Air Force faced a crossroads on Saturday night. Down 3-1 to a Holy Cross team that had shut them out the previous night, the Falcons had a decision to make – sit down or stand up and be counted.

The Falcons (5-5-2, 1-4-1 Atlantic Hockey) chose the latter, scoring the game’s final two goals in the final 24:17 of regulation, including the tying goal by freshman Jake Levin, who was making his NCAA debut to emerge with a 3-3 tie and their first point in five games.

The goal was Levin’s of the game – he also scored 9:36 to give Air Force its first lead in five games.

“How bad of a coach am I?” Falcons coach Frank Serratore quipped afterward on AM 1300. “I took until the 12th game to get him in.”

Levin was one of 11 underclassmen among the 18 skaters and three goalies who dressed for the injury-depleted Falcons, and he made the most of his opportunity.

The Crusaders (4-2-4, 3-1-4 AHC) evened things up a little more than 4 minutes after Levin’s first goal when Ryan Ferrill struck. They took the lead with 2:53 to go in the first on the first of Scott Pooley‘s two goals. Pooley’s second strike came 5:41 into the second and gave him 10 on the season.

From the midpoint of that period forward, the Falcons largely carried the play, and junior Matt Serratore got them within one when he tallied with 4:17 to go, his fifth of the season, in the second off Evan Giesler‘s second primary assist of the game.

“We finally quit feeling sorry for ourselves,” Frank Serratore said. “We took control of our own fate and destiny.”

Holy Cross re-asserted itself in the first five minutes of the third period, outshooting the Falcons 7-1 to begin the frame. But Levin struck again off a pass from Jordan Himley to tie the score. From then on, Air Force controlled things.

“We were all over them,” Serratore said. “We had a lot of spectators up to that point. Billy (Christopoulos, who made 28 saves) mad a couple of huge saves.

“I like how we competed. Everyone contributed.”

Notable

Defenseman Joe Tryan moved up to play wing for the Falcons and played quite well in place of Trevor Stone, who sustained an upper-body injury Friday. … Giesler and Himley swapped lines for much of the latter half of the game. Giesler played with Serratore and Brady Tomlak, while Himley was with Matt Pulver and Erik Baskin. … The Falcons dominated in the face-off circle, winning 40 of 71 draws (56 percent). Tomlak won 12 of 18 he took (67 percent). … No injury updates were available, though it is believed senior defenseman Dylan Abood has a chance of playing next weekend.

Air Force’s three stars

1. Jake Levin. First NCAA game. Two goals and solid play from the blue line. He possesses a potent shot.
2. Matt Serratore. The junior’s team-high sixth goal sparked the Falcons’ rally, and as usual he was good in all three zones.
3. Phil Boje. The senior drew assists on the first two AFA goals and was strong all game.

Up next

The Falcons play host to surging RIT, which swept Robert Morris this weekend and has won five of its past six games, at Cadet Arena next Friday and Saturday. Both games start at 7:05 p.m.

Follow @AFAFlightPath on Twitter for Air Force hockey updates.

Copyright First Line Editorial 2017