Brady Tomlak scored the game winner late in the third period as Air Force defeated Army, 4-2, in an Atlantic Hockey Conference game, Friday, Nov. 2, at Tate Rink in West Point., N.Y.
Air Force (3-4-0, 3-2-0 AHC) jumped on the board first as Matt Koch’s shot was saved, but Matt Pulver netted his first of the season at 15:39.
Army (4-3-1, 3-1-1 AHC) tied the game on the power play midway through the second period. Zach Evancho’s point shot was redirected by Dominic Franco at 7:58. Late in the period, the Falcons regained the lead on the power play. Zach Mirageas’ blast from the center point came from Alex Mehnert and Kieran Durgan with 1:56 left in the second.
Midway through the third period, Army tied the game on the power play. On the rush, Brendan Soucie’s shot was saved but Trevor Fidler put back the rebound, coming down the slot with speed, at 11:18. The Falcons regained the lead with 2:48 left in the game. Jake Levin’s pass from the point was redirected in front by Evan Giesler. Tomlak put back the rebound for his first of the season. Just as Army was going to get its goaltender off the ice, Giesler drew a penalty, putting the Falcons on the power play with 52 seconds left. Army did pull the goalie with 30 seconds remaining, but Trevor Stone collected a loose puck in the neutral zone and slid the puck into the empty net from the red line to seal the win.
Air Force outshot Army, 29-21, in the game. Billy Christopoulos made 19 saves while Trevin Kozlowski made 25 for the Black Knights. Air Force was 2-for-3 on the power play while Army was 2-for-4.
“We played with the lead tonight and then, when Army tied it, we showed some resiliency to battle back late in the third,” head coach Frank Serratore said. “There was nothing easy about this and we knew it would be that way. Army has a good hockey team. They scored both of their goals on the power play. We knew they had a good power play and we needed to stay out of the box. This was a pretty evenly played game and we found a way to get it done. It’s sure nice to get the first one. Now we have won two in a row and we’ll see if we can build on that.”
The same two teams conclude the two-game league series, Saturday, Nov. 3, at 8:05 pm ET at Tate Rink.
