Air Force established a season-high three-game win streak with a 3-1 victory over and a two-game sweep of Alaska Anchorage on Saturday at Cadet Arena.
Freshmen Holt Oliphant and Mason McCormick sandwiched goals around sophomore center Clayton Cosentino’s winner, and Guy Blessing made 13 saves. Matt Allen scored for the Seawolves (2-6).
Here are three notable points from the Falcons’ win:
The kids are all right
Oliphant not only scored Air Force’s first goal, he scored his first college goal in his first NCAA game. McCormick’s empty-net tally was his third of the season and his second in two games. This past week junior center Jake Marti told me the addition of the 6-foot-3 McCormick to one of the Falcon’s energy lines has been a huge plus. Then there were freshmen defensemen Chris Heddon and Brett Oberle, who were part of a defensive effort that yielded only 14 shots on goal … the entire game.
You can’t spell Academy without D
Consider this, the Falcons have not had three of their top four defensemen – captain Luke Rowe, who is one of the team’s highest scorers as well as its physical tone setter, assistant captain Luke Robinson and fellow junior Sam Brennan – for most of the past three games. In addition to allowing just 14 shots at Blessing on Saturday, the Falcons only took three penalties and did not allow a power-play goal. The team buy-in to playing defense has taken root, and that is how the Falcons have to play. Further evidence? How about 20 blocked shots.
Stuck in Clay? No chance
It has been nice to see Cosentino, one of Atlantic Hockey’s top freshmen last season, hit the scoreboard each of the past two nights. He had just one assist going into last Saturday’s victory over Colorado College. He now has a three-game point streak, and the Falcons are 3-0 in that stretch. Coincidence? I don’t think so. Cosentino is an every-situation player with a well-rounded game. He’s excellent defensively, good on face-offs and possesses plenty of skill.
To read more about Saturday’s win, visit Air Force’s official team page.
©First Line Editorial 2022
