Air Force beat Army, 7-6, in wild one at Tate Rink
1/20/2024 7:21:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
WEST POINT, N.Y. – In a wild game at Tate Rink in West Point, Air Force earned a series sweep of the Black Knights with a 7-6 victory in an Atlantic Hockey game Saturday, Jan. 20.
The win marks the first time Air Force has ever beaten Army four times in the regular season in the 46-year history of the series. The win is also the 500th career win for head coach Frank Serratore. He is the 16th coach in the history of NCAA Division I hockey, and just the fourth active coach, to reach the milestone. Air Force has won five of the last six games and has scored six or more goals in four of the last five games. The Falcons had scored 26 goals in the first 10 conference games and 32 in the last six AHA games.
Air Force (13-12-10-5-1 AHA) had a 5-0 lead in the second period and a 6-2 lead in the third before Army rallied back. The Black Knights (7-17-1, 5-12-1 AHA) scored three unanswered goals in the third period to cut the Falcon lead to 6-5 with under four minutes left. Army pulled the goalie with 1:25 left and Holt Oliphant scored an empty-netter for a 7-5 lead with 1:09 left. Army pulled the goalie again and scored with 39 seconds left for a 7-6 lead. Army pulled the goalie again and Blessing made one save as the game came to end.
In the first four minutes of the game, Army just missed on a 2-on-1 and then Guy Blessing made a right pad save on a breakaway by Army forward Barron Woodring to keep the game scoreless. Air Force took the early lead after Will Gavin forced a turnover behind the Army net. Gavin set up Will Staring in the left circle and Staring scored his first career goal at 5:51. After a major penalty on Army's Jake Felker, Air Force took a 2-0 lead. On the ensuing faceoff, Clayton Cosentino won the faceoff and it took the Falcons just 14 seconds to capitalize. Cosentino redirected Gavin's shot at 11:55 for a 2-0 lead. Luke Rowe also assisted on the play. Then just after Air Force killed an Army power play, Rowe came out of the box and collected the loose puck in the neutral zone. On a 2-on-1, Rowe set up Austin Schwartz for a 3-0 lead at 17:56.
Brendan Gibbons gave the Falcons a 4-0 lead from Hedden and Brian Adams at 2:21 of the second period. After Oliphant drew a penalty on a short-handed breakaway, the Falcons took a 5-0 lead. Luke Rowe retrieved a puck in his own end and Hedden made a long outlet pass to Oliphant for the breakaway goal at 8:49 of the second. Army rallied with two goals in a span of 65 seconds as Mac Gadowski and Joey Baez scored. Army continued to pressure the Falcons and Guy Blessing made several saves. After a flurry in front of Blessing, Hedden sent the puck up ice to Cosentino for a breakaway. Cosentino netted his second goal of the game with 1:00 left in the period. Cosentino matched his career high with two goals as he also potted a pair against Army back at Cadet Ice Arena on Nov. 11.
Army cut the AF lead to 6-3 midway through the third period when Andrew Garby scored on the rush at 7:10. Army's Michael Sacco scored on the power play at 14:06 and then Max Itagaki scored just after another power play expired at 16:10 to cut the Falcon lead to 6-5. With the Army goalie off the ice, Cosentino won a faceoff in his own end and Hedden touched the puck to Oliphant. Oliphant's shot from deep in his own end found the empty net with 69 seconds left. Lyle's extra attacker goal with 39 seconds left made up the final margin.
Hedden had a career-high four assists in the game. Cosentino matched his career high with three points (1-2-3). Rowe matched his career high with three assists.
Army outshot Air Force, 37-35. AF was 2-for-4 on the power play and Army was 1-for-5. Blessing made 31 saves for the Falcons. Army junior Evan Szary started and made 13 saves while allowing five goals in 29 minutes. Gavin Abric finished the game for Army, stopping 15 of 16.
"This is a game that anyone that was here will never forget," head coach Frank Serratore said. "I'm proud of our guys for persevering and getting this win. But we need to work on our style points. I'm proud of our guys and I'm proud of that Army team too. We know service academy teams never quit and that team had a lot of fight in them. As hard-fought as that series was, there is a lot of respect in both of those locker rooms. We are on a roll right now and we just need to stay on track."
Air Force returns home for a two-game series against Canisius, Friday-Saturday, Jan. 26-27, at Cadet Ice Arena.
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The win marks the first time Air Force has ever beaten Army four times in the regular season in the 46-year history of the series. The win is also the 500th career win for head coach Frank Serratore. He is the 16th coach in the history of NCAA Division I hockey, and just the fourth active coach, to reach the milestone. Air Force has won five of the last six games and has scored six or more goals in four of the last five games. The Falcons had scored 26 goals in the first 10 conference games and 32 in the last six AHA games.
Air Force (13-12-10-5-1 AHA) had a 5-0 lead in the second period and a 6-2 lead in the third before Army rallied back. The Black Knights (7-17-1, 5-12-1 AHA) scored three unanswered goals in the third period to cut the Falcon lead to 6-5 with under four minutes left. Army pulled the goalie with 1:25 left and Holt Oliphant scored an empty-netter for a 7-5 lead with 1:09 left. Army pulled the goalie again and scored with 39 seconds left for a 7-6 lead. Army pulled the goalie again and Blessing made one save as the game came to end.
In the first four minutes of the game, Army just missed on a 2-on-1 and then Guy Blessing made a right pad save on a breakaway by Army forward Barron Woodring to keep the game scoreless. Air Force took the early lead after Will Gavin forced a turnover behind the Army net. Gavin set up Will Staring in the left circle and Staring scored his first career goal at 5:51. After a major penalty on Army's Jake Felker, Air Force took a 2-0 lead. On the ensuing faceoff, Clayton Cosentino won the faceoff and it took the Falcons just 14 seconds to capitalize. Cosentino redirected Gavin's shot at 11:55 for a 2-0 lead. Luke Rowe also assisted on the play. Then just after Air Force killed an Army power play, Rowe came out of the box and collected the loose puck in the neutral zone. On a 2-on-1, Rowe set up Austin Schwartz for a 3-0 lead at 17:56.
Brendan Gibbons gave the Falcons a 4-0 lead from Hedden and Brian Adams at 2:21 of the second period. After Oliphant drew a penalty on a short-handed breakaway, the Falcons took a 5-0 lead. Luke Rowe retrieved a puck in his own end and Hedden made a long outlet pass to Oliphant for the breakaway goal at 8:49 of the second. Army rallied with two goals in a span of 65 seconds as Mac Gadowski and Joey Baez scored. Army continued to pressure the Falcons and Guy Blessing made several saves. After a flurry in front of Blessing, Hedden sent the puck up ice to Cosentino for a breakaway. Cosentino netted his second goal of the game with 1:00 left in the period. Cosentino matched his career high with two goals as he also potted a pair against Army back at Cadet Ice Arena on Nov. 11.
Army cut the AF lead to 6-3 midway through the third period when Andrew Garby scored on the rush at 7:10. Army's Michael Sacco scored on the power play at 14:06 and then Max Itagaki scored just after another power play expired at 16:10 to cut the Falcon lead to 6-5. With the Army goalie off the ice, Cosentino won a faceoff in his own end and Hedden touched the puck to Oliphant. Oliphant's shot from deep in his own end found the empty net with 69 seconds left. Lyle's extra attacker goal with 39 seconds left made up the final margin.
Hedden had a career-high four assists in the game. Cosentino matched his career high with three points (1-2-3). Rowe matched his career high with three assists.
Army outshot Air Force, 37-35. AF was 2-for-4 on the power play and Army was 1-for-5. Blessing made 31 saves for the Falcons. Army junior Evan Szary started and made 13 saves while allowing five goals in 29 minutes. Gavin Abric finished the game for Army, stopping 15 of 16.
"This is a game that anyone that was here will never forget," head coach Frank Serratore said. "I'm proud of our guys for persevering and getting this win. But we need to work on our style points. I'm proud of our guys and I'm proud of that Army team too. We know service academy teams never quit and that team had a lot of fight in them. As hard-fought as that series was, there is a lot of respect in both of those locker rooms. We are on a roll right now and we just need to stay on track."
Air Force returns home for a two-game series against Canisius, Friday-Saturday, Jan. 26-27, at Cadet Ice Arena.
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