Air Force is on the runway for another big second half run.
The Falcons’ sweep at RIT over the weekend gave them a season-high three wins a row and victories in four of their six games since the Christmas break.
They jumped a spot in the Atlantic Hockey standings (to ninth) and sit just four points out of fourth place with last-place Sacred Heart coming to Cadet Arena this coming weekend. The Falcons also jumped back above the .500 mark, a place they had resided until a pre-break sweep at the hands of Niagara (next weekend’s opponent and one of the AHC leaders).
Second-half surges are nothing new for this group of juniors and seniors. Last season, the Falcons had win streaks of six, five and five and an unbeaten streak of 10 down the stretch. They earned points in their final 15 games before taking on Harvard in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, where they nearly rallied from a three-goal deficit before falling 3-2.
Another big move within the standings, and the carrot of improved playoff seeding – at the very least a first-round home series – is there if they can sustain their play of the past two weekends.
Reason No. 1
… For the ascendent play is No. 44 in your program.
Junior goaltender Billy Christopoulos has been spectacular of late. Of all the Falcons rejuvenated by the break, he’s come back as strong as anyone. Consider he stopped 25 of 28 shots vs. Colorado College and made 30 of 34 saves vs. Denver before going on a run of allowing a total of three goals in four games, capped by his first career shutout in Saturday’s 4-0 victory at RIT. Put another way, he has stopped 96 of 99 shots on goal the past two weekends.
It would be a major upset if he’s not AHC’s Player of the Week after stopping 54 of 55 shots in two wins at Rochester, N.Y.
His save percentage has risen to .911 and his goals-against average has fallen to 2.47 on the season.
Strong goaltending always has been a hallmark of successful Falcons teams, and there is no question they’ve got it again this season with Christopoulos.
On the other hand
The injury bug has descended again like a swarm on the Falcons. While the amount and magnitude of injuries is a concern, it does make their recent run all the more impressive.
Consider, two of the top three defensemen, Phil Boje (upper body) and Matt Koch (knee) have missed the past four and three games, respectively. Two of the top four highest-scoring forwards – Jordan Himley and Tyler Ledford – missed Saturday’s game due to injuries sustained Friday. Himley was “tripped” with a knee-on-knee hit during the second period of that 2-1 win. Ledford (undisclosed) left in the third period.
The Falcons had to do without Ledford and fellow center Kyle Haak for nine games apiece in the first half due to knee injuries. Captain Dylan Abood has missed eight games, center Brady Tomlak was out for six games and left wing Matt Serratore has missed five games. Add to that forwards Evan Feno (knee), Max Harper (abdomen) and Shawn Knowlton (shoulder) have missed all or nearly all of the season due to season-ending injuries, and it’s a wonder AFA is even within striking distance of a home AHC playoff series.
Planning pays off
It’s not as if the coaching staff saw this coming, but they were determined to have more depth this season, and it’s safe to say that and the Falcons’ ability to adapt to all of the injuries have saved the campaign.
Younger players are contributing more and more since the break. Freshman Marshall Bowery had two goals on Saturday, fellow forward Trevor Stone, a sophomore, has one in each of the past two weekends. Another sophomore, Pierce Pluemer, had a goal last weekend and has played better of late. Freshmen defensemen Alex Mehnert and Jake Levin have joined classmate Zack Mirageas in the lineup and on the scoresheet from time to time and have not looked out of place.
It’s going to be an interesting ride for the Falcons the rest of the way, but if they can keep their momentum going and get a lot of three- and four-point weekends in the next month, they will be right back in the AHC mix.
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