Brady Tomlak broke a 2-2 tie early in the third period, Billy Christopoulos made 32 saves and No. 17 Air Force edged Alaska, 3-2, for its first ever victory at Fairbanks on Friday night.
The Falcons took a 2-0 lead on power-play goals by defenseman Matt Koch in the first period and forward Erik Baskin early in the second before the Nanooks scored midway through the period and again 11 seconds in the third period.
“We found a way to win despite adversity,” Falcons coach Frank Serratore said. “When you find a way to overcome those situations, it builds confidence. Fairbanks was given every opportunity to get back in the game – our guys rose to the challenge, killing those penalties.
“In my tenure – 21 years – we’ve never beaten an Alaska team up here. We found a way to get it done.”
Air Force, which led Division I in penalty killing last season, was a perfect 7-for-7 on the kill Friday, including two in the final 6:12 of the game.
Christopoulos was superlative in a back-and-forth game that featured a surprising amount of defensive breakdowns by both teams, which each has a cadre of blue-line veterans. His counterpart, Alaska’s Anton Martinsson, made 23 saves in his college debut.
“We needed some saves and we got ’em,” Serratore said. “Bill played a very, very good game for us tonight. Obviously that’s very, very encouraging.”
Falcons start fast
Koch got the Falcons on the board 7:31 into the game when he finished a nice give-and-go with fellow defenseman Jonathan Kopacka.
Air Force’s power play struck again early in the second period, when Tyler Ledford threaded a seeing-eye pass through a group of Nanooks defenders to a wide-open Baskin, who made it 2-0 3:32 in.
Alaska began to pick up steam a few minutes later, and after a power play spent largely in the Falcons’ end had just expired, defenseman Tristan Thompson wired a shot from the blue line to dent Christopoulos. The Nanooks carried the play until roughly the last five minutes of the period.
“It was embarrassing how many puck battles we lost in the second period because we weren’t willing to engage,” Serratore said.
After Air Force had settled things, the Nanooks struck 11 seconds into the third when an Air Force drop pass was deflected right to Alaska’s Zach Frye, who beat Christopoulos on a breakaway. The Falcons regrouped, and Tomlak capitalized on a feed from Evan Giesler.
“They had expended a lot of energy getting back into it,” Serratore said. “Then I thought we took the game over.”
Injury updates
Junior wing Matt Serratore sustained a neck injury during Monday’s exhibition vs. Lethbridge and did not play. Sophomore Erich Jaeger replaced him in the lineup and skated with Matt Pulver and Trevor Stone. Evan Feno moved up to the line with Tyler Ledford and Erik Baskin.
Feno left the bench late in the first period after being hauled down on a shorthanded breakaway, drawing a penalty. The junior returned for the start of the second period.
Three Stars
1 – Billy Christopoulos. He got the opportunity to make the starting job in net his, and made a strong, strong case for it with 32 saves, many of them timely.
2 – Brady Tomlak. His strong exhibition game was followed up with a goal and an assist. He also won 10 of 14 face-offs.
3 – Matt Koch. His give-and-go goal got the Falcons on the board first, which is crucial on the road, and he got the puck to Tyler Ledford on Erik Baskin’s goal.
Round 2
The teams play again Saturday night at 9:07 p.m. MDT. XTRA Sports (1300 AM) will have the game.
