Air Force hockey wins; unbeaten streak reaches seven

STORRS, CONN. • For 59 minutes Saturday night, it was the Air Force hockey team folks have come to expect: Lots of speed, lots of shots and a three-goal lead.

In that other minute — the game’s last minute — Connecticut scored a goal and had a couple of chances to get closer than 3-1.

The Falcons (6-5-3, 6-1-3 Atlantic Hockey Association) go into Thanksgiving with a seven-game unbeaten streak after a third straight three-point weekend, but they can’t feel completely comfortable with where they are.

“You win the game, but you don’t feel very good about it,” said coach Frank Serratore. “We territorially dominated all six periods, but they weren’t very entertaining games.’’

Jacques Lamoureux scored his seventh goal of the season to cap a three-goal second period. He also assisted on Paul Weisgarber’s tally to open the scoring. Blake Page scored assisted from Derrick Burnett, who also assisted on Lamoureux’s goal.

Air Force had a 24-10 edge in shots through two periods and kept that 2-to-1 ration into the final minutes. But when UConn pulled its goalie and Alex Gerke spoiled Andrew Volkening’s shutout bid with 43 seconds left, and the Huskies continued to flurry, the game wound up being another low-scoring, slug-it-out affair (shots finished 38-22) that has marked this season.

“UConn’s style of play makes it very difficult, but we have to learn how to deal with that and do a better job against it,” Serratore said.