Scoreboards don’t lie but sometimes they do fib.

Look no further than Saturday night’s 4-0 victory by No. 2 Denver over Air Force at Magness Arena.

Guy Blessing made 23 saves, and the Falcons (3-5) played a smart, simple game against one of Division I hockey’s true powerhouses. They had the misfortune of running into a hot goalie and one of D-I’s top scorers.

“We played a really good road game tonight,” Falcons coach Frank Serratore said. “Last night against Colorado College (a 6-2 loss), we flat out beat ourselves. We were a hot mess. At least tonight we forced the Pioneers to beat us. They had great goaltending, we had terrific chances. We played a great road game.”

Here are a few observations from Saturday’s game:

Keeping It Simple Pays Off

If a puck came anywhere near the crease, Blessing or his defense or centers knocked it out of harm’s way as fast as possible. Risky passes up the middle of the ice became an endangered species. Instead, the Falcons packed it in on defense and played the puck up the walls.

It’s a sound strategy against any team but particularly one as talented as the Pioneers (4-1-1).

Keep in mind, this game was 1-0 until 1:29 remained in the second period, and 2-0 until 5:46 was left in the game. Air Force really wasn’t out of it until Denver junior Massimo Rizzo scored his second goal of the game off a rush. Rizzo, who also scored a beautiful deflection goal with nine minutes to play in the first period, has 14 points … in six games.

When Denver’s speed and skill gave it a scoring chance, Blessing answered the bell. The junior made numerous difficult stops and controlled his rebounds better than at any point this season. Even before Rizzo’s first goal, Blessing made a couple of highlight reel stops with a tired group in front of him due to an icing call.

Opportunity Knocked for Air Force

About six minutes into the second period, Austin Schwartz and Owen Dubois combined for three point-blank chances on DU’s Freddie Halyk, who was making his first NCAA start. The freshman stopped every one of them.

Later in the period, the Falcons had a 5-on-3 power play for 1:23. They generated eight shots, including four on Halyk. The shooting gallery was led by defensemen Luke Rowe and Chris Hedden and left wing Will Gavin — players on whose sticks Air Force wants to have the puck.

Gavin had another golden opportunity in the third period after he exited the penalty box. A head-man pass sent him in alone on Halyk, and the 6-foot-5 goalie stoned him again.

“You’ve got to score on those 5-on-3s, you’ve got to score on some of those opportunities we had,” Serratore said. “With how well I thought the first two periods, we played as good of a road game as you could play except we had to find a way to score a goal. We generated chances.”

What This Means Going Into AHA Play

It’s been an uneven first eight games for the Falcons, but file this game (as well as the 6-5 upset of No. 8 Michigan State and last Saturday’s four-goal rally at Anchorage) as possibilities for this team.

They kept Denver’s powerful power play from scoring on five chances, they were outshot by just three (27-24) and they won the faceoff battle (33-30). Those are details that matter.

“They’ve got fantastic speed,” Serratore said. “We protected the good ice. Our penalty kill did a fantastic job. They do a lot of clever, tricky things with their switches.

“If we just could have scored a couple of timely goals, we played more than a good enough game to win on the road against a powerful opponent.”

So if Air Force can manage a game as it did Saturday, it’s due to have a surge at some point, and probably sooner than later.

“If we replicate this performance, especially on the road, we will win a lot of road games,” Serratore added. “Ultimately, the worm is going to turn and some of those pucks are going to start bouncing for us.

“Tonight I shook every guy’s hand and said, ‘I’m shaking hands with a bunch of guys who showed up to play tonight.'”

The reward didn’t show up on the scoreboard, but as we’ve established, sometimes the numbers don’t tell the full truth.

Notes: What is a coach’s best way to send a message? Playing time. Both teams made several changes to their lineup. Air Force sat defenseman Mitchell Digby, and forwards Lucas Coon and Brendan Gibbons. Defenseman Owen Baumgartner and forwards Jake Marti and Ethan Ullrick were in. … The Falcons will open Atlantic Hockey play at Niagara next weekend. The Purple Eagles were swept by Sacred Heart this weekend.

©First Line Editorial 2023