Air Force secured a 2-1 overtime victory against Niagara on Friday night in an Atlantic Hockey America matchup at Dwyer Arena, extending its winning streak to four games.
Niagara led for much of the contest after Noah Hackett scored his eighth goal of the season early in the second period. Despite being outshot by Air Force in both the first and second periods, Niagara’s freshman goaltender Tomas Anderson managed to keep his team ahead until late in regulation.
With just over five minutes remaining, Air Force captain Holt Oliphant tied the game with a slap shot. Mason McCormick and Beau Janzig assisted on Oliphant’s sixth goal of the year. The Falcons successfully killed a penalty that extended into overtime.
In the extra period, Nick Sajevic netted his first career game-winning goal at 2:34, assisted by Chris Hedden and Sam Stitz. Air Force finished with 43 shots—matching their season high—while Niagara recorded 26. Both teams were unsuccessful on all four power play opportunities. Dominik Wasik made 25 saves for Air Force; Anderson stopped 41 shots for Niagara.
“This game was not going in the right direction for us,” said head coach Frank Serratore. “Not that we were playing horribly, but we just couldn’t get any thing to go in. Niagara did a good job of protecting the good ice. Then at the 11th hour, Holt Oliphant scores a goal. Then we found a little magic with Sajevic’s goal. This time of year, teams either find a way to win close games or lose close games. Our team is finding ways to win those games. This group has great spirit and resilience and we earned those two points.”
Air Force (14-11-2 overall, 10-8-1 AHA) will face Niagara (8-17-1 overall, 5-12-1 AHA) again on Saturday evening at Dwyer Arena.
