A two-goal lead is the worst one in hockey. Don’t take our word for it, though. Just ask Air Force.
The Falcons scored twice early in the second period only to see Army West Point do the same in virtually the same span in the third period, and the result was a 2-2 Atlantic Hockey Conference draw on Friday night at Cadet Arena.
““This was a good tie for Army and a bad tie for us,” Falcons coach Frank Serratore said. “We were porous defensively all night. I liked our energy. You have to play hard, but you have to play smart.
“Give Army credit. One thing about Army, they will not beat themselves. They always play hard.”
Kyle Haak and Trevor Stone scored goals for Air Force (11-8-2, 9-5-1 AHC), while Tipper Higgins and Colorado native Ian Mansfield scored for the Black Knights (8-11-2, 7-6-2). Billy Christopoulos made 24 saves for the Falcons, who outshot the guests 34-26.
“They could have scored a couple goals in the first period, but Billy was there for us,” Serratore said. “Maybe justice was served in the third when they scored two. If we are going to develop into a championship team, we have to be better defensively.”
After a scoreless first, Haak scored on a rebound of Kieran Durgan‘s shot on a power play 3:13 into the second. The strike continued a hot streak for Haak, who has points in seven games in a row. He has six goals and 10 points during the stretch. Defenseman Matt Koch also picked up an assist on the play now has points in five consecutive games – a goal and six assists.
Just 4:46 later, Stone broke a six-game goal drought when he sent a rebound of Erich Jaeger‘s shot past Jared Dempsey (32 saves).
The Black Knights roared right back to start to the third. Higgins tipped in Andrew Quetell‘s shot at 2:11, and Mansfield scored from the right circle 4:36 later off a feed from Kevin Dineen.
Both goalies slammed the door after that.
Notes
The Falcons dominated in the face-off circle, winning 51 of 72 draws (71 percent). … Air Force ran its streak of successful penalty kills to 17 by going 2-for-2. The Falcons have stopped 53 of the 54 opposing power plays. … The point drew Air Force back into a tie for first in AHC with AIC at 19 points. It also assured the Falcons of winning the regular-season series. They lead 2-0-1.
Air Force’s three stars
- Kyle Haak. Scores his ninth goal and wins 12 of 19 face-offs.
- Trevor Stone. Breaks his goal drought and has three shots.
- Billy Christopoulos. The senior makes 24 saves to help the Falcons escape with a point.
Up next
The series sequel is Saturday at 5:05 p.m. at Cadet Arena. 1300 AM and atlantichockey.tv will carry the broadcast and webcast, respectively.
©First Line Editorial 2017-19
