Air Force had its chances Friday night, and more of them as the game wore on. But the Falcons could not overcome a tough start, nor could they cash in on a multitude of power-play opportunities in a 4-1 Atlantic Hockey loss to Holy Cross at Cadet Arena.

The Crusaders (4-12-1, 3-7-1 Atlantic Hockey) scored 4:18 into the game while the Falcons (6-9-2, 2-6-1 AHA) were killing off a five-minute major, and then added a second power-play strike with 9:21 to go in the third. Air Force drew to one on Will Gavin’s power-play goal with an extra attacker with 2:38 to go before Holy Cross iced with a pair of empty-net goals.

“We played 50 pretty good minutes of hockey … winning hockey has to be 60 minutes,” Falcons coach Frank Serratore said.

Start puts Air Force behind the 8-ball

A familiar trend continued. When Air Force trails after one period, odds are it’s in trouble. The Falcons are 1-7-1 in that scenario.

On Friday, it felt like that didn’t need to be the case.

“It’s just self-inflicted wounds,” co-captain Willie Reim said. “We got shot blocked then took an avoidable penalty. The start isn’t going to be good if you’re short a man.”

Sophomore defenseman Mitchell Digby was called for a slew footing penalty just 2:54 in, on the heels of a prime Holy Cross scoring chance. The Crusaders’ Tyler Ghirardosi scored 1:24 into the that advantage, and had Guy Blessing (25 saves) not been on top of his game, the deficit might have been larger.

“You can’t start games that way,” Serratore said. “We have to get pucks deep.”

Air Force applies pressure

The Falcons began playing their pressure game midway through the first, and they dialed up the volume from there on out. As a result, the Crusaders began taking penalty upon penalty – eight in all, including a five-minute major.

“Honestly we’re getting some chances, we’re getting some good chances,” Reim said. “Some of our big guys aren’t getting it in right now. The good takeaway is we’re getting chances, we’re just fighting the puck. At the end of the day that happens, you go through those stretches. It’s a long season. Hopefully we can start getting a few bounces when it starts mattering toward the end of the year.”

Still, the Crusaders won the special-teams battle convincingly, adding Jack Ricketts’ power-play strike in the third to got 2 for 2 while killing off seven of eight penalties.

Another factor was Holy Cross’ shot blocking prowess (it had 21).

“They’re so committed to blocking shots,” Serratore said. “They’re in shot lanes. We weren’t finding ways to get penetration. We need to get some puck luck.”

Jason Grande made 28 saves for the Crusaders.

Falcons left wondering what could have been

The Falcons outshot the Crusaders 26-17 after the first period and dominated in the face-off circle, winning 44 of 62 draws (71 percent). Blessing played well, the Falcons generated chances, and they had no shortage of opportunities to tie the score over the final 40 minutes. Where does that leave Air Force, which has lost four in a row and five of seven?

“They’re a good team. We were just getting our shots blocked,” Reim reiterated. “We were carrying the flow of the game. We’ve got to take that, know that we’re there. We’re just about there, and (we have to) capitalize on it next time.

“If we can get rid of those avoidable penalties and start playing our game, which is five on five, that’s where we really thrive. We dominated them (at that). We showed it in the second, we showed it in the third, we were pushing. If we can start with that we’ll be good to go.”

Serratore was more succinct in pointing to Saturday’s rematch.

“It’s a must-win game,” he said. “You can’t get swept at home after losing 11 of 12 points on the road.”

Oliphant brothers hold family reunion

Air Force freshman Holt Oliphant could look across the ice and see a familiar face Friday – a very familiar face, his younger brother Mack.

Holt, a 2001 birth year, has a goal in eight games this season for the Falcons, while Mack, who is a year younger, has three assists in 17 games for the Crusaders.

They played together on the Johnstown Tomahawks of the North American Hockey League. Holt had 44 points, including 18 goals, while Mack had 12 points. The brothers also played together at Lawrence Academy during the 2019-20 season and at various points during their youth hockey days in the Chicago area.

Notes: Digby’s major was the sixth one Air Force has taken in 17 games. … The Falcons were without several regulars due to injury, including centers Andrew DeCarlo and Jake Marti and defenseman Sam Brennan. DeCarlo was injured during practice this week, while Marti has been battling a lower-body injury much of the fall. Brennan (upper body) has missed the past the past 12 games after getting four assists in the Falcons’ first four games. … The teams play the series finale Saturday at 5 p.m. It’s Teddy Bear Toss night.

©First Line Editorial 2022