Whether it was a week off, the return of a couple of key players, a re-commitment to playing with more fire or a combination of those factors, Air Force rediscovered its game Friday night in a 3-1 Atlantic Hockey Conference victory against RIT.

Two players who returned from injury, center Evan Feno and goaltender Billy Christopoulos, played key roles in the triumph at Rochester, N.Y.

Feno scored the go-ahead goal 7:09 into the third period after missing three games, and Christopoulos made 18 saves after missing four games as Air Force (7-6, 7-4 AHC) snapped a two-game skid.

“We outworked a hard-working team,” Falcons coach Frank Serratore said. “We won on the road and we came from behind. You have to have those attributes if you want to be a champion.”

Ending the drought

Dan Willet‘s four-on-four goal early in the second period put the Tigers (6-5-1, 4-3-1 AHC) up 1-0 and could have started another spiral for a Falcons team coming off getting off shut out in back-to-back games at AIC.

Held off the scoreboard for nearly eight periods (159:49 to be precise), the Falcons began to rally late in the second period before taking over in the third period.

Kieran Durgan tied it with 1:03 left in the second when he pounced on a rebound of Trevor Stone’s shot on a power play. Logan Drackett (26 saves) made the initial stop, but the puck bounced into the slot and Durgan wasted no time burying it.

That’s how it stood until Feno scored on another rebound off a Matt Koch shot. The play was reviewed and Feno’s team-high sixth goal (tied with Durgan) stood, giving the Falcons a lead they wouldn’t relinquish with 12:51 to go in the game.

Matt Pulver gave Air Force some breathing room with a terrific individual effort. He knocked down a puck with his chest and was off to the races, beating Drackett on a forehand-backhand breakaway with 4:28 to go.

“It was really good to see Billy back in the net and playing well,” Serratore said. “We overcame a lot. They didn’t give us anything.

“I couldn’t be happier coming off that horrible experience two weeks ago (when the Falcons lost by a combined 9-0 in a sweep at AIC).”

Notes

The Falcons continued their trend of strong special teams play, scoring on 1 of 3 power-play chances and killing off all four penalties. … Air Force had a 64-44 total shots edge on RIT, which blocked 20 shots. … The Falcons were without senior co-captain Matt Serratore, freshman forward Jensen Zerban and freshman defenseman Carter Ekberg, each of whom have upper-body injuries.

Air Force’s three stars

1. Trevor Stone. The junior drew the penalty that set up the Falcons’ first goal, which he also assisted on. He was a factor all game.
2. Evan Feno. The senior scored the winning goal after not playing for the past three games.
3. Billy Christopoulos. The steady senior didn’t skip a beat in making 18 saves in his return after missing four games.

Up next

The Falcons and Tigers play again Saturday at 5:05 p.m. AM 1300 has the broadcast, which is also available on TuneIn through GoAirForceFalcons.com

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