Falcons fall at No. 20 RIT, 7-3

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – RIT, ranked 20^th in the nation, scored three early goals and defeated Air Force, 7-3, in an Atlantic Hockey game Friday, Feb. 16, at the Gene Polisseni Center in Rochester, N.Y.

RIT (20-9-2, 16-6-1 AHA) lit the lamp early as Tanner Andrew scored from Tyler Mahan on a 2-on-1 just 2:54 into the game. Midway through the period, a five-minute major was called on RIT forward Christian Catalano for a hit on Nate Horn. The Falcons had five shots on goal on the power play, but it was the Tigers that converted twice. RIT won the first faceoff on the power play and cleared the puck. Cody Laskosky collected the puck behind the Falcon net and set up Carter Wilkie in front. Wilkie's short-handed goal gave the home team a 2-0 lead at 11:37. Less than two minutes later, Wilkie broke free on a short-handed breakaway and scored at 13:21. After the goal, Air Force senior Maiszon Balboa replaced Guy Blessing in goal for the Falcons.

Just 21 seconds into the second period, Elijah Gonsalves carried the puck left to right into the slot and gave the Tigers a 4-0 lead. Air Force (15-17-1, 12-10-1 AHA) scored the next two goals. Andrew DeCarlo's shot from the left point was redirected into the goal by Holt Oliphant at 1:15. Initially, the goal was disallowed on the ice. After a coaches' challenge, the call was overturned and the Falcons were on the board. Air Force cut the Tiger lead to 4-2 as freshman Brendan Gibbons took a shot from the bottom of the left circle that deflected off of an RIT player and into the net at 6:24. Gibbons' fifth of the season was assisted by Will Staring and Will Gavin. Late in the period, Laskosky scored on the power play at 14:31 for a 5-2 lead.

Wilkie completed the hat trick with a power play goal at 5:41 as he put back a rebound of Gianfranco Cassero's shot for a 6-2 lead. RIT took a 7-2 lead at 9:06 on a goal by Matthew Wilde. After the goal, freshman goalie Carter Clafton replaced Balboa for his first collegiate game. Air Force scored its third goal of the game at 17:20 after Jasper Lester finished a check and forced a turnover. Austin Schwartz's shot was saved, but Brian Adams sent the puck to Luke Robinson at the center point. Robinson's shot was redirected by Parker Brown at 17:20.

Air Force outshot RIT, 33-29. RIT was 2-for-5 on the power play and AF was 0-for-4. RIT goalie Tommy Scarfone stopped 25 of the 27 shots he faced. Senior Daniel Chenard played the final five minutes in goal for the Tigers and stopped five of the six shots he faced. For Air Force, Blessing made two saves and gave up three goals in 13 minutes. Balboa played the next 36 minutes and stopped 17 of the 21. Clafton played the final 11 minutes and stopped all three shots he faced.

"We haven't had our butts kicked like that for a long time," head coach Frank Serratore said. "That first period was disastrous. They are strong, old and fast and they attack the net. They were a step ahead of us in every area. They beat us in every way shape and form. We haven't been that disconnected in a long time, but RIT had a lot to do with that. This was a 7-3 game and I'm not sure it was that close."

Air Force and RIT conclude the two-game league series Saturday, Feb. 17, at 5:05 pm ET in Rochester, N.Y.

--30--

Footer

The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the u.s air force of non-u.s. government sites or the information, products, or services contained therein. Although the u.s. air force may or may not use these sites as additional distribution channels for department of defense information, it does not exercise editorial control over all of the information that you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this website.

Next Event

Team Stats

Holt Oliphant

Brendan Gibbons

Parker Brown

Will Staring

Players Mentioned

Brian Adams

Maiszon Balboa

Guy Blessing

Parker Brown

Carter Clafton

Andrew DeCarlo

Will Gavin

Brendan Gibbons

Nate Horn

Jasper Lester

Holt Oliphant

Luke Robinson

Austin Schwartz

Will Staring

Footer