For the first time in school history, the Air Force Falcons hockey team swept a ranked opponent, beating 14th-ranked Quinnipiac 3-1 Saturday at the Academy’s Cadet Ice Arena. The Falcons beat the Bobcats 4-1, on Friday.
With the win, Air Force head coach Frank Serratore earned his 200th career victory. He has won 151 games at Air Force and needs just four more wins to become the all-time winningest coach in Air Force history.
The Falcons drew first blood with a power-play goal at 11:59 of the first period. Greg Flynn passed to Eric Ehn at the center point and Ehn’s shot was tipped in by Michael Mayra for his first goal of the season. Neither team scored in the second period as the Falcons held a 1-0 lead after 40 minutes of play.
The Falcons scored two goals early in the third period to extend their lead to 3-0. Sophomore Jeff Hajner scored at the 3:45 mark when Matt Fairchild passed to Hajner in the right corner. Hajner skated up to the half boards, turned and sent a puck on net that hit goaltender Peter Vetri in the leg and went in for Hajner’s first of the season. Just 57 seconds later, Flynn gave the Falcons a 3-0 lead when his slap shot from the left side blue line beat Vetri high.
The Bobcats got on the board at the 12:05 mark with a power-play goal from David Marshall. Marshall dropped a pass to Bryan Leitch on the right wing, whose shot was saved by Andrew Volkening, but the puck popped into the air in front of the crease. Marshall skated in and put home the rebound.
Quinnipiac pulled the goaltender with 2:20 remaining, but got just one shot on net with the extra skater on the ice. Quinnipiac out-shot Air Force for the second straight night, this time by a 22-16 margin. Volkening made 21 saves while Vetri stopped 13 of the 16 shots he faced.
