Something about West Point and the postseason agrees with Air Force.
Given an opportunity to reserve a spot in the Atlantic Hockey final four on Saturday night, the Falcons did just that on sophomore forward Parker Brown‘s redirection goal 1:02 into overtime that gave AFA a 3-2 victory.
Freshman defenseman Mitchell Digby initiated the play with a shot toward Army goaltender Justin Evenson.
“It’s still a little blurry,” Brown said after the game. “Digby got a great shot off, and I tipped it off my backhand. I had no idea it went in.”
Postseason pattern
Brown’s goal continued a trend that Air Force (15-16-3) will relish. The Falcons have eliminated Army (14-17-4) every time the teams have met in the postseason, and they built their playoff record against the Black Knights to 8-1. This was the second consecutive quarterfinal series Air Force has won at West Point, 2018’s classic being the previous.
“I’ve had so many highlights in my career at the Academy,” Falcons coach Frank Serratore said. “But none are higher on the list than this. This group won three hockey games last season. We were picked to finish ninth in the league. Our goal was to get a first-round bye, and we accomplished that.
“Our young group banded together.”
Comeback kids
The game shared some similarities with both Friday’s 5-4 overtime win and a 3-2 overtime win on Jan. 29 at Cadet Arena.
In both games, the Falcons trailed in the third period before tying the score, then they closed up shop in the extra session.
On Friday, defenseman Luke Robinson scored his first NCAA goal to tie it. On Saturday, freshman center Austin Schwartz got the puck at the bottom of the right circle, turned and beat Evenson over his left pad 2:36 into the third.
“We’re tired of saying it, but we’re a young team, and to come in and sweep a good Army West Point team, it says a lot about our team,” Brown said. “This is the funnest team I’ve ever played on, the hardest working team I’ve ever played on. We’ve meshed so well.”
Back in January, sophomore Nate Horn scored both in the third period and overtime to rally the Falcons to a 3-2 victory. Horn also figured into Saturday’s game.
Another crazy second period
Just as they did Friday, the Falcons took the lead first – on Will Gavin’s goal off a face-off win by Clayton Cosentino with 9:49 left in the second period.
However, the Black Knights retook control on a series of events that could have determined the outcome.
First, Horn was assessed a five-minute major and ejected for an elbow to the head of an Army defenseman with 9:03 left in the period. The elbow was evident, but the punishment seemed excessive for a drive-by play.
Next, the Black Knights cashed in 30 seconds later on Brett Abdelnour‘s redirection into the top of the net (literally into the top of the net). The Falcons regrouped and killed off the rest of that penalty (one of three called on Air Force vs. none against Army).
But Army wasn’t finished even though its extended power play was. With 2:30 left in the second, Daniel Haider – who had a hat trick in the Black Knights’ 8-3 win at Cadet Arena in January – found a loose puck in the traffic in front of Alex Schilling and made it 2-1. Haider, who was trailing on a line rush, was the fourth man in.
The first goal was one few, if any, goalies who’ve walked the earth would stop, while the second came on a crazy scramble. Aside from those Schilling was perfect, making 31 saves. His counterpart, Evenson, who had not started in a month, also was sharp in stopping 32 shots.
“Alex was unbelievable,” Brown said. “He makes saves that are ESPN top-10 highlight worthy every night. He’s what’s held us together. He’s the backbone of our team.”
Up next
The Falcons will play the winner of Game 3 between RIT and Sacred Heart during next weekend’s AHA final four at Utica, N.Y. Regular-season champion AIC will play surging Mercyhurst in the other semifinal. AIC knocked out Bentley, while Mercyhurst sweep second-seeded Canisius. Air Force has a win against both RIT and Sacred Heart this season.
“For this young group to accomplish this …” Serratore said. “This ride ain’t over. Games against West Point are bigger than the rest. There are a lot of pressures. It’s almost like a weight has been lifted. We are playing with house money now.
“This was very special.”
Notes: The Falcons were without sophomore center Jake Marti due to an undisclosed injury. … The Black Knights were without senior co-captain Colin Bilek, who was a second-team All-American last season. Bilek was injured early in Friday night’s game.
©First Line Editorial 2022
