There would be no third period insanity on Saturday night at Cadet Arena.
Alex Schilling made 29 saves and Max Harper and Blake Bride scored goals to lift Air Force to a 2-1 Atlantic Hockey Conference victory over Niagara.
The second one-goal victory in a row over the Purple Eagles (4-14-4, 4-8-4-2 AHC) gave the Falcons (8-12-4, 8-6-4-3 AHC) just their second sweep of the season. The first was against Bentley in early November at Cadet Arena.
It also was the Falcons’ first regulation win on a Saturday since that Bentley series on Nov. 9.
Just as they did Friday night, the Falcons scored first late in the first period. Bride struck for the second game in a row, courtesy of a feed from Brady Tomlak with 2:37 left.
And just as he did Friday night, Justin Kendall tied the score for the Purple Eagles, this time with 4:11 to go in the second period.
The difference this time was Harper putting the Falcons back on top before the second intermission, cashing in a rebound. Chad Veltri had stopped Kieran Durgan on a shot from the inside of the left circle, but the Harper found the rebound on the move and buried it with 1:36 to play in the period.
That ended up being all the Falcons would need to seize fourth place in the conference and move to three points of third-place AIC.
“It was hard played, well played. I liked our energy,” Air Force coach Frank Serratore said. “We played a good, methodical game. But we played it with energy, some vigor.
“They’re not an easy team to play against. They’re big, they’re fast. We got the lead, we gave that lead up, but we found a way to get that lead back.”
©First Line Editorial 2020
