Facing breakaways and odd-man rushes galore, Billy Christopoulos stood tall, stopping all 29 shots he faced to carry Air Force to a crucial 1-0 Atlantic Hockey Conference victory against Robert Morris at Pittsburgh, Pa.

The shutout was Christopoulos’ third of the season, and it ensured the Falcons (18-13-4, 13-11-3 AHC) a first-round bye in the league playoffs. If Air Force wins, it can leap frog Holy Cross for third place. There are several scenarios in which the Falcons can finish fourth, which also would guarantee they play host to a quarterfinal series.

“Billy was great,” Falcons coach Frank Serratore said. “If he hasn’t locked up an all-conference selection, there needs to be an investigation.”

Senior Erik Baskin scored his team-high 14th goal 4 minutes into the first period off a rush. Freshman defenseman Zack Mirageas gathered the puck in his zone and got it to Tyler Ledford, who carried into the Colonials zone. Ledford passed back to Mirageas on the left wing, and Mirageas found Baskin skating into the right circle, and Baskin wasted no time snapping it past Francis Marotte (22 saves).

The goal gave Baskin five points in the past three games and seven in five.

That Christopoulos was often under seige, including five breakaways – three while RMU (13-18-2, 12-13-2 AHC) was shorthanded – irritated Serratore.

“Five breakaways, that’s unacceptable,” the coach said. “We have to fix this and fix it in a hurry. Then you have all the penalties. This was a very lucky night.

“Tomorrow we have to play better. We can’t go into playoffs playing like this.”

Each team had to kill off a 5-minute major – Air Force in the first period after Mirageas took a hit to the head penalty, and RMU in the second when Timmy Moore took a major for spearing. Neither team generated many chances, though the Colonials had a handful of shorthanded breakaways courtesy of leading scorer Brady Ferguson.

Both players drew game misconducts, not game disqualifications, an important distinction because it means both are eligible to play Saturday.

The Falcons also lost forward Evan Giesler to a shoulder injury. He won’t play Saturday, Serratore said.

Notable

Junior center Kyle Haak returned to the lineup after missing the past five games because of a concussion. Haak previously missed the final nine games of the first half because of a knee injury. … In addition to the shots on goal edge, the Colonials got the better of the Falcons in face-offs (32-22) and blocked shots (17-11).

Air Force’s three stars

1. Billy Christopoulos. The junior played the game of his career thus far, stopping all 29 shots on his goal, including four breakaways, to give the Falcons a chance at a first-round AHC playoffs bye.
2. Erik Baskin. The senior scored his team- and career-high 14th goal on a nice strike off a rush early in the first period.
3. Kyle Haak. The junior center returned after missing five games due to injury and won nine face-offs and blocked two shots, including a big one when RMU pulled its goalie in the final minute.

Up next

The teams close out the series – the regular season – on Saturday at 5:05 p.m. MST