USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team suffered a 2-0 loss to Air Force on Saturday evening in USAF Academy, Colo., as the Falcons came out on top of a defensive battle in Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) play.
Records:
SHU: 13-10-3, 9-6-3 AHA
Air Force: 13-11-2, 9-8-1 AHA
How It Happened
The first period started as a defensive battle as the game looked destined to go to the second, tied at 0. However, the Falcons had other ideas, scoring their fourth goal in the final minute of a period of the weekend to take a 1-0 lead at 19:45. The goal came off an impressive individual effort from Mason McCormick, who looped around the back of the net and flipped a back-handed shot through a defender's legs and over
Teagan Kendrick's pad.
The second period mirrored the first as offense was hard to come by. SHU had some chances, having three power plays in the frame, but Air Force's Dominik Wasik stood up to the challenge and sent the Falcons into the third still up 1-0.
Air Force's defense continued to give the Pioneers trouble in the third period, as SHU continued to hunt for its first goal of the game. The Pios put seven shots on Wasik in the final period, but he turned them all away to secure a shutout.
A highlight of the SHU's evening was its penalty kill, as the team went a perfect 4-for-4, which included a five-minute power play for the Falcons. The Pios held Air Force to zero shots on goal in the extended extra-man opportunity.
Kendrick allowed just the one goal in the contest, finishing with 30 saves, his sixth straight game with 30+ stops.
Notes
- The Pioneers, who came into the weekend with the nation's ninth-best penalty kill unit, went 4-for-4 on the PK tonight.
- SHU was shut out for just the third time this season.
- Kendrick has made 30+ saves in six consecutive games.
- Tonight ended five-game point streaks for Mikey Adamson and Reid Pabich.
- Noah Ellis played in his 96th collegiate game tonight.
Up Next
Sacred Heart returns home on Friday, Feb. 6, for the first of two games against Mercyhurst. The opening contest of the series is slated to start at 7 p.m. at the Martire Family Arena.
