Hockey: Falcons score five in the third for 6-2 win

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U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) --  The Academy Falcons scored five third-period goals for a 6-2 win over the Mercyhurst College Lakers in an Atlantic Hockey Association game Saturday, Nov. 3, at the Cadet Ice Arena. The two teams split the series as the Lakers won on Friday, 5-3.

With the win, the Academy improved to 4-2-0 overall and 2-2-0 in the AHA. Mercyhurst fell to 1-6-1 overall and 1-2-1 in the conference.

For the second straight night, Mercyhurst jumped ahead in the game as Matt Pierce scored on an odd-man rush from Brett Robinson just 52 seconds into the game. The Lakers took a 2-0 lead at the 8:14 mark on the power play. Ben Cottreau made a cross-ice pass to Matt Fennell. Fennell's one-timer beat Falcon goalie Andrew Volkening.

The Academy cut the deficit to 2-1 on a goal by Brett Nylander, his third of the season. Brent Olson won a faceoff in the offensive end and got the puck back to defenseman Brandon Johnson. Johnson's shot hit a defenseman's skate and Nylander put back the rebound at the 11:26 mark.

After a scoreless first period, the Falcon's freshman class turned the game around early in the third. Three straight goals by freshmen in a span of 2:15 in the third gave them a 4-2 lead.

Freshman Matt Becker, playing his first career game in place of the injured Josh Schaffer, scored his first collegiate goal at the 3:38 mark to tie the game at 2-2. Josh Frider took a shot from the right side and Becker put back the rebound. Jeff Hajner also assisted on the play.

Freshman Blake Page scored his first career goal at the 5:06 mark from Matt Charbonneau and Scott Kozlak. Charbonneau took a shot from the right point that was saved by Laker goalie Ryan Zapolski. Page collected the rebound and took a shot from behind the goal line on the left side that caromed off the goalie and went in for the Academy's first lead in the series.

Just 47 seconds later, Kozlak scored his first career goal from Derrick Burnett and Brandon Johnson on a delayed penalty. Burnett controlled the puck behind the Mercyhurst net and waited as Kozlak was the extra skater coming off the bench. Burnett fed Kozlak who was racing down the slot for a 4-2 advantage.

Mercyhurst took six penalties in the third period and the Academy capitalized with two power-play goals and one delayed penalty goal. Greg Flynn netted the Falcon's first power-play marker of the weekend at the 10:41 mark from Johnson and Hajner. On a 5-on-3, Johnson made a pass from the left point to Flynn at the right point. Flynn's one-timer beat Zapolski low to the short side.

With two seconds left in the game, the Academy scored another 5-on-3 goal as Eric Ehn scored his first goal of the season. In the waning seconds of the game, Brent Olson's shot hit the crossbar and Ehn put back the rebound to make the final score 6-2. 

The Academy skaters out-shot Mercyhurst, 43-18, in the game. The Falcons were 2-for-10 on the power play while Mercyhurst was 1-for-5. Volkening made 16 saves for the Academy while Zapolski made 37. Volkening shutout the Lakers in the final 52 minutes of the game, stopping all 15 shots he faced.

The Falcons travel to Rochester, N.Y., for a two-game series with the Tigers of Rochester Institute of Technology Nov. 9-10. 
 
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