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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Air Force rallied from a two-goal deficit to earn a 3-3 overtime tie against AIC in an Atlantic Hockey Association game Saturday, Nov. 19, at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, Mass. AIC earned the extra point in the standings by winning the shootout in the sixth round.
AIC (6-6-3, 4-5-1 AHA) opened the scoring at 8:33 of the first period after an Air Force turnover. Julius Janhonen sent a pass from the boards through the slot and Alexander Malinowski tipped it in on the back door for a 1-0 lead. Then in the final minute, AIC defenseman Brian Kramer took a shot from the center point and Brett Rylance redirected it with 53 seconds left in the period.
Air Force (6-5-2, 2-2-1 AHA) outshot AIC, 11-0, in the first 13 minutes of the second period. On the rush, the Falcons cut the AIC lead in half at 13:15 as Clayton Cosentino set up Nate Horn on the left side. Parker Brown also assisted on the play as Horn’s wrister snuck inside the top corner to cut the AIC lead to 2-1. After a major penalty on Air Force, the Falcon penalty killers got the job done. Air Force blocked four shots and Guy Blessing made five saves as the Falcons killed a major against the fifth-best power-play team in the nation.
Early in the third period, the Falcons tied the game on the power play. After Mitchell Digby drew a penalty, the Falcons tied the game with one second left in the power play. Andrew DeCarlo fed Will Gavin in the right circle. Gavin threaded the needle through the slot to Luke Rowe who scored his fourth of the season at 8:13. AIC regained the lead at 12:40 when Malinowski scored his second of the game on a rebound in front. The Falcons again tied the game with 5:00 remaining. Rowe passed across to Brandon Koch at the left point. Koch’s shot was redirected by Willie Reim to tie the game at 3-3.
Neither team was able to score in overtime, sending the game to a shootout. In the sixth round, AIC defenseman Brian Kramer scored as the Yellow Jackets earned the extra point in the standings.
Air Force outshot AIC, 32-28, in the game. AIC was 0-for-3 on the power play while AF was 1-for-6. Blessing made 25 saves for the Falcons while Jarrett Fiske made 29 for AIC.
“I think it was a terrific game,” head coach Frank Serratore said. “We never led in the game, but we persevered and we were resilient. From a fan standpoint, this was an entertaining game. We haven’t had much success in this building, but we did get a point. It’s all on the line tomorrow night. If we find a way to get it done tomorrow, we get the majority of the points. Proud of the guys for how they persevered. I thought we played really well and we found a way to get a hard-earned, much needed point.”
The two-game league series concludes on Sunday, Nov. 20, at 7:05 pm ET in Springfield, Mass.
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