Hockey: UConn comes from behind for 7-5 win over Air Force

  • Published
  • By Dave Toller
  • U.S. Air Force Academy
STORRS, Conn. (AFPN) --  Connecticut scored five third-period goals, including three on the power play, for a 7-5 come-from behind win over Air Force in an Atlantic Hockey Association game Dec. 8 here at the Freitas Ice Forum.

Air Force falls to 9-8-3 overall and 6-3-3 in the AHA. UConn improves to 5-11-0 and 5-8-0 in the conference.

The Falcons had a 5-2 lead after two periods, but UConn scored two goals in the first two minutes of the third period and then tied the game with 12:54 remaining on a power play. The Huskies then scored the game-winner with 12:19 left on another power play and added an empty-netter with 1:07 remaining.

The Falcons opened the scoring quickly as Frank Schiavone found the net just 1:34 into the game. The junior defenseman deflected a shot by Brian Reese for his second goal of the season. Josh Frider also assisted on the play. The Falcons took a 2-0 lead at the 9:00 mark when Andrew Ramsey scored from Mike Phillipich. Phillipich took a shot that was saved but Ramsey collected the rebound at the bottom of the left circle and took a shot that went in the top corner and came right back out.

Just 18 seconds later, the Huskies got on the board as Chris Myhro redirected a centering pass to make the score 2-1. South Windsor, Conn., native Brian Gineo, playing in front of many family and friends, scored his third of the season at the 14:04 mark. Ramsey dropped a pass to Eric Ehn who skated down the slot. Ehn, the nation's leading scorer with 35 points, found a wide open Gineo on the far doorstep. The Falcons out-shot the Huskies, 15-9, in the first period.

Air Force scored two more goals in the second period and built a 5-2 lead. On the power play, Ehn's shot was saved and Phillipich put back the rebound at 6:29. The Falcons were on another power play three minutes later, but it was UConn that scored a short-handed goal. Myhro just came out of the penalty box after a brief 5-on-3 Falcon advantage. He picked up a loose puck and skated in on Peter Foster all alone. His wrister went off of Foster's glove and into the net to make the score 4-2 at 9:28. The Falcons took a 5-2 lead when Gineo's slap shot from the point got through traffic at the 8:48 mark. His goal was assisted by Theo Zacour and Josh Print.

UConn scored two goals in the first two minutes of the third period to cut the Falcon lead to 5-4. On the power play, Michael Coppola redirected a shot by Cole Koidahl at 18:18 with just one second remaining on the man-advantage. Twenty-five seconds later, the Huskies cut the Falcon lead to one goal with an even-strength marker from Charles Solberg. Sean Erickson made a pass from the right point to a wide open Solberg on the backdoor. The Huskies tied the game on the power play at 7:06 on a goal by Solberg. After the goal, Ian Harper replaced Foster in the net. Just 35 seconds later, the Huskies scored the game-winner on a power-play goal from Myhro. After the goal, Foster came back in net for Air Force. In a four-on-four situation, the Falcons pulled the goalie for the final 3:05 of the game. The Huskies scored an empty-netter with 1:07 remaining.

Air Force out-shot UConn 44-25. Harper took the loss for the Falcons as he gave up the game-winner. He also made one save. Foster played 56 minutes and made 17 saves while allowing five goals. Tomes made 39 saves for the Huskies. AFA was 2-for-8 on the power play while UConn was 3-for-4.

"This is a 60-minute game and these losses will come back to haunt us late in the season," head coach Frank Serratore said. "I take my hat off to UConn. They came out with a different intensity in the third period. We needed to kill that first penalty and didn't. They put the puck on net and we weren't able to stop it."

Air Force is now idle until Jan. 5-6 when they will play at Mercyhurst.

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