Air Force Falcons Men’s Hockey Falls Short Against Holy Cross

The Air Force Falcons men’s hockey team fell behind by two goals and was unable to catch up to Holy Cross in a 3-2 loss at Cadet Ice Rink on Friday night.
The opening game of the two-game set in the AHA was the first game of a four-game homestand but was the third straight loss for the Falcons (11-15-1, 8-9-0, 24 points), who were swept last weekend by Army West Point.
Holy Cross (12-11-2, 11-4-2, 33 points) entered the game fourth in the AHA. It was the Crusaders’ third straight win and fifth straight game without a loss.
The Falcons and Crusaders will wrap up the series at 5:05 p.m. mountain on Saturday.
While Air Force and Holy Cross are now even in the all-time series at 24-24-14, the Crusaders have won the last 11 meetings. Air Force's last win in the series was a 7-2 victory, Dec. 6, 2019, at the Cadet Ice Arena.
The game was scoreless until the second period, when Holy Cross took the lead with a goal from Liam McLinskey, the first of two for the game. Matthew Kursonis pitched in with the assist on the power play goal. In the final seconds of the period, McLinskey struck again, this time on even strength, with assists from Brody Gagno and Nic Petruolo.
McLinskey was the AHA player of the year last season and is among the league’s top scorers.
Up 2-0 going into the third, the Crusaders still had work to do. The Falcons’ Andrew DeCarlo scored Air Force’s first goal, with came on even stretch and featured assists by Sam Stitz and Nick Sajevic.
But Holy Cross answered several minutes after DeCarlo’s goal. Jack Stockfish found the back of the net with 7:30 remaining, off assists from Michael Abgrall and Gagno.
The Falcons furiously tried to rally, with Nick Remissong scored with 5:33 left off an assist from Holt Oliphant. But Air Force was unable to get the equalizer.
Holy Cross only took 20 shots but slipped three past Air Force goaltender Guy Blessing. He entered the game with a 1.55 GAA in his first 15 conference games and a .941 save percentage. After Friday, he allowed 26 goals in 16 league games.
Air Force’s leading scorer, Clayton Cosentino, was held without a point. He had five goals and 13 assists for 18 points going into the series.