Air Force secured a 5-2 victory over Sacred Heart in an Atlantic Hockey America matchup on Friday at the Cadet Ice Arena. The Falcons improved their record to 12-11-2 overall and 8-8-1 in conference play.
The game began with Air Force on a power play after Sacred Heart was penalized for delay of game following warm-ups. Despite this advantage, Sacred Heart scored first when Noah Ellis assisted Felix Trudeau for a goal less than two minutes into the opening period.
In the second period, Air Force had an early goal disallowed due to offsides but tied the game at 6:40 when Will Dawson scored after Nick Sajevic won a faceoff and Sam Stitz’s shot was saved. Dawson capitalized on the rebound to make it 1-1.
Sacred Heart regained the lead late in the second period on a power-play goal by Reid Pabich, but Dawson responded with his second goal of the night just before intermission, tying his career high and bringing the score to 2-2.
Freshman Cole Christian put Air Force ahead early in the third period, scoring his third goal of the season and his first career game-winner. With just over two minutes left, Sacred Heart pulled its goalie for an extra attacker, but Sajevic managed to score into an empty net with under a minute remaining. Charles Panchisin added another goal eight seconds before the end of regulation, marking his first career tally.
Air Force outshot Sacred Heart 43-30, setting a season high for shots on goal. Sacred Heart converted one of four power plays and killed all three of Air Force’s opportunities. Freshman goaltender Teagan Kendrick made 38 saves for Sacred Heart, while Dominik Wasik stopped 28 shots for Air Force.
“Sacred Heart came out ready to play and they jumped us early,” head coach Frank Serratore said. “We were chasing the game a bit, but I felt like we turned the game in the second half of the first period. We played with a lot of spirit tonight. Our player of the game was Wasik, he plays big and sound and he bailed us out, that’s what great goaltenders do. That’s a really talented team, but I’m so proud of our guys for finding a way to win this game.”
The teams will conclude their two-game series on Saturday at Cadet Ice Arena.
