Suppose you generated twice as many shots as your opponent, your goalie stopped nearly 95 percent of the shots he faced and you won more than 62 percent of all face-offs.
Easy win, right?
Not so fast. Despite Air Force’s statistical dominance, Mercyhurst had the edge in the one category that mattered, taking a 1-0 Atlantic Hockey Conference victory at Cadet Arena on Friday night.
“We’re frustrated. Obviously it just wasn’t our night. We had our chances, didn’t we?” assistant captain Tyler Ledford said. “I’ll give it to them, they blocked a lot of shots. Their goalie played well, they played really good team defense.”
Brandon Wildung pitched his second shutout of the season for the Lakers (8-9-2, 5-6-2 AHC), making 33 saves.
The Falcons (8-10-3, 3-8-2 AHC) fired 76 combined shots on net, but Mercyhurst blocked 23 of them. Eighteen more were off target, and two hit pipes, including one late by Air Force freshman Marshall Bowery. Mercyhurst had a total of 37 shots, only 19 on goal after averaging nearly 35 on goal coming into the game.
“We just needed to get a bounce,” Falcons coach Frank Serratore said. “Their goal was an odd play. They dumped it in and (Alex) Mehnert stopped it just enough for their guy (defenseman Joseph Duszak) to step into it.
“The remainder of the game we were on the attack. They like to pack it in and we did a good job moving the puck low to high.”
Duszak’s goal came just 4:39 into the game and was on the second Lakers shot on goal. And that was all they got against Billy Christopoulos (18 saves).
“”That one lucky break and a good shot, I’ll give it to them,” Ledford said. “Our penalty kill looked a lot better today. Billy played really well. We didn’t have to play too much defense because we were on offense the whole game.”
The Falcons killed off both Lakers penalties but couldn’t capitalize their five man advantages, including consecutive ones midway through the third period.
So the Falcons head into the rematch a bit ticked but certainly not discouraged.
“We have to find a way to score. It just wasn’t our night,” Ledford said. “If we do the same thing tomorrow there’s no doubt we’ll score some goals. If we keep going it will fall into place for us.”
The unwelcome guest returns
Apparently Air Force didn’t get all of its injuries out of the way in the first half. The bug has moved from center (where the top four all were out at one point and Swiss-Army knife Evan Feno is rehabbing a season-ending knee injury) to defense.
This time it’s claimed the top-two-scoring blue liners.
Senior assistant captain Phil Boje missed his first game of the season because of an upper body injury sustained late in last Saturday’s loss at Denver. Boje has 10 points and lead the nation in blocked shots with 53 coming into the game.
Midway through the first period Friday, junior Matt Koch, the team’s top-scoring D-man with 11 points, left favoring a leg. He returned for the second period but seemed slow. After the game Serratore confirmed he has a lower-body injury and likely will miss Saturday’s game as well.
“Those two and Dylan Abood, that’s our top three defensemen,” the coach said. “Injuries won’t leave us alone. Our next guy has to step up.
As it was, the Falcons dressed three freshmen defensemen – Jake Levin, Zack Mirageas and Mehnert. Veterans Dan Bailey and Joe Tyran are candidates to return to the lineup.
Finishing move
Matt Serratore‘s cross-checking penalty behind the Mercyhurst net as time expired will end up costing him a game. He was assessed a major and a game disqualification, meaning one of the Falcons’ best players will miss Saturday’s game as well.
Air Force’s three stars
- Billy Christopoulos. The junior played well enough to win, stopping 18 of 19 shots in his direction.
- Tyler Ledford. The senior initiated plenty of chances by carrying the puck into the Lakers zone and finding teammates once in it. He also won 75 percent of his face-offs (9 of 12)
- Dylan Abood. The Falcons’ defense was in lockdown mode and he hustled to retrieve pucks in every zone all game.
Up next
The teams face off again Saturday at 5:05 p.m. AM 1300 will carry the broadcast.
Copyright First Line Editorial 2017-18
