Some one-goal games make you cringe, while others are cause for some degree of celebration.

If Friday’s win vs. Arizona State was the former, Saturday’s 3-2 triumph at Cadet Arena was the latter for No. 19 Air Force.

The Falcons played a gritty and simplified game, overcame two disallowed goals and got key contributions from unexpected sources as well as a few usual suspects.

“It’s probably the most complete game we’ve played all year,” said assistant captain Erik Baskin, who got the Falcons on the board just 1:08 into the game when Tyler Ledford found him with a cross-ice pass on a power play. “As a group we’re pretty happy. … Definitely a different feeling going down the stretch with the lead tonight. Last night was just holding on for dear life, tonight we felt more in control out there.”

Matt Koch channeled his inner Bobby Orr to score off a rush with 2:16 to play in the second period, and that held up as the difference as the Falcons improved to 3-0-1.

It capped a second period full of peaks and valleys for Air Force, which had given up a dreaded last-minute goal in the first period to ASU’s Jack Rowe to fall behind 2-1. The Sun Devils (1-3) had answered Baskin’s goal with one by Jake Clifford two minutes later.

Freshman Max Harper, skating in his first NCAA game, drove hard to the net and scored an apparent tying goal 4:52 into the second period only to see it disallowed after a lengthy review because of an apparent offsides.

“(There was a) little bit of disappointment because it was his first game and he worked so hard and we really wanted him to get it,” assistant captain Phil Boje said. “We knew we were going to come back stronger and get another one because we had the momentum going and the guys were buzzing.”

The Falcons regrouped, and four minutes later Harper gained control of the puck below the Sun Devils goal line and found linemate Pierce Pluemer alone in the slot. The sophomore wasted no time roofing a shot over ASU netminder Joey Daccord (31 saves).

The fourth line provided a spark, but the Falcons were determined not to let a matter out of their control spoil alumni weekend, Baskin said.

“It’s a game of momentum. We got that second goal, they called it off. We got together on the bench and said it doesn’t matter, keep going,” the senior forward said. “And then we got the next one.

“That Harper line was unbelievable all night. Those guys set the tone for the whole team, Harper, Pluemer, (Erich) Jaeger, just a big, hard-working line. They were after it all night, they were unbelievable.”

Harper rotated into a spot fellow freshman Walker Sommer had manned the previous two games. He likely earned another look.

“Outstanding. I loved his game,” Falcons coach Frank Serratore said. “I thought, ‘Give him a shot.’ He hadn’t separated himself in practice, but he separated himself in the game.”

Another key juncture came shortly after Pluemer’s goal, when the Falcons had to kill of consecutive penalties. Boje was at his best, blocking four shots on one kill alone.

Those kills (the Falcons went 3 for 3 in that department) sparked another surge, and the winning goal came when Koch took an outlet pass from Zack Mirageas and motored down the left wing with the puck and went upstairs again on Daccord.

Daccord’s counterpart, Billy Christopoulos again was solid, making 26 saves and stopping a shorthanded breakaway while the Falcons were on a 5-minute power play after ASU’s Tyler Busch clotheslined Trevor Stone with 5:31 to play.

The Falcons executed their game plan, Boje said, and that was the difference.

“We definitely want to simplify things,” the senior said. “We knew we had the legs. We had to focus on our fundamentals, getting pucks deep. We knew they didn’t want to play in their D zone so just getting ’em deep and tiring ’em out. Good changes, not turning pucks over in bad areas.”

It worked to a three – three periods of that plus three goals added up to a third win in four games.

Lineup changes, injury notes

In addition to Harper, the defense was shuffled. Senior Kyle Mackey and sophomore Joe Tyran returned to the lineup, while senior Jonathan Kopacka and junior Dan Bailey sat. The additions split the pair of Boje and Dylan Abood. Koch and Mirageas remained together. … Mackey sustained an undisclosed injury late in the second period and did not return. … Serratore told me earlier in the day he is in concussion protocol with no indication of how long it will last. He said he made progress this week after what initially was diagnosed as a neck injury was determined to be a concussion.

Air Force’s three stars

1. Phil Boje. The defenseman was everywhere, blocking at least eight shots by my count, clearing pucks, bodies and anything else that ventured into the Falcons’ zone.
2. Erik Baskin. Strong on the puck all night, his early power-play goal helped jump start AFA.
3. Max Harper. The freshman had a goal disallowed and made a nice pass to set up linemate Pierce Pluemer’s goal in his debut.

Up next

The Falcons travel to Bemidji State next weekend. The Beavers, coached by Tom Serratore – father of Falcons forward Matt and brother of coach Frank, defeated Minnesota-Duluth, 5-2, on Friday and tied the national runner-up from a season ago 0-0 on Saturday.

The last word

“We could feel good about this one,” Boje said. “We played a lot harder and a lot smarter tonight. We didn’t drop a bomb in the third period like we did last night and kind of squeak out a win. We definitely feel better.”