Defenseman Alex Mehnert‘s unassisted goal with 6:47 to play lifted Air Force into a 3-3 tie with Canisius in an Atlantic Hockey game at Buffalo, N.Y.
The junior changed his shooting angle and fooled goalie Jacob Barczewski (25 saves) less than two minutes after the Golden Griffins took their first lead of the game.
Luke Manning scored a shootout goal to collect the extra AHC point for Air Force, sliding the puck under Barczewski’s pads.
Matt Hoover, AHC’s player of the month for January, had given the Golden Griffins (7-15-5, 6-10-5) their short-lived lead when he capitalized on a neutral-zone turnover and beat Schilling (21 saves) on a breakaway with 8:09 to play.
“Give our kids some credit, they showed resiliency,” Falcons coach Frank Serratore said.
The Falcons (8-14-5, 8-10-5-4 AHC) took a 2-0 lead on goals by freshmen Bennett Norlin and Blake Bride in the first 7:19 of the game. Norlin’s goal was the first of his NCAA career, and it kicked off a period in which Air Force dominated, amassing a 15-3 shots on goal edge. Joe Tyran and Pierce Pluemer assisted on Norlin’s goal – the first point of the season for each senior.
Bride’s goal was his third of the season and came off a feed from Shawn Knowlton.
“Our start was fantastic,” Serratore said. “We could have, should have had four goals.”
Canisius, however, erased that lead with goals early in the second and third periods. The first came from defenseman Matt Stief, while the second came on a redirection by Nick Hutchison off a Stief shot on a rush 3:26 into the third.
“They played harder in the second, played a more honest game,” Serratore said. “They have some opportunistic guys, they play an offensive style.
“We still have some things to tidy up.”
At one point the Golden Griffins were outshooting the Falcons 15-5 in the second and third periods before Air Force picked up steam and got the final five shots of regulation, including Mehnert’s tally.
©First Line Editorial 2020
