A couple of lapses at the start of the second period cost Air Force dearly in a 3-1 loss to Canisius on Friday afternoon.
The Golden Griffins, who won the AHA playoff title last season, scored twice in a 2:20 span in the second period’s first 4:46 to erase the Falcons’ only lead.
This was an uncharacteristic game in many ways for Air Force (6-7-0, 4-3-0 AFA).
First Goal Doesn’t Pay Off
This was the sixth time in 15 games that the Falcons scored the first goal, but the first time they didn’t win.
Will Gavin added to his team lead with his eighth tally of the season with 3:53 to go in the first period. It was the Falcons’ only power-play goal in seven chances.
Gavin got a piece of Chris Hedden’s shot from the right circle to send the puck past David Fessenden (24 saves). That extended Gavin’s point streak to six games.
The power play also gave up the eventual winning goal. Canisius’ Matt Vermaeten intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and scored short-handed on Guy Blessing (17 saves) to make it 2-1 4:46 into the second.
Penalties played a big role in the game as the teams combined for 14 of them. That included a five-minute major on Air Force’s Ethan Ullrick midway through the third period, which the Falcons killed off.
>>READ: Get to Know AFA’s Parker Brown
First Game Magic Vanishes
This is Air Force’s eighth weekend of the season. In the first seven, it won the opening game five times. The exceptions were at Alaska-Anchorage and against Colorado College the next weekend. The Falcons won Game 2 at Anchorage in overtime but lost at then No. 2 Denver after the CC defeat.
That’s the situation the Falcons find themselves in Saturday (11 a.m. MST). That was despite outshooting the hosts 25-20 and dominating on the dot (30-19).
The Golden Griffins (4-7-1, 4-3-1) also got a goal from Jack Budd off a rush and an empty-net goal from Matteo Giampa. They moved three points ahead of Air Force in the AHA standings. Canisius (13 points) is tied for third, while Air Force (10) is tied for eighth.
©First Line Editorial 2023
