Air Force put itself in position to earn a first-round bye and potentially play host to an Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal with a 5-2 victory over Robert Morris on Friday night.
Junior Austin Schwartz scored breakaway goals late in the first and second periods, and linemate Andrew DeCarlo added three assists to lead a balanced attack for the Falcons (17-17-1, 14-10-1 AHA). Guy Blessing made 25 saves.
>>READ: Salute to Air Force’s Seniors
Air Force’s win moved it into fourth place in Atlantic Hockey, two points up on AIC and Bentley. The top five teams receive first-round byes. Finishing fourth would mean the Falcons host a quarterfinal.
Schwartz Chips In Timely Goals
The Falcons did what they needed to win, but the triumph didn’t feel like a typical Air Force win. Those usually feature aggressive forechecking and a fair measure of misery for the opposing defense. Instead, the Colonials (10-22-3, 7-16-2) were able to counter-attack fairly regularly, at times with odd-man rushes.
“I’d like to see us play the game we need to play going into playoffs,” Falcons coach Frank Serratore said. “I thought we tried to make plays that weren’t there. We need to play our game.”
Schwartz’s first goal came when he beat Chad Veltri (18 saves) on the short side with 2:43 to play in the first period.
It was the second eye-popping goal for the Falcons in a relatively controlled first period.
Freshman defenseman Owen Baumgartner tallied his third goal in two games 7:32 into the contest when he gathered a loose puck outside of the RMU line, skated in and snapped a missile past Veltri.
Falcons strike first thanks to #6 Owen Baumgartner❗Falcons lead 1-0 with 12:28 left in the first period. pic.twitter.com/RpdustMMvE
— Air Force Hockey (@AF_HKY) February 24, 2024
Schwartz’s second goal came off a nice chip off the boards by Brian Adams while the Falcons were killing one of their five penalties. Schwartz skated down left wing and beat Veltri over his glove.
“All the credit goes to my linemates,” Schwartz said. “BA was screaming at me on that second one, ‘I’m in.’ That’s why I had the confidence to go in.
“We found out (Veltri) was weaker on his glove side, so I did some practice shots yesterday and I was lucky enough I was able to do it.”
Schwartz’s eruption gave him nine goals, one fewer than his career total entering this season.
Colonials Hung Tough
DeCarlo made a sterling play to stake the Falcons to a 3-0 lead 2:19 into the second when he won a battle along the boards to keep the puck in the RMU zone, then took the puck from a defender. As RMU’s defense converged, DeCarlo found Brendan Gibbons, who had just come on the ice, all alone to the right, and the freshman wasted no time beating Veltri to the glove side.
That was DeCarlo’s third primary assist.
However, the Colonials got back into it 7 minutes later when Tanner Klimpe scored his team-high 12th goal off a rebound in front. RMU had more and more chances after that, and Blessing had to be sharp to preserve the Falcons’ lead.
From there, it was a special-teams battle.
After just one penalty in the first period, the teams took five almost in succession in the second and traded power-play goals.
Air Force made it 4-1 when Mason McCormick tipped in Luke Rowe’s blast from the high slot on a 5-on-3 with 8:24 to go. But RMU scored 2:58 later on Rylee St. Onge’s tip of Luke Johnson’s right-point shot. It was 4-2 and could have been 4-3 had Blessing not come up big a few more times.
Guy Blessing with a few big time SAVES😤 pic.twitter.com/gjw94Lkzmv
— Air Force Hockey (@AF_HKY) February 24, 2024
Then Schwartz struck again to create some breathing room. It was his fourth shorthanded goal this season and the Falcons’ eighth (second in Division I).
“Those little momentum shifts make a huge difference, especially this time of year,” Schwartz added.
Consistency Wanted
On the plus side, the Falcons spread their production around.
Three lines registered goals, and the D added another. DeCarlo, Adams and Schwartz had seven combined points.
“We were moving our feet and making simple plays that were there, and then capitalize on our chances,” DeCarlo said. “It’s encouraging because going into playoffs you need scoring from all four lines. … We feel like we can make a run if we get that.”
But there is a corner still asking when the real Air Force will stand up.
After a rocking start to 2024, the Falcons have been uneven since the end of January. Play well and beat Canisius then lose at home. Play Holy Cross tight on the road but lose twice. Lose a close game to Sacred Heart, shut the Pioneers out. Get blasted by RIT, come back and win a close game at RIT.
Consistency is a missing ingredient right now. Its presence is requested before the postseason begins.
“We need to play with a sense of urgency and desperation,” Serratore said, “before we need to play with a sense of urgency and desperation.
“There is a better version of ourselves we want to see.”
How RMU Rebooted
So how did the Colonials reboot their program? Half of the 22 skaters and goalies in the lineup were freshmen, but the rest were a combination of nine grad transfers and two holdovers. Assistant captains Cameron Herbert and Gavin Gulash were previously on RMU’s roster. The grad transfers include starting goalie Veltri (Niagara) and a couple of the top-five scorers — center Dallas Tulik (22 points) and St. Once (Mercyhurst), who is their captain.
Notes
Rowe and Nate Horn returned to the lineup after missing Saturday’s crucial victory at RIT due to injuries sustained in Friday’s game. … The Falcons PK continued its heater, stopping four of five RMU man advantages.
©First Line Editorial 2024
