Clafton and Hedden lead Falcons to 4-2 win over Niagara

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Sophomore goalie Carter Clafton made 23 saves in his first career start and Chris Hedden scored two goals in a 4-2 win over Niagara in an Atlantic Hockey America game Saturday, Dec. 7, at the Cadet Ice Arena. Air Force won the series by taking four of the six points and the Falcons have earned conference points in six straight home games.

Air Force (9-10-1, 6-4-0 AHA) Hedden opened the scoring at the 5:38 mark of the first period. A pair of freshmen, Michael Kadlecik and Anthony Yu, assisted on the play as Kadlecik's shot was knocked down but Hedden put back the rebound. In the final 66 seconds of the period, Air Force scored a pair of goals. Austin Schwartz started the rush in his own end and freshman Will Dawson gained the zone on the left wing. Dawson's shot was saved, but Hedden put back the rebound for a 2-0 lead at 18:54. The goal was Hedden's team-leading eighth of the season. With 21 seconds left, Mitchell Digby found Mason McCormick on the right side and McCormick ripped a wrister past Pierce Charleson for his second goal of the season.

Early in the second period, Grayson Dietrich slid a puck toward Clafton, who filled in for the injured Guy Blessing. Before Clafton was able to cover the puck, Purple Eagle Tyler Wallace poked the puck into the net to cut the Falcon lead to 3-1 just 46 seconds into the second. Air Force answered four minutes later on a flurry in front of Charleson. Shots by Hedden and Will Staring were turned away, but Andrew DeCarlo put back a rebound at 4:43 for a 4-1 lead. Midway through the period, a major penalty for boarding was called on NU's Spencer Young for a hit on Hedden. Air Force had 45 seconds of a 5-on-3 inside of the major, but the Purple Eagle penalty kill kept the Falcons off the scoreboard.

The Falcons held the 4-1 lead deep into the third period. Niagara pulled the goalie with 5:07 left in the game. Air Force had several shots at the empty net that led to icings, along with a few blocked shots by the Purple Eagles. With 28 seconds left, Spencer Young redirected a shot by Nathan Oickle to make up the final margin.

Air Force outshot Niagara, 27-25. Each team was 0-for-3 on the power play. Charleson made 23 saves for Niagara.

"I am a very happy guy right now," head coach Frank Serratore said. " This whole weekend was inspiring. Winning this game and winning the series capped it off. We gave the guys some extra rest this week so that we would have bright eyes on Friday and Saturday and that paid off. We had a good, spirited effort all weekend. The first period tonight was our best first period of the season. This was also inspiring for Carter Clafton in his first start he found a way to get it done and his teammates got four goals for him. He beat a good team tonight. I thought we outplayed them tonight and that was equally inspiring. This win will enable us to come back after Christmas with the confidence to take our game to the next level."

Air Force is now off until a two-game conference series at Sacred Heart, Jan. 3-4, in Fairfield, Conn.

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