Air Force fought Lindenwood and the scoreboard for much of Sunday’s game, which featured a heart-stopping regulation finish.

Falcons right wing Parker Brown tied the score with one second remaining and goalie Guy Blessing pulled for an extra attacker, but the visiting Lions scored 2:59 into overtime to take a 4-3 victory and split the series.

🚨WITH ONE SECOND LEFT, PARKER BROWN TIES IT UP 🚨 pic.twitter.com/aWu5zOuaBy

— Air Force Hockey (@AF_HKY) October 9, 2023

3 Takeaways from Air Force’s Split

Two Games, Two Approaches

On Saturday, the Falcons took, then re-established, the lead and held it. Blessing made 35 saves and could have had a shutout. Air Force won races to loose pucks and established its forecheck. In short, that is the textbook definition of the Falcons are successful.

>>READ: Air Force Has Smashing Season Debut

On Sunday, Air Force outshot Lindenwood but fell behind and spent most of the game playing catchup. The Falcons completed the task with a second to spare but then a nice cutback move to the net by Lindenwood’s David Gagnon lifted the visitors to the victory.

Sunday’s game looked a lot like several from last season, although the Falcons showed even more determination to send the game to overtime and actually accomplished that feat.

One other note: The Falcons took just one penalty on Saturday but five on Sunday, which played into Lindenwood’s hands at times.

The Saturday template is the preferred one, and it appears the Falcons have the horses to play many more games like that this season.

Falcons Display Scoring Balance

Another encouraging sign for Air Force was it scored three or more goals in both games. That typically is the magic number for a Falcons victory. The coaching staff will take every time over the wild swings Air Force displayed a season ago. One game there might be five or six goals, then there might be a stretch of three goals in two games or four in three.

Austin Schwartz buries it in the net adding another goal for the Falcons! pic.twitter.com/PeLSaWtEL4

— Air Force Hockey (@AF_HKY) October 9, 2023

There were three main sources of offense this weekend.

The most noticeable was the third line of center Mason McCormick and wings Brian Adams and Austin Schwartz. The trio forced the issue in all three zones and were particularly effective in the offensive zone. Adams’ and Schwartz’s speed continually created problems for Lindenwood.

And Schwartz, who entered this season with eight career goals in two seasons, emerged with three in two games. He  used his speed to beat a defender to the outside on Sunday’s goal that pulled the Falcons to 3-2. On Saturday, he sniped a cross-slot feed on a moving goalie and hit an empty net. Fourth-line wing Holt Oliphant scored a similar goal Saturday to Schwartz’s on Sunday, again using his speed to create havoc.

Each member of the top line hit the scoresheet as well. Will Gavin popped in a rebound on Saturday. On Sunday, Clay Cosentino scored on a drive to the net and Parker Brown buried a cross-slot pass from Chris Hedden from the open back door to tie it in the last second.

The last source came from defensemen initiating plays by using their mobility. Several were noticeable but Heddon and D partner Luke Rowe got the payoff this weekend, combining for eight assists on the weekend. Rowe’s five assists and strong defensive play netted him Atlantic Hockey’s Defensive Player of the Week honors.

No Disguise Needed for This Blessing

Any questions about Blessing’s health and well-being should have been answered satisfactorily. The junior played great on Saturday, stopping 35 shots. He made 26 saves Sunday and kept Air Force in it. The Lions’ OT winner was more a matter of a great play down low than anything Blessing appeared to do wrong.

Lindenwood is a big, opportunistic team. It hung 10 goals on the Falcons in last season’s series, so holding the Lions to five is a definite upgrade.

If Blessing, who had an impressive .924 save percentage, can keep this up you have to like Air Force’s chances to pull points out of virtually every weekend.

Next games: Thursday and Friday vs. Michigan State, 7 p.m.

©First Line Editorial 2023