Last weekend’s series between Air Force and Niagara brought some good news and bad news for the Falcons.
The good news was that Frank Serratore’s team was able to snap a nine-game losing streak on Friday when the offense came to life in a 6-3 win over the Purple Eagles. While that outburst included two empty-net goals, the Falcons had scored just six times in their last six games combined.
The bad news was the 2-1 loss to the Purple Eagles on Saturday, with Air Force surrendering the game-winning goal to Niagara’s Oliver Gauthier with just six seconds to play in regulation.
Serratore’s team finds itself in tenth place in the Atlantic Hockey standings, seven points out of the eighth and final playoff spot with 12 games left.
“We were the better team on Friday, and we deserved to win,” he said. “We almost stole some points on Saturday, and we would have stolen them because we weren’t very good on Saturday.”
In summing up the Falcons’ 7-15-2 record to date, Serratore said, “Our consistency isn’t as it needs to be. We identify one area, tidy one area, and something else is going on. We’re constantly plugging holes.”
Every team copes with injuries throughout the season, but Air Force has been dealing with more than their fair share, especially in net.
Sophomore Guy Blessing, who won the starting role early, suffered a season-ending injury in December. Backup Maiszon Balboa got injured a month later and hasn’t played since Jan. 7. Freshman Aaron Randazzo has left the team.
That leaves senior Austin Park, who had made five relief appearances in his career before getting the start at Holy Cross on Jan. 13. He’s played the past four games, allowing five goals this past weekend in the split with Niagara.
“We had to dress a club goalie as a backup at Holy Cross,” said Serratore. “Fortunately, this past weekend, Park was our best player.”
Also out for an extended time are junior forward Brian Adams, junior defenseman Luke Robinson, and sophomore forward Austin Schwartz. Serratore says he hopes to get some players back as early as this weekend when the Falcons travel to rival Army West Point.
It doesn’t get any easier from there, as Air Force finishes up with series against the top four teams in the standings — Rochester Institute of Technology, Sacred Heart, American International, and Mercyhurst — plus a makeup series with Canisius that will see the Falcons play four games in five days with a flight on the off day.
Top four or bottom four in the conference, Serratore doesn’t see much difference.
“There are no layups,” he said. “Everybody’s pretty good, pretty old, pretty deep. Nobody’s on a down cycle any more thanks to the (transfer) portal.
“We only have three wins in conference, but one was against the first-place team (RIT). Anyone can beat anyone.”
Asked to comment on the upcoming series at Army West Point, Serratore put it in perspective.
“You have the rivalry that’s mentioned a lot to the guys by their instructors and classmates, but unlike football or other standalone games (against the other service academies), these are league games with six huge points on the line,” said Serratore. “So it’s more than just about pride.”
A change this season to the Atlantic Hockey postseason format makes those points even bigger, because the tenth-place Falcons are fighting to stave off elimination. The bottom two teams in the standings at the end of the regular season do not make the AHA tournament.
“We’re already in that mode,” said Serratore. “Since Christmas, our attitude has been that we’re already in the playoffs and every night is a single elimination game. The margin for error is shrinking.
“I’m telling the players that all they can control is their attitude and work ethic. Coaches control who is in the lineup; refs control certain aspects. But for us, it’s attitude and work ethic. As long as ours are good, we’re going to put our best foot forward and be able to look at ourselves in the mirror at the end and make sure we’ve done all we can.”
