Sophomore Will Gavin capped a career night in every sense of the expression with a goal 55 seconds into overtime to lift Air Force to a riveting 5-4 victory over Colorado College on Friday night at Cadet Ice Arena.
Gavin’s third tally of the game came during 3-on-3 play, and it culminated a night in which the Falcons (2-3) twice took leads, then lost them, the final time when Tyler Coffey scored with 42 seconds left in regulation after the Tigers (1-4-2) had pulled goalie Dominic Basse.
Gavin, who had not registered a point in four regular-season games this season, matched his NCAA career goal output all in one evening. He had three tallies in 14 games during the 2020-21 season.
Center Ty Pochipinski, who began his NCAA career at Colorado College, scored two go-ahead goals for the Falcons, and goaltender Alex Schilling made 20 saves, including a couple of dandies to keep the Falcons within a goal during a back-and-forth second period.
Here are three observations from a victory that gave Air Force an upper hand in its quest to retake the Pikes Peak Trophy.
The celebration was on after Will Gavin’s third goal of the game, 55 seconds into overtime, gave Air Force a 5-4 victory over Colorado College. Photo courtesy of Trevor Cokley and Air Force Athletics
Some new trends
One habit Air Force badly wanted to break was allowing the first goal, something it had done in its first four games. Pochipinski, who like Gavin entered the game without a point, solved that just 2:41 into the contest when he followed his own shot and stuffed the puck past Basse.
Pochipinski, who had just three goals in 54 career games at the Academy but one in four games for the Tigers during the 2018-19 season, gave the Falcons a 4-3 lead with 1:42 to go in the second period when he picked a corner over Basse’s right shoulder.
Another new habit was scoring period. Consider this: the Falcons had just five goals in four games, and only two in their past three. In other words, Friday’s output matched what they generated cumulatively against Denver and Michigan State.
Practice makes perfect
Could the outbursts by both Gavin and the Falcons have been predicted? Maybe.
Air Force spent last weekend in suburban St. Louis playing a pair of exhibitions against Lindenwood, which is scheduled to elevate its elite ACHA program to NCAA Division I next season.
The Falcons erupted for 13 goals during the two games, and Gavin checked in with a two-goal, four-point game on Sunday. That provided a needed boost, he said.
“It was big for us, we got our confidence back,” Gavin said.
The sophomore, who noted his most recent hat trick came during his final season of junior hockey with the Northern Cyclones (NCDC) during the 2019-20 season, twice netted game-tying goals for the Falcons before his walk-off strike in overtime.
Gavin’s first goal was not unlike Pochipinski’s in that he took one shot at Basse, had the puck return to him between the circles and put it past the 6-foot-6 netminder, a Chicago Blackhawks draft pick. Gavin’s second goal preceded Pochipinski’s second by 46 seconds and came on a rebound of a shot by Clayton Cosentino, a freshman center who continues to draw assignments at key times during games.
Another happy return
Schilling, who did not play last weekend at Lindenwood because he attended his brother’s wedding, returned and returned to form with several highlight-reel stops.
The Tigers asserted pressure in spurts, and when they did, the co-captain was up to the task. Two of the Tigers goals were the result of odd bounces and deflections. Schilling was coming off a performance vs. Denver that was mixed (42 saves in a tight Friday game, getting pulled after giving up five goals on 26 shots the next night).
“A big part of it is having Alex back there,” Gavin said. “As long as we put up a couple of goals we know we’re going to get more wins.”
Get one more 2in, or even a tie, on Saturday night and the Pikes Peak Trophy will return to the campus it called home for the first five years of its existence.
Notes
The 24 shots on goal allowed were by far the fewest Air Force has allowed this season. The previous low was 31 in the opener against Michigan State. The Falcons had 35 shots on goal, just four fewer than they amassed in the opener. … The Falcons also enjoyed a massive advantage on the face-off dot, winning 42 of 69 draws (61 percent). … Six players had assists – including sophomores Sam Brennan and Parker Brown, whose helpers marked their first NCAA points. … The Falcons were without assistant captain Willie Reim, their leading scorer, due to injury. … The teams play again Saturday at 6:05 p.m.
©First Line Editorial 2021
