Good goaltending can be a great equalizer, something Air Force was reminded of Saturday night at Buffalo, N.Y.
Canisius scored twice in the first 7:19 of the second period, and then rode 34 saves from goaltender Blake Weyrick to a 2-0 victory over the Falcons in an Atlantic Hockey Conference game.
One night after erupting for seven goals, the Falcons (1-3, 1-1 AHC) had no answer for the junior, who was making just his third NCAA appearance, or the Golden Griffins defense, which blocked 19 shots.
“They played a harder game tonight,” Air Force coach Frank Serratore said. “Their goalie had a remarkable turnaround (from Friday).”
Dominant elsewhere
The Falcons outshot the Golden Griffins, 34-18, and controlled the face-off circle, winning 33 of 55 draws (60 percent). Senior Kyle Haak won 13 of 20 face-offs (65 percent), and freshman Kieran Durgan won 7 of 9 (77 percent).
Air Force had a 14-3 shots edge in the third, but could not dent Weyrick, who was subbing for injured starter Daniel Urbani.
“The boys gave it everything they had,” Serratore said. “We put in a tremendous effort. I thought we wore them down; in the final 30 minutes it was all about us.”
Minutes 20-30 were the problem. Matt Hoover scored 59 seconds into the second, and Grant Meyer made it 2-0 a little more than 6 minutes later when he finished a 2-on-1 with Dylan McLaughlin.
Billy Christopoulos made 16 saves for Air Force, which had a 77-33 edge in total shots attempted.
Notes
Falcons senior co-captain Matt Serratore, who absorbed a high hit from Canisius defenseman Jimmy Mazza in the third period of Friday’s game, did not play. Atlantic Hockey suspended Mazza, who received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for his actions, for Saturday’s game. Sophomore Walker Sommer skated in Serratore’s place on Kyle Haak‘s left wing. … Sophomore Shawn Knowlton and freshman Jensen Zerban entered the lineup in place of Serratore and junior Pierce Pluemer.
Air Force’s three stars
- Kyle Haak. The senior was a horse in the circle, winning 13 of 20 draws, and registered seven shots on goal.
- Trevor Stone. The junior was around the puck all night and had six shots, including two in the closing minutes.
- Dan Bailey. The senior defenseman had five shots and was one of the ringleaders of a defense that gave up few chances.
Frankly speaking
“Last weekend, I didn’t like our spirit at Colorado College,” Serratore said. “Tonight I loved it.”
Up next
The Falcons switch things up a bit next week, playing host to Niagara in an NCHC series on Thursday and Friday night at Cadet Arena. Both games face off at 7:05 p.m.
©First Line Editorial 2017-18
