Air Force had the better of most of Friday night’s Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal series opener, but it didn’t emerge with anything to show for it.

AIC’s Josh Barnes answered the Falcons’ only goal with what proved to be the winner with 4:49 left, leading to a 3-1 Yellowjackets victory Friday night.

Andrew DeCarlo scored for Air Force (18-18-1), which trailed 1-0 for 44:50 of the first 51:18 of the game.

AIC (17-14-4), which got 31 saves from Nils Wallstrom, is one victory away from advancing to an AHA semifinal. The Falcons need to win Saturday and Sunday to have their season continue.

“For three periods, territorially our guys played their hearts out. They deserved a better fate,” Air Force coach Frank Serratore told AM-1300 after the game. “We really didn’t get a bounce. They were opportunistic, but we knew that about them. Ninety percent of the testosterone was on our side.”

Hot Goalie Foils Air Force

Air Force outshot the guests 62-35 in total and 32-18 on goal in a game it controlled for lengthy stretches. The difference was Wallstrom.

The Falcons had plenty of chances, including a five-minute power play midway through the second period. AIC captain Brian Kramer was assessed a major and ejected after a review determined he made head contact with DeCarlo. The Falcons coaching staff alertly called for the review at the first break after the infraction, and the officials concurred with them.

“We needed to score on the five-minute power play and we didn’t. There’s no doubt, we needed to capitalize on that,” Serratore said.

Scoreboard Chase Hampers Falcons

The Yellowjackets struck 6:28 into the game. John Lundy tallied his team-high 13th goal on a bang-bang rebound play to Guy Blessing’s right. That held for nearly 45 minutes

“They were playing survival hockey, putting five guys in the scoring square in front of the net,” Serratore said. “They can do that by playing with the lead.”

Surrendering the first goal has been a bugaboo for the Falcons. They are 5-13-1 when that happens.

DeCarlo tied the score 11:18 into the third. It was his fifth goal and second vs. AIC this season. However, the Yellowjackets pulled ahead for good off a line rush. Blake Wells, who had an empty-net goal with 18 seconds left, passed to Barnes for the winner.

“If we can replicate that performance tomorrow I would take it,” Serratore said. “Nothing against them, I loved our team’s game for the great majority of the game. You’ve got to be good in playoff hockey, but you’ve also got to be a little lucky and we didn’t get any of that tonight.

“We need that same dogged, determined effort tomorrow.”

Notes: There were just three penalties whistled. … Clayton Cosentino won 17 of 26 faceoffs (63.4 percent) for the Falcons, who won 33 of 62. … Blessing made 15 saves. … Saturday’s game is at 7 p.m. If Air Force wins, Sunday’s decisive game will be at 5 p.m.

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