Follow the leader is a game that’s tough to win, as Air Force again learned Saturday night.

The Falcons chased the scoreboard for nearly two periods in a 3-1 Atlantic Hockey loss to Sacred Heart at Cadet Arena. That gave the teams a split of the first of their pair of two-game series.

It was one of several areas that Sacred Heart capitalized on against an Air Force team that fell into some bad habits.

Here are some observations from the Falcons’ loss.

Jekyl and Hyde games

The split continued an alarming trend for the Falcons – play well and often win on Friday (4-2 record) and struggle on Saturday (0-5-1). One night after a thrilling 3-2 victory, there were several culprits on Saturday. In order they would be: never leading, taking too many penalties (often poorly timed) and not capitalizing when the chance presents itself.

“We get caught (playing) from behind,” assistant captain Blake Bride said. “Giving up the first goal is really hard to come back from.

“Friday we have the juice and everything to come back and keep fighting, and we still have that on Saturdays but we just shoot ourselves in the foot with maybe a few penalties early on. We’ve just got to find a way to start the game (playing the way) we play instead of catching up. It’s hard to manage from there if we’re behind we give up simple breaks if we’re too focused on something else. It’s basically just playing simple.

“We have the talent to play Saturdays and the stamina. It’s collecting everyone’s thoughts and keeping it controlled.”

Bride’s redirection of a Brian Adams shot with 5:11 to go int the second period drew Air Force (4-7-1, 2-3-1 AHA) even for 1:29. That and the first 19:22 of the game were the only times the Falcons were tied.

Not so special teams

Defenseman Patrick Dawson re-established Sacred Heart’s lead for good in the second, and a couple of special teams snafu’s in the third period hindered AFA’s comeback hopes.

The first was the dreaded shorthanded goal. Kevin Lombardi, who also scored for Sacred Heart on Friday, got open on Alex Schilling‘s back door and cashed in a nice cross-slot pass from Neil Shea to make it 3-1 with 13:33 to play.

“If we score (on that power play) we tie the game,” Falcons coach Frank Serratore said. “Maybe we’re taking the majority of points (in the series) out of here.”

The other was co-captain Luke Rowe‘s major penalty and game misconduct for contact to the head. with 8:19 left in the game.

“You can’t go for a TKO with 8 to 10 minutes left,” Serratore said. “I didn’t think that was a 5.

“We’re a young team, and we have to learn how to manage the game better. … We put ourselves in s hole with avoidable penalties.”

A bright spot in net

The showing wasted a solid effort by Schilling, who was particularly sharp in the first period, when he stopped the first 10 shots he saw. The only dent was a redirection by Connor Hutchison, the Pioneers’ extra skater, with 38 seconds left.

“End of the first, giving up that goal, we couldn’t get the puck out, or I couldn’t get the puck out in the last 30 seconds. That’s something you can’t have happen,” Bride said. “That deflates a little.”

Schilling, who made 24 saves, was victimized by two alert plays by the Pioneers (5-6-1, 3-2-1).

The second was the previously detailed shortie.

The first was Dawson’s chip shot over Schilling’s shoulder. Luke Robinson blocked a Sacred Heart shot that caromed between the circles. Lucas Coon and Dawson arrived simultaneously, and Dawson got his stick under neath and wedged the puck up.

Josh Benson, who did not play Friday, made 24 saves for the Pioneers.

More to come

After a day for rest and recovery, the teams are back at it Monday and Tuesday. The approach from Air Force is to treat it as a second series.

“You just try to keep it the same. You don’t want to deviate from what you do,” Bride said. “You take it two games at a time. This was our first series, that’s all we focused on.

“Monday-Tuesday comes later, that’s what we focus on now. The key is to get ready for that now. You try to stay focused on what you’re dealing with and the games at hand. You don’t look too far ahead because you don’t know what that will entail.”

Notes

A trio of regulars were out of the lineup for the Falcons – defenseman Dalton Weigel, center Ty Pochipinski and winger Nate Horn. Weigel and Pochipinski have missed six and five games, respectively, due to injury. Horn was injured Friday night. … Backup goaltender Austin Park returned and backed up Schilling.

©First Line Editorial 2021