{"id":149045,"date":"2024-10-09T10:00:11","date_gmt":"2024-10-09T15:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/?p=149045"},"modified":"2024-10-08T19:57:48","modified_gmt":"2024-10-09T00:57:48","slug":"this-week-in-atlantic-hockey-air-force-loses-opener-to-arizona-state-rebounds-with-magical-game-to-split-with-sun-devils-as-blessing-stands-tall-in-goal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2024\/10\/09\/this-week-in-atlantic-hockey-air-force-loses-opener-to-arizona-state-rebounds-with-magical-game-to-split-with-sun-devils-as-blessing-stands-tall-in-goal\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Air Force loses opener to Arizona State, rebounds with ‘magical’ game to split with Sun Devils as Blessing stands tall in goal"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Guy Blessing started all 38 games last season for Air Force (photo: Paat Kelly\/Pengo Sports).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was a tale of two games for Air Force last weekend.<\/p>\n

On Friday, the Falcons opened their season with an 8-1 loss on home ice to 20th-ranked Arizona State. Nothing went right for coach Frank Serratore’s team, which allowed three short-handed breakaway goals in the loss. The Sun Devils tacked on a pair of power-play goals to cruise to the win.<\/p>\n

“We could have been down 12-1,” said Serratore. “As I always say, it usually comes down to goaltending and special teams, and we lost big in those areas.<\/p>\n

“But we battled back on Saturday.”<\/p>\n

The Falcons saw themselves down 2-0 in the first five minutes of Saturday’s contest and could have packed it in for the weekend.<\/p>\n

But Brendan Gibbons got Air Force on the board late in the first period, and senior Clayton Consentino scored his second of three goals on the weekend midway through the second period to knot the score at 2-2.<\/p>\n

But with less than a minute to go the third period, ASU’s Ryan Kirwan put the Sun Devils back in front. It looked like despite a valiant effort, the Falcons were headed towards being on the wrong end of a weekend sweep.<\/p>\n

“Heartbreak hotel,” said Serratore of the late Sun Devils goal. “But we persevered.”<\/p>\n

With goalie Guy Blessing pulled for an extra attacker, Gibbons scored his second goal of the contest to tie things up with 27 seconds to play.<\/p>\n

\n

Still in it!! Gibbons taking us to OT\ud83d\ude24 pic.twitter.com\/TeNGHCFbJT<\/a><\/p>\n

— Air Force Hockey (@AF_HKY) October 6, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n