COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – On Veteran’s Day it was more than appropriate that the Air Force Falcons showed off their speed, grit and depth in posting a 4-3 win over conference rival RIT. Kyle Haak set up first period goals by junior Jordan Himley and freshman Trevor Stone for a 2-0 lead
The advantage didn’t hold up through a penalty filled second and third periods where RIT pushed the pace to tie the game. Haak and company were up to the challenge as Himley’s second goal of the game with 1:13 remaining was the difference in a 4-3 victory.
“We practiced two men hunting this week,” stated Haak, a sophomore forward. “We got the turnovers and Jordan finished the shots to get us going and to get us back on top at the end. We were a little frustrated when they came back and just turned it into a five minute game in the third period. We don’t really have a number one or two line so we just roll the four lines and go out to try and get it done.”
“It’s a win and we will take it”, said Falcon coach Frank Serratore. “We have a lot of things to clean up for tomorrow. We could have just as easily lost it after they tied it but [Shane] Starrett was good when he needed to be and we found a way to get a big goal when we needed it at the end. We can go into tomorrow afternoon looking to clean some stuff up and be better in the special teams battles.”
Haak, Matt Serratore and Himley playing together on the third line showed a great forecheck that ended with Haak feeding a perfect pass from behind the goal to Himley cutting across the slot. The junior beat RIT goalie Mike Rotolo high over the blocker to the far post for a 1-0 lead just under nine minutes into the opening period.
With less than 20 seconds left in the period, Haak virtually duplicated his play on the first goal when he beat RIT defender Darren Brady to a loose puck behind the goal and fed fourth line wing Trevor Stone at the right of the crease who beat Rotolo between his pads for the 2-0 lead with just 14 seconds left on the clock.
The teams traded goals in a very physical second period which saw misconducts and a player ejection from an on-the-ice scrum. A total of 119 minutes in penalties were called between the two teams for the game and RIT found their way back in the third period, leveraging a power play goal and an even-strength goal, to tie the game at 3-3 with five minutes left.
Haak and Himley finished their magic on the night with yet another steal of the puck behind the net by Haak who fed Himley coming down the slot for a quick one-timer over Rotolo’s glove for the game winner with just over a minute remaining.
“I just shot it,” said Himley. “I took a quick look and then just let it go. It was nice to get the first one but the second one was really one we needed. Now we need to get ready for a quick turnaround tomorrow afternoon.”
The two teams face-off Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. MT in the second game of the two-game weekend series.
Other Atlantic Hockey results
Army West Point 3, Canisius 0
Dominic Franco figured in all of the scoring for Army with a goal and two assists as the Black Knights dominated Canisius 3-0. The home team outshot the visitors by a 36-14 margin and saw Parker Gahagen stop all pucks that came his way for the shutout win. Tipper Higgins and Nick DeCenzo each recorded their first goals of the season to open the scoring for Army in the first five minutes of the first period.
Holy Cross 3, Mercyhurst 2
The Crusaders jumped out to a 3-0 lead on goals by Johnny Coughlin on the power play, Ryan Ferrill and Tommy Muratore but held on for a 3-2 win as Jonathan Charbonneau scored a pair for the Lakers who were outshot by a 42-21 margin on home ice. Colin DeAugustine made 39 saves in the losing effort for Mercyhurst.
