An unsettling trend made another appearance Friday night, and it’s costing Air Force valuable conference points.

The Falcons surrendered a third-period lead without emerging with a victory for the seventh time during the 2021-22 season, this time a 3-2 Atlantic Hockey loss to RIT in overtime on Friday.

The Falcons battled back behind goals from Clayton Cosentino in the second period and Brian Adams midway through the third to carry a 2-1 lead into the closing minute, but the Tigers (16-13-4, 12-9-4) scored a 6-on-4 goal to tie it with 58 seconds left in regulation. The visitors then ended it only 38 seconds into overtime.

So instead of taking three points, Air Force got one – the same outcome as last Saturday at Bentley. On other occasions they’ve won in overtime or a shootout to take two points, but that’s not three. A point or two here or there, to say nothing of seven times, would have positioned the Falcons better for the AHA playoffs.

“We worked hard to get back into it, get the lead and then we self-destruct at the end,” coach Frank Serratore said. “It wasn’t just the penalty at the end. We gave them a 2-on-0 by shooting a puck into (their) shin pads on the power play. We managed the game very well up until that point, then we let it get away. They killed a penalty, they pulled the goalie and they executed.

“In the overtime, the same thing. We turn the puck over on the attack. We either figure this out, and we figure this out in a hurry or we ain’t long for this season.”

The Falcons (12-16-3, 10-12-3 AHA) were hurt by a variety of miscues, or as co-captain Luke Rowe termed it, “death by a thousand cuts.”

RIT had more jump early but the teams held serve until a trio of freshman figured into the first goal. Air Force defenseman Mitchell Digby‘s intended reversal pass below the Falcons goal line was intercepted by Carter Wilkie, who fed Grady Hobbs all alone between the circles with 5:05 to go in the first.

Falcons goalie Alex Schilling (19 saves) had no chance on that.

The irony of this was those are the only two underclassmen among the Tigers’ four forward lines.

One of the Falcons’ surging freshmen, Cosentino, got the equalizer late in the second period on a bit of a broken play. Will Gavin didn’t get all he wanted on a pass from the left point. Bennett Norlin reached the loose puck first and poked it to the slot. Cosentino then sent a backhander to the roof of Tommy Scarfone‘s net with 3:50 to go.

“On my goal, that’s a product of what the coaches tell us – go to the net,” Cosentino said. “I ended up gong to the net, and the puck bounced out to me. I just put it to the net, I didn’t really aim or anything. I got lucky it went in.”

Adams, a sophomore, gave the Falcons the lead 9:02 into the third when freshman center Austin Schwartz won the puck cleanly to Adams, who was stationed along the right circle wall. His shot fooled Scarfone (20 saves), and Air Force was in business.

That’s how it stayed until the closing minute. However, Rowe said there were an abundance of warning signs before the final plot twist.

“We’re making so many mistakes with the puck,” the defenseman said. “We had a great second period, in the third we had a little going here and there, but we were panicking with the puck in the D zone. How many times did we ice the puck today?

“They might not have scored, but we were giving them chances. You’re keeping them in the game mentally. You keep their energy high, their momentum, their morale, eventually something is going to happen. We need to learn how to close.”

Schilling had to make a couple of stops on breakaways before the Tigers set up shop with a 6-on-4 after their penalty expired while Sam Brennan‘s, an interference call that broke up another RIT breakaway chance, had about a minute to go.

Kobe Walker scored on the two-man advantage from the backdoor, another goal Schilling really had no chance on.

Air Force stormed Scarfone’s net in the closing seconds of regulation but could not get it past him.

Overtime came in and went in 38 seconds. Air Force defenseman Brandon Koch lost control of the puck at the RIT line, and the Tigers pounced and headed toward Schilling in a hurry, and Wilkie finished a nice tape-to-tape-to-tape play with Walker and Aiden Hansen-Bukata.

“We were flat in overtime,” Rowe said. “They got a chance right away, we go up the ice, the puck gets turned around, they come back we’re just slow to get back.”

Schilling, again, had almost no chance on the play.

“We rely on him to help us out, but we shouldn’t rely on him the way that we do at times where we’re making him make these spectacular saves,” Rowe added. “We’re giving them chances we don’t need to give them and making Schills make ESPN highlight saves when he shouldn’t have to.”

Air Force’s point kept it in sixth place in Atlantic Hockey. That is the cut-off position for a first-round playoff bye, which the Falcons dearly want. Of concern, however, is the fact that three teams below them are within one or two points. If things break wrong Saturday, Air Force could find itself hosting a first-round series or even on the road.

RIT, meanwhile, leap frogged Sacred Heart and is tied with Army West Point for third.

©First Line Editorial 2022