The late show turned into the really late show.
In a non-conference game that took nearly three hours and didn’t start until after 9 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time, No. 17 Air Force tied Alaska, 1-1, for NCAA purposes. The Nanooks scored in the second, 3-on-3 overtime to “win” at Fairbanks. The second overtime (and shootout if needed) is a rule in the WCHA, of what Alaska is a member.
Steven Jandric scored with 1:26 to play in the 3-on-3 overtime for the Nanooks (0-1-1).
The chippy, disjointed game included several long delays while officials debated goals, penalties and who knows what else. It also featured 12 penalties, including a major, one night after the teams combined for 13 calls.
Billy Christopoulos
Billy Christopoulos was sharp in net for the Falcons (1-0-1) for the second night in a row, making 25 saves. The junior allowed just three regulation goals in the series, an outcome the Falcons would take every weekend.
“Fairbanks came hard. They had us on our heels for a bit,” AFA coach Frank Serratore said. “First and foremost we found a way to get three points up here. This is the way you want to start out, coming up to a tough road building. We would have taken that going into the weekend.”
Overall it was a bit of an un-Air Force-like performance – outshot (31-27) and full of penalties (12) and relative struggles in the face-off circle.
Falcons defenseman Dan Bailey scored the equalizer 3:32 into the third period, shortly after leaving the penalty box. Trevor Stone patiently held the puck as the interference penalty expired and found Bailey behind the Nanooks defense. Bailey deposited the puck under Anton Martinsson (23 saves).
From there, the game featured a bit more flow, with the teams trading surges.
The turning point
The Falcons caught a huge break midway through the second period when an apparent goal by Jandric was waved off because of goaltender interference after a lengthy discussion between the officials.
The Nanooks took their first lead of the weekend late in the first period after Falcons defenseman Joe Tryan, making his NCAA debut after missing all of last season because of a torn ACL, was given a 5-minute major penalty for boarding. The call came after another lengthy discussion by the men in stripes.
Alaska captain Justin Woods fired a point shot past a screened Christopoulos 2:17 into the major penalty. All three regulation goals by the Nanooks were scored by defensemen on the weekend.
It was the only power-play goal allowed by the Falcons in 14 penalty kills over the weekend – seven both nights.
“What did we kill, 17 minutes of penalties? (19) That’s almost a full period,” Serratore said. “The things we need to do to be a better team, we have control over. We persevered tonight. I thought we turned the momentum on (Bailey’s) goal. They didn’t get anything we didn’t give them.”
Lineup shuffle
Injuries to Matt Serratore (neck), Evan Feno (knee) and Pierce Pluemer (hip) necessitated freshmen forwards Marshall Bowery and Walker Sommer making their NCAA debuts. Serratore made the trip and skated with his teammates but also did not play Friday. Feno and Pluemer sustained their injuries during the Falcons’ 3-2 win Friday.
The defense also was shuffled. Tyran and freshman Zack Mirageas made their NCAA debuts. Tryan was paired with Bailey, while Mirageas was with Matt Koch. Seniors Kyle Mackey and Jonathan Kopacka sat out.
AFA’s three stars
- Billy Christopoulos. Let there be no question who the Falcons’ netminder is. He made 25 saves including one on a breakaway off a turnover with 24 seconds left in regulation.
- Dan Bailey. The D-man scored the Falcons’ only goal off a stretch pass from Trevor Stone right after a PK ended.
- Erik Baskin. The senior winger drew at least two penalties and sacrificed his body in shooting lanes all game.
Up next
It’s alumni weekend at Cadet Arena as the Falcons play host to Arizona State, which split a home series with UMass-Amherst, next Friday and Saturday.
Coming on AFAFlightPath.com
Weekend rewind and scouting Arizona State – The Flight Path examines keys from the Falcons’ opening weekend and looks ahead to their next non-conference series.
Follow @AFAFlightPath on Twitter for Air Force hockey updates
