Falcons fall to Army, 3-1, in West Point

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army goalie Gavin Abric made 33 saves to lead the Black Knights to a 3-1 win over Air Force in an Atlantic Hockey game Friday, Jan. 27, at Tate Rink in West Point, N.Y.

In a scoreless first period, each team's goaltender stopped quality chances on each end. Early in the period, Andrew DeCarlo's mini-breakaway was saved by Abric. Then just a few minutes later, Falcon tender Maiszon Balboa made saves on Michael Sacco and Patrick Smyth to keep the net clean.

Army (8-13-3, 7-8-1 AHA) took a 1-0 lead on the power play as Michael Sacco scored with a wrister from the top of the left circle at 7:13. Air Force (7-16-2, 3-11-1 AHA) answered quickly. Just 29 seconds later, Chris Hedden kept a clear attempt in the zone and set up Ty Pochipinski in the slot. Pochipinski scored his first of the season to tie the game at 7:42. The Black Knights regained the lead with 4:43 left in the second. Balboa had just made a save on a wrap-around attempt by Black Knight Ricky Lyle. Army kept the pressure on and Lyle's wrister from the top of the left circle was redirected by Lucas Kanta for a 2-1 lead at 15:17.

Army clung to the 2-1 lead until late in the third period. The Falcons pulled the goalie with 1:53 left and had several chances. However, with 14 seconds left, the Black Knights scored an empty-netter to make up the final margin.

Air Force outshot Army, 34-22. Army was 1-for-3 on the power play while Air Force was 0-for-5. Maiszon Balboa, making his third career start and first since Jan. 7, made 19 saves for the Falcons.

"It is frustrating," head coach Frank Serratore said. "We gave up the first goal for the 11^th straight game and that makes it very difficult. Their special teams were better and their goalie was very good. He was the best player on the ice. Their commitment to blocking shots is incredible. We had a sense of urgency late in the third, but we need that the whole game and especially on the power play. You can't win if you don't score first and can't score on the power play."

Air Force and Army conclude the two-game series, Saturday, Jan. 28, at 4:05 pm ET in West Point, N.Y.

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Team Stats

Ty Pochipinski

Chris Hedden

Brandon Koch

Willie Reim

Players Mentioned

Maiszon Balboa

Andrew DeCarlo

Chris Hedden

Ty Pochipinski

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