Saturday, January 22
Erie, PA
2:05 pm MT
Air Force Academy
9-11-2, 6-7-2
5
at
3
Mercyhurst University
5-15-4, 3-7-4
1
2
3
F
Air Force
2
2
1
5
Mercyhurst
0
3
0
3
Falcons sweep Mercyhurst with 5-3 win
1/22/2022 6:15:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
ERIE, Pa. – Nate Horn scored two goals, including one with 2:22 remaining, as Air Force swept Mercyhurst with a 5-3 win in the series finale, Saturday, Jan. 22, at the Mercyhurst Ice Center in Erie, Pa. The win extended the Falcons' winning streak to four games, tied as the longest since early in the 2018-19 season.
Mercyhurst (5-15-4, 3-9-4 AHA) was called for two majors and three minors in the first period and the Falcons capitalized with two 5-on-3 power play goals. After Sam Brennan drew a major, the Falcons scored on the 5-on-3 as Nate Horn put back a rebound of Luke Rowe's shot at 8:48. Then after Mitchell Digby drew a major, the Falcons struck again. Sam Brennan's shot from the center point was redirected by Lucas Coon for a 2-0 lead at 15:22.
Air Force (9-11-2, 7-7-2 AHA) scored its third power-play goal of the game just 23 seconds into the second period. Will Gavin scored his third goal of the series and team-leading 10th of the season from Mitchell Digby and Brandon Koch. However, Mercyhurst scored two goals in a span of 14 seconds as Devon Daniels scored 41 seconds into the second period and then Austin Heidemann scored at 55 seconds. The Falcons took a 4-2 lead at 2:49 when Lucas Coon's shot went off the post and Jacob Marti put back the rebound. The Lakers again cut the Falcon lead to one goal when Kyler Head scored on the rush at 11:50.
The Falcons held on to the one-goal lead until late in the third period. Andrew DeCarlo won a faceoff in the offensive zone and Willie Reim's shot was saved. Horn put back the rebound with 2:24 left for a 5-3 lead. With under 90 seconds left, the Lakers pulled the goalie for the extra attacker, but Alex Schilling made three saves to preserve the victory.
Air Force outshot Mercyhurst, 38-28, in the game. AF was 3-for-8 on the power play and killed all three of the Laker power plays. The Falcon penalty kill was perfect in the series, killing all eight. Schilling made 25 saves. Kyle McLellan made 33 saves for the Lakers.
"We scored those two 5-on-3 power-play goals in the first period, but we were never able to distance ourselves," head coach Frank Serratore said. "We did get that third goal in the second period, but Mercyhurst came back and they can score quickly. The second period was chaotic and we needed to get out of that period. That's not our game. We got back to playing our game in the third. The bottom line is we played a talented offensive team on the road and held them to five goals and we had 80 shots in the series. We are playing some pretty good team hockey right now. Our young group should gain some confidence from this weekend."
Air Force returns home for a two-game league series against service academy rival Army, Friday-Saturday, Jan. 28-29, at Cadet Ice Arena.
--30--
Mercyhurst (5-15-4, 3-9-4 AHA) was called for two majors and three minors in the first period and the Falcons capitalized with two 5-on-3 power play goals. After Sam Brennan drew a major, the Falcons scored on the 5-on-3 as Nate Horn put back a rebound of Luke Rowe's shot at 8:48. Then after Mitchell Digby drew a major, the Falcons struck again. Sam Brennan's shot from the center point was redirected by Lucas Coon for a 2-0 lead at 15:22.
Air Force (9-11-2, 7-7-2 AHA) scored its third power-play goal of the game just 23 seconds into the second period. Will Gavin scored his third goal of the series and team-leading 10th of the season from Mitchell Digby and Brandon Koch. However, Mercyhurst scored two goals in a span of 14 seconds as Devon Daniels scored 41 seconds into the second period and then Austin Heidemann scored at 55 seconds. The Falcons took a 4-2 lead at 2:49 when Lucas Coon's shot went off the post and Jacob Marti put back the rebound. The Lakers again cut the Falcon lead to one goal when Kyler Head scored on the rush at 11:50.
The Falcons held on to the one-goal lead until late in the third period. Andrew DeCarlo won a faceoff in the offensive zone and Willie Reim's shot was saved. Horn put back the rebound with 2:24 left for a 5-3 lead. With under 90 seconds left, the Lakers pulled the goalie for the extra attacker, but Alex Schilling made three saves to preserve the victory.
Air Force outshot Mercyhurst, 38-28, in the game. AF was 3-for-8 on the power play and killed all three of the Laker power plays. The Falcon penalty kill was perfect in the series, killing all eight. Schilling made 25 saves. Kyle McLellan made 33 saves for the Lakers.
"We scored those two 5-on-3 power-play goals in the first period, but we were never able to distance ourselves," head coach Frank Serratore said. "We did get that third goal in the second period, but Mercyhurst came back and they can score quickly. The second period was chaotic and we needed to get out of that period. That's not our game. We got back to playing our game in the third. The bottom line is we played a talented offensive team on the road and held them to five goals and we had 80 shots in the series. We are playing some pretty good team hockey right now. Our young group should gain some confidence from this weekend."
Air Force returns home for a two-game league series against service academy rival Army, Friday-Saturday, Jan. 28-29, at Cadet Ice Arena.
--30--
Team Stats
AIR
MER
Shots
38
28
PPG
3
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
4
10
Penalty Mins
8
42
Faceoffs Won
34
18
Game Leaders
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
4
A
1
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
1
+/-
1
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
2
Players Mentioned
D
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