Air Force won consecutive games for the second time this season, taking a 5-3 victory over Alaska Anchorage on Friday night at Cadet Arena.

Here are three notable things from the victory:

Great balance

The Falcons (4-4-1) got goals from all four lines. Parker Brown, Brian Adams and Andrew DeCarlo struck in the first period. Brown’s center, Clayton Cosentino, tallied in the second, and fourth-line center Jake Marti hit the empty net late in the third period. Six other Falcons plus DeCarlo had assists.

Scoring early and holding off comebacks

Air Force seized a 3-0 lead, saw it shrink to 3-2 (all in the first period), then rebuilt the lead to 4-2 before the Seawolves scored with an extra attacker. One big issue for the Falcons in the first few weeks of the season was surrendering leads. This game, as well as last Saturday’s 6-3 win vs. Colorado College prove that’s not a pattern.

Team defense

The Falcons were allowing 34 shots against per game entering Friday’s contest. They kept the Seawolves to 28. And they did it without four of their top seven or eight defensemen in the lineup, and arguably three of their top four – Luke Rowe, Sam Brennan and Luke Robinson. The commitment to team defense and a solid game from goalie Guy Blessing (25 saves) paid off.

For more on the Falcons’ victory, please visit the school’s official recap.

©First Line Editorial 2022