals on 2-on-1's and took some bad penalties that hurt us. Then in the third period, we knocked so people down and used our physicality to our advantage. The way we played in the third, it was no surprise that we scored three goals. When we play a 200-foot game, we are hard to play against. I told the guys, if you want to see the enemy, look in the mirror."

Air Force continues the eight-game home stand with a two-game league series against Sacred Heart, Nov. 19-20, at Cadet Ice Arena.

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