Air Force proved its mettle at Canisius over the weekend, and in the process made a big series against Army West Point that much bigger next weekend.

But first things first: the Falcons took five of six points from Canisius at Buffalo, N.Y., capped by a compelling comeback 3-2 victory on Saturday. After two scoreless periods, Air Force (13-18-1, 10-12-0 Atlantic Hockey) fell behind by two goals, then forced overtime on goals by defensemen Nolan Cunningham and Chris Hedden. Co-captain Clayton Cosentino won it with a breakaway snipe in overtime.

Just like that, the Falcons flipped the script, leaving a six-game losing streak in the rear-view mirror and carrying a two-game win streak home.

Air Force gets its just desserts

Everything seemed to point to a Falcons win on Saturday. They dominated most of the game and ultimately oushot the hosts 52-23 while winning twice as many face-offs.

Air Force wanted to control possession, which is a great strategy to keep the Golden Griffins’ high-octane offense in neutral, and it largely accomplished.

Yet Canisius (9-18-2, 9-10-2) led 2-0 with nine minutes remaining after goals by Matteo Giampa on a line rush and Luke Marshall.

Then something funny happened. Less than a minute later, the Falcons got some puck luck, scoring on a third-chance shot by Cunningham that eluded Petter Wickström after it bounced off a Griffins defenseman.

Hedden tied it on a one-timer from a feed from Cosentino with Guy Blessing (21 saves) pulled for an extra attacker with 1:17 to go.

Cosentino won it 1:16 into the extra session after the teams traded penalties.

“We got lucky last night, but tonight we deserved it,” coach Frank Serratore said. “Tonight, we got down early, but we deserved a better fate. Maybe the hockey gods awarded us again, but rewarded us for playing the game the right way tonight. I loved our game tonight. There’s no quit in our guys. They stuck with it. The better team won the game tonight. That was fun, exciting and gratifying tonight. I couldn’t be more proud of the guys.”

Newcomers emerge on Friday

Air Force clearly deserved Saturday’s win, but it got one Friday thanks to some timely outbursts and another strong game from Blessing (31 saves).

The Falcons built two-goal leads four times, including at the end in a 5-3 victory. Remarkably, it was the first time this season Air Force scored as many as five goals, and this was game No. 31. In fact, it had only hit four just four times in the first 30 games.

The Falcons played with fire by giving the hosts five power plays, including a major and a two-man advantage (which was the only one the Griffins cashed in on).

Air Force also got the support scoring it needed to take some heat off Cosentino and Hedden. Freshmen Sam Seitz (two goals) and Will Dawson each had three points, and juniors Mason McCormick and Holt Oliphant provided beginning and ending tallies.

The Falcons scored on five of their first eight shots to chase Canisius starter Ethan Robinson, one of AHA’s top goaltenders. They then showed plenty of resilience — every time the hosts scored, Air Force regained it’s two-goal advantage.

Falcons add more zest to Army week

The five-point weekend bumped the Falcons up into a tie for sixth in AHA with Canisius, but Air Force swept the season series to give it a tiebreaker should it become necessary.

Next up, Army West Point, which just swept first-place Sacred Heart and is six points ahead of the Falcons for fifth place (also known as the bye week cut line).

After a rough start to the season, the Black Knights (12-16-1, 12-9-1) have won eight of nine games, including a sweep of two one-goal games against Air Force last month at West Point, N.Y.

“We have a red-hot Army team coming in this coming weekend,” Serratore added. “We are both playing well and it should be an exciting, exciting weekend.”

Wouldn’t the Falcons love to turn the tables at home and knock their biggest rival out of pole position for a playoff bye?

©First Line Editorial 2025