Cosentino nets game-winner in shootout

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Clayton Cosentino tied the game late in the third period and then scored the shootout game-winner against Canisius in an Atlantic Hockey game Saturday, Nov. 25, at the Harborcenter in Buffalo, N.Y. The game officially ends as a 2-2 overtime tie, but Air Force gets two points in the conference standings.

Air Force (7-8-1, 4-3-1 AHA) trailed 2-0 entering the third period, but Will Gavin put the Falcons on the board early in the third. On a 5-on-3 power play, Gavin scored from Chris Hedden and Luke Rowe to cut the Griffs lead to 2-1 at 6:37. The Griffs clung to the one-goal lead until late in the third period. With the Falcons on the power play, Air Force pulled the goalie and had a two-man advantage. Shortly after the power play expired, the Falcons still had the extra attacker on the ice and Cosentino scored. Hedden slid to the puck to Cosentino at the bottom of the left circle and his one-timer from a sharp angle tied the game with 41 seconds left.]

In overtime, Air Force had a power play and had a 3-1 shot advantage, but the game went to a shootout.

A pair of saves by Canisius goalie David Fessenden and Guy Blessing led to the final round of the shootout. Cosentino, the third Falcon shooter, skated down the left side, skated across the slot and with the goalie on the ice, went high for a 1-0 lead. Matt Vermeaten was the final Griff shooter and his shot was saved by Blessing for the shootout win.

Canisius (4-7-2, 4-3-1-1 AHA) opened the scoring late in the first period on the rush as Kyle Haskins scored from Erik Urbank on a 3-on-2 at 15:41. The Griffs took a 2-0 lead midway through the second period when Randy Hernandez set up Grant Porter on the back door at 12:46.

Air Force outshot Canisius, 43-19 in the game, The Falcons were 1-for-9 on the power play and killed all five of the Griff opportunities. The Griffs were 0-for-9 on the power play in the series. Blessing made 17 saves and three more in the shootout. Fessenden made 41 for the Griffs.

"We played a fabulous game," head coach Frank Serratore said. "They are a team of opportunists, and their goalie was really good. It didn't feel as good as it should have because we were chasing the scoreboard. We out-shot them and our special teams were better. That second point was gigantic for us. We were the better team tonight and the hockey gods rewarded us with a good, hard-working, honest win. I'm proud of the guys to stick to it for 65 minutes."

Air Force returns home for a two-game league series against Bentley, Dec. 1-2, at the Cadet Ice Arena.
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Team Stats

Chris Hedden

Clayton Cosentino

Will Gavin

Luke Rowe

Players Mentioned

Guy Blessing

Clayton Cosentino

Will Gavin

Chris Hedden

Luke Rowe

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