Saturday, October 10
St. Paul, MN
5:05 pm MT
Air Force Academy
1-1-0
2
at
4
University of St. Thomas
1-1-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| St. Thomas (MN) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Falcons split series at St. Thomas
10/10/2026 9:59:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
ST. PAUL, Minn. – St. Thomas scored two goals in the second period for a 4-2 win over Air Force Saturday, Oct. 10, at Anderson Arena in St. Paul, Minn. St. Thomas was receiving votes in both national polls entering the series.
After a scoreless first period, St. Thomas (0-1-0) opened the scoring 46 seconds into the second period. Mason Poolman took a shot from the right circle that appeared to be saved by Dominik Wasik. However, the puck squeaked through and sat in the blue paint for a second before David Rozsival tapped it in for a 1-0 Tommie lead. Air Force (1-0-0) answered seven minutes later on Oliver Genest's first of the season. Defenseman Ren Morque stick-handled around a Tommie forward and centered the puck to Genest in front at 7:37. Jake Peterson collected his first assist of the season as well. Late in the period, The Tommies tied the game when Chase Cheslock tipped in a centering pass from Kevin Anderson with 22 seconds left in the second period.
Early in the third period, Air Force tied the score on the power play. Senior captain Brendan Gibbons drew a penalty and the Falcons quickly capitalized. After winning the faceoff in the offensive zone, Nolan Cunningham slid the puck to Sam Stitz on the right side. Stitz put it on the tape of Cole Christian on the the goal line and Christian tied the game at 2-2 at 2:47 of the third period. With under six minutes left, the Tommies scored just two seconds after an STU power-play ended. Quinn Rudrud scored from Nathan Pilling with 5:47 left for a 3-2 lead. Air Force pulled the goalie with 2:01 left, but St. Thomas' Lucas Van Vilet scored into the empty net at 18:15.
St. Thomas outshot Air Force, 36-26. Air Force was 1-for-2 on the power play and killed all three of the Tommies power plays. Dominik Wasik made 32 saves for the Falcons while Ajay White made 24 for the Tommies.
"We played hard enough, but I'm not so sure we played very smart," head coach Frank Serratore said. "We need to clean a few things up, but this was just our second game of the year. It takes us some time to become the team that we want to become. Last night, we played with the lead all night. Tonight, we chased the scoreboard. We need to be better connected then we were tonight, and we will get there."
Air Force returns home for a two-game, non-conference series, Thursday-Friday, Oct. 15-16, at Cadet Ice Arena.
--30--
After a scoreless first period, St. Thomas (0-1-0) opened the scoring 46 seconds into the second period. Mason Poolman took a shot from the right circle that appeared to be saved by Dominik Wasik. However, the puck squeaked through and sat in the blue paint for a second before David Rozsival tapped it in for a 1-0 Tommie lead. Air Force (1-0-0) answered seven minutes later on Oliver Genest's first of the season. Defenseman Ren Morque stick-handled around a Tommie forward and centered the puck to Genest in front at 7:37. Jake Peterson collected his first assist of the season as well. Late in the period, The Tommies tied the game when Chase Cheslock tipped in a centering pass from Kevin Anderson with 22 seconds left in the second period.
Early in the third period, Air Force tied the score on the power play. Senior captain Brendan Gibbons drew a penalty and the Falcons quickly capitalized. After winning the faceoff in the offensive zone, Nolan Cunningham slid the puck to Sam Stitz on the right side. Stitz put it on the tape of Cole Christian on the the goal line and Christian tied the game at 2-2 at 2:47 of the third period. With under six minutes left, the Tommies scored just two seconds after an STU power-play ended. Quinn Rudrud scored from Nathan Pilling with 5:47 left for a 3-2 lead. Air Force pulled the goalie with 2:01 left, but St. Thomas' Lucas Van Vilet scored into the empty net at 18:15.
St. Thomas outshot Air Force, 36-26. Air Force was 1-for-2 on the power play and killed all three of the Tommies power plays. Dominik Wasik made 32 saves for the Falcons while Ajay White made 24 for the Tommies.
"We played hard enough, but I'm not so sure we played very smart," head coach Frank Serratore said. "We need to clean a few things up, but this was just our second game of the year. It takes us some time to become the team that we want to become. Last night, we played with the lead all night. Tonight, we chased the scoreboard. We need to be better connected then we were tonight, and we will get there."
Air Force returns home for a two-game, non-conference series, Thursday-Friday, Oct. 15-16, at Cadet Ice Arena.
--30--
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
D
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
D
/ Men's Ice Hockey
D
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
G
/ Men's Ice HockeyTeam Stats
AFA
UST
Shots
26
36
PPG
1
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
4
3
Penalty Mins
8
9
Faceoffs Won
29
31
Game Leaders
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
1
+/-
-2
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
1
Sunday, October 11
Sunday, October 11
Sunday, October 11
Saturday, October 10
