Sophomore Peter Foster made 15 saves for Air Force (1-0-1) Saturday, as the Falcons took a 4-0 win over American International (0-2-0) in the consolation of the Quinnipiac Cup at the Northford Ice Pavilion.
In the opening round the Falcons tied Bentley but lost 3-1 in a shootout. AIC lost to Quinnipiac by a margin of 3-2. Both teams came into the game looking for a victory to take home.
In the first period there was no scoring, though the Falcons out shot the Yellow Jackets 27-2. The Yellow Jackets came out sluggish without any intensity and the Falcons dominated the play down in AIC’s zone.
Scoring got started in the second period at 4:00 when Josh Print scored a power-play goal assisted by Andrew Ramsey and Brook Turnquist.
In the third period Air Force notched its second goal of the game, by Eric Ehn with the assist credited to Josh Priewe on a one-timer from the slot.
The Falcons struck again at 16:46 of the third when Brian Gineo scored his first goal of the night with assists to Brian Resse and Bryan Becker to make it 3-0.
Air Force clinched the game at 19:01 of the third when Mike Knaeble scored. Assists went to Ryan Wiggins and Matt Badger.
The Falcons outshot the Yellow Jackets by a margin of 52-15 on the night, and Yellow Jackets goaltender Frank Novello made an impressive 48 saves in the losing effort. Novello set a new Quinnipiac Cup record with 27 saves in the first.
Air Force forward Andrew Ramsey and AIC defenseman Preston Cicchine were both named to the All-Tournament team.
The Yellow Jackets open up their Atlantic Hockey regular season at Sacred Heart next Saturday, October 23. The Flacons are back in action on Friday, October 22, to take on Colorado College.
