Penalty-killers thrill Falcons
Superb special teams and goalie Andrew Volkening keyed Air Force’s 3-0 victory against Bentley and gave the Falcons sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Hockey Association.
Saturday’s win at Cadet Ice Arena salvaged the weekend series after Air Force and Bentley tied 3-3 in Friday’s opener.
“We treated this like a playoff game,” said Volkening, a senior who got his 12th career shutout in his 100th game. “We felt like we let one get away Friday.”
Air Force scored on a pair of power plays, one in each of the first two periods, with goals by Jacques Lamoureux and Derrick Burnett. Jeff Hajner added an empty-net goal with 1:44 remaining.
But it was the unsung heroes who made the difference.
“Our penalty-killers were the stars of the game,” said Falcons coach Frank Serratore.
Primarily, that’s five Falcons: the pairings of Blake Page and Scott Kozlak, Sean Bertsch and Paul Weisgarber, and perhaps the team’s best athlete, Matt Fairchild. Matt Becker was also a key contributor Saturday.
Bentley was 0-for-7 on the power play and 0-for-6 in the first two periods.
“They didn’t want to get in a track meet with us,” Serratore said. “They kept numbers back and wanted to get their offense from the power play.”
Air Force special teams disrupted that plan.
“Our penalty-kill was just unreal,” Volkening said. “They didn’t get that many shots and they didn’t even get to set up in our zone a lot of the time. Our guys were just clearing stuff out.
“This was our best defensive effort of the year.”
Air Force (4-5-1, 4-1-1) leads the league with nine points, one ahead of Rochester Institute of Technology.
The Falcons are 3-2-1 at home after going 16-4 last season. Air Force is on the road the next two weekends.
Bentley (2-4-1, 2-2-1) had won two of three entering the series.
Serratore rewarded the blue-collar effort of his third line — Bertsch, Kozlak and Page — by starting them the last two games and in the overtime Friday.
“They’re getting the job done,” Serratore said. “They’re doing what it takes to win.”
