Thursday, October 20
USAFA, CO
7:07 pm MT
Air Force Academy
2-2-1, 1-0-0
3
vs
2
RIT
3-2-0, 2-1-0
1
2
3
F
RIT
1
1
0
2
Air Force
2
1
0
3
Blessing makes 28 saves in 3-2 win over RIT
10/20/2022 11:16:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
U. S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Air Force sophomore Guy Blessing made 28 saves, including a penalty shot in the final minute, as the Falcons defeated RIT, 3-2, in an Atlantic Hockey Association game Thursday, Oct. 20, at the Academy's Cadet Ice Arena. It was the league opener for the Falcons, who have now won two straight and sit at 2-2-1 overall, 1-0-0 in the AHA.
RIT (3-2, 2-1-0 AHA) opened the scoring at 5:25 of the first period when Kobe Walker redirected a shot from Gianfranco Cassaro for a 1-0 Tiger lead. Air Force scored the next two goals. Andrew DeCarlo and Nate Horn won a puck on the back wall and Horn centered the puck for Willie Reim. Reim netted his fourth of the season at 10:41. The Falcons took a 2-1 lead on the rush. Austin Schwartz tipped a puck to Brian Adams in the neutral zone and Adams carried the puck down the left side. His centering pass was redirected in by freshman center Mason McCormick for his first career goal at 15:34.
Air Force took a 3-1 lead early in the second period. Reim sent a puck around the boards to DeCarlo behind the net. DeCarlo whistled a cross-ice pass to Will Gavin at the right point and Gavin buried his fourth of the season at 1:07. RIT cut the Falcon lead to one when Simon Isabelle scored from Kobe Walker at 17:13 of the second period.
The Falcons held on to the one-goal deep into the third. RIT pulled its goalie with 1:38 remaining and had a flurry in Air Force crease. With Blessing and several Falcons on the ice, the puck was cleared. However, after a coaches' challenge and video review, a Falcon was called for covering the puck in the crease and the Tigers were given a penalty shot with 57 seconds left. The AHA co-preseason player of the year, Carter Wilkie took the shot with a wrister from the right dot and Blessing made the save. Still with an empty-net, the Tigers kept the puck in the zone, but two saves by Blessing and a blocked shot by Parker Brown preserved the victory.
RIT outshot Air Force, 30-20. Each team was 0-for-2 on the power play. Kolby Mathews made 17 saves for the Tigers. Of Blessing's 28 saves, 14 came in the third period.
"We were thin on defense tonight due to injury, but we had several guys step up," head coach Frank Serratore said. "Blessing was really good tonight. You have to have a guy in goal that can make a difference and he did tonight. We need to get better overall. We still have to work on our puck management and our turnovers, but we battled and found a way to win."
Air Force and RIT conclude the two-game series on Friday, Oct. 21, at 7:05 pm at the Cadet Ice Arena.
--30--
RIT (3-2, 2-1-0 AHA) opened the scoring at 5:25 of the first period when Kobe Walker redirected a shot from Gianfranco Cassaro for a 1-0 Tiger lead. Air Force scored the next two goals. Andrew DeCarlo and Nate Horn won a puck on the back wall and Horn centered the puck for Willie Reim. Reim netted his fourth of the season at 10:41. The Falcons took a 2-1 lead on the rush. Austin Schwartz tipped a puck to Brian Adams in the neutral zone and Adams carried the puck down the left side. His centering pass was redirected in by freshman center Mason McCormick for his first career goal at 15:34.
Air Force took a 3-1 lead early in the second period. Reim sent a puck around the boards to DeCarlo behind the net. DeCarlo whistled a cross-ice pass to Will Gavin at the right point and Gavin buried his fourth of the season at 1:07. RIT cut the Falcon lead to one when Simon Isabelle scored from Kobe Walker at 17:13 of the second period.
The Falcons held on to the one-goal deep into the third. RIT pulled its goalie with 1:38 remaining and had a flurry in Air Force crease. With Blessing and several Falcons on the ice, the puck was cleared. However, after a coaches' challenge and video review, a Falcon was called for covering the puck in the crease and the Tigers were given a penalty shot with 57 seconds left. The AHA co-preseason player of the year, Carter Wilkie took the shot with a wrister from the right dot and Blessing made the save. Still with an empty-net, the Tigers kept the puck in the zone, but two saves by Blessing and a blocked shot by Parker Brown preserved the victory.
RIT outshot Air Force, 30-20. Each team was 0-for-2 on the power play. Kolby Mathews made 17 saves for the Tigers. Of Blessing's 28 saves, 14 came in the third period.
"We were thin on defense tonight due to injury, but we had several guys step up," head coach Frank Serratore said. "Blessing was really good tonight. You have to have a guy in goal that can make a difference and he did tonight. We need to get better overall. We still have to work on our puck management and our turnovers, but we battled and found a way to win."
Air Force and RIT conclude the two-game series on Friday, Oct. 21, at 7:05 pm at the Cadet Ice Arena.
--30--
Team Stats
RIT
AF
Shots
30
20
PPG
0
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
2
2
Penalty Mins
4
4
Faceoffs Won
32
34
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
2
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
1
+/-
2
Goals
0
Sh
0
A
2
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
G
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice HockeyF
/ Men's Ice HockeyF
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice HockeyF
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
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