Air Force scored two power-play goals in the first period and went on to a 5-2 victory over Fairfield in the first round of the Quinnipiac Cup on Friday.
“It was a sloppy game and there was no flow to it,” head coach Frank Serratore said. “We won because we have better players, but we have to play much better Saturday night. It’s always nice to win and now our players have a chance to play in the championship game.”
Scott Zwiers and Spanky Leonard scored on the man advantage in the first period for the Falcons. Scott Bradley also scored for Air Force, and Peter Hams scored for Fairfield and the first period ended 3-1.
Fairfield cut the Falcons’ lead to 3-2 as Dan Cotter slipped behind the Falcon defense and scored at 10:26 of the second. But Jace Anders gave the Falcons a 4-2 lead with a power-play goal.
Jeff Zurick added another goal early in the third period for Air Force.
Air Force broke a 15-game losing streak in road openers with Friday’s victory. The Falcons had not won a road opener since a 6-5 overtime win at Colorado College in 1985. Before the game, the Falcons had won just two road openers in the last 21 years.
