WEST POINT, N.Y. – In front of a sellout crowd at Tate Rink, Air Force scored late in the first period on the power play and that’s all the Falcons would need as they handed Army a 1-0 defeat on Friday night.
Army (5-11-5, 3-9-5 AHA) saw Parker Gahagen stand tall in net with 32 saves with 15 in the first period. The Black Knights had three opportunities on the power play, but couldn’t come up with an equalizer.
Air Force (10-9-2, 8-5-2 AHA) has now won eight of its last 12 games to get over .500 for the first time this season. Max Hartner scored the lone goal of the night on the power play with assists to Zach Yoder and Phil Boje. That lead was all that Shane Starrett needed as he made 23 saves to earn his first career shutout between the pipes.
The Falcons scored the only goal of the night and it came on the power play as Hartner found the net with 5:33 remaining in the opening period. Army went off for a five-minute major for hitting from behind and Air Force took advantage. Zack Yoder fired a shot from the left circle that looked to have been knocked down in front and Hartner jammed it past Gahagen for the lead.
The Black Knights came out hungry in the second period and had a 12-8 shot advantage, but Starrett kept the puck out of the net. The best chance for Army in the period came off the stick of Trevor Fidler. During a 3-on-2 he was sent a cross-ice pass and was open at the far post, but hit the puck wide of the net.
Army continued to keep the pressure on in the third and had a couple of great scoring chances. The first came off the stick of C.J. Reuschlein. He skated into the zone and connected on a blast that beat Starrett, but rang off the post to keep it a 1-0 lead. Later in the frame, Tyler Pham got behind the defense and flipped on wrister on net. The puck bounced off the mask of Starrett as the Falcons hung on for the 1-0 win.
Air Force held a 33-23 shot advantage in the game and went 1-for-5 on the man advantage.
Army is back in action tomorrow night against the Falcons for the 6:05 p.m. faceoff. The game is sold out, but fans can tune into Time Warner Cable Sports Channel in New York to see all the action live. The webstream on EverSport.tv will be available as well.
Ice Shavings: Army and Air Force faced each other for the 64th time since meeting in the first matchup in 1969 … Gahagen started in net for the 17th time this season and 52nd time in his career … Army has played six one-goal games this season and is 2-4 in those games … Air Force now leads the series at West Point by a 14-13-2 margin … the Falcons have a 37-22-5 overall lead in the series.
