Niagara University defeated Air Force 4-2 in an Atlantic Hockey America matchup on Saturday at Dwyer Arena in Niagara, New York. The Purple Eagles established a strong lead early, scoring three goals in the first period.
Jonathan Ziskie’s point shot led to a rebound goal by Davis Cobb just over three minutes into the game. Spencer Young added another for Niagara during a power play at 13:42, and less than two minutes later, Ziskie scored again following an offensive zone faceoff win by Young.
Air Force trailed 3-0 until midway through the third period. The Falcons narrowed the gap with a power-play goal from Will Dawson at 9:01 of the third period, assisted by Chris Hedden. This assist marked Hedden’s 100th career point, making him the first Air Force defenseman since 1995 to reach that milestone and only the fifth AHA defenseman to do so in two decades.
Brendan Gibbons brought Air Force within one goal after scoring his sixth of the season at 13:47 following a faceoff win by Mason McCormick. However, Dalton Melin restored Niagara’s two-goal lead with under two minutes remaining.
Air Force outshot Niagara 37-23 and converted one of five power plays. Niagara was successful on one of four opportunities. Dominik Wasik made 19 saves for Air Force while Tomas Anderson stopped 35 shots for Niagara.
Head coach Frank Serratore commented on his team’s performance: “We need to be better right from the puck drop,” Serratore said. “Tonight, we had a good 40 minutes, but we needed a good 60 minutes. Give Niagara credit, they came out and played with energy and they were determined. We created a hole that was a little too deep to dig out of. We came back and played with a lot of spirit and energy in the second and third and got back in the game. For a minute there, it looked like we might pull another one off. This is a tough lesson to learn.”
With this result, Air Force moves to an overall record of 14-12-2 (10-9-1 AHA) and will return home for four consecutive games against Mercyhurst (February 13–14) and Army (February 20–21).
