This is a resilient Air Force hockey team.
Coming off a disappointing one-point weekend at home in which they outshot Canisius by more than a 2-1 margin and facing another formidable Atlantic Hockey foe on the road, the Falcons turned in one of their more complete offensive performances of the season, drilling Robert Morris, 6-2, on Friday night in Pittsburgh.
Six players scored goals for Air Force (14-7-4, 11-4-2 AHC), which tied its season-high goal output. In the process, the Falcons chased hotshot freshman goaltender Francis Marotte, who had the second-highest save percentage (.943) and fifth-best goals-against average (1.86) in Division I hockey coming into the game.
A.J. Reid and Jordan Himley staked Air Force to a 2-0 lead in the first period. Himley’s goal was his team-high 13th and fourth in five games, while Reid hit the scoresheet for the third time in six games.
Robert Morris (13-7-3, 9-6-2) halved the lead on Daniel Leavens’ goal 49 seconds into the second, but co-captain Dylan Abood restored the two-goal lead 2:50 later, ending Marotte’s night after he made just 12 saves on 15 shots.
The Colonials’ top-20 power play again cut the lead to one five minutes later when Luke Lynch struck at 8:22.
The Falcons took over from there, tallying three times in the third – Evan Feno’s power-play strike preceding goals by freshmen Brady Tomlak and Pierce Pluemer. The last two goals capped three-point nights for Tomlak, who assisted on Himley’s and Abood’s goals, and Pluemer, who helped set up Himley’s and Tomlak’s goals.
Tyler Rostenkowski and Tyler Ledford also added two assists apiece.
Shane Starrett made 33 saves for Air Force, which was outshot 35-31.
The Falcons retained their one-poing lead over Army West Point, next weekend’s opponent at Cadet Arena, with the victory. They also put some space between themselves and Robert Morris, which is in a tie four points back.