Air Force surged past one of its closest pursuers in Atlantic Hockey, Robert Morris, on Friday, then did everything but score in the rematch Saturday. Still, the Falcons maintained their slim hold on first in AHC.
Here are the pluses and minuses as well as three stars from the series:
Plus
After a one-point weekend vs. Canisius at home, thanks to running into a hot goalie, the Falcons faced another of the nation’s top goalies, statistically speaking. Any fears of the offense tanking were quickly put to rest by A.J. Reid and Jordan Himley in the first period Friday, and after the Colonials pulled to a goal, co-captain Dylan Abood ended goalie Francis Marotte‘s night roughly 3 minutes later. The Falcons put the game away with a three-goal third-period surge.
Minus
The offense went the opposite direction against Marotte on Saturday, scoring just once on only 23 shots.
Plus
The Falcons got good goaltending both nights. Shane Starrett stopped 34 shots on Friday, and Billy Christopoulos made 23 saves and kept the Falcons in it on Saturday.
Minus
Christopoulos can’t catch a break. The Falcons rarely score much when he starts, yet he boasts a 2.79 GAA and .901 save percentage.
Plus
The Falcons continue to show incredible scoring balance. Seven players scored their seven goals over the weekend. Six players had multi-point weekends.
Minus
The usually reliable penalty kill gave up a goal each night in a total of six chances. It was only the fourth series all season in which the Falcons allowed two power-play goals and only the second in which it allowed one in each game.
Three stars
- Line of A.J. Reid (1-1), Trevor Stone (0-2) and Tyler Ledford (1-2) combined for seven points over the two games and scored the Falcons’ first goal Friday and only goal Saturday.
- Brady Tomlak. The freshman’s three-point night Friday included setting up what proved to be the tying and winning goals and scoring an insurance marker midway through the third period.
- Shane Starrett. Robert Morris didn’t go quietly Friday, and he made 28 saves in the first and second periods, when the outcome was very much in question.
Honorable mention: Tyler Rostenkowski. The reliable senior had his second two-point game of the season on Friday.
