Air Force sweeps Brown with 4-3 win in series finale

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Junior defenseman Will Staring had a career-best two goals to lead Air Force to a 4-3 win over Brown in a non-conference college hockey game Saturday, Nov. 1, at the Cadet Ice Arena. The sweep was the first of the season and the first home sweep since Mercyhurst, Nov. 15-16, 2024.

Air Force (3-4-1 overall) jumped on the board on the first shift of the game. Defenseman Jake Peterson sent a puck in deep and Brendan Gibbons collected it behind the net. Gibbons' shot was saved but Nick Sajevic batted it out of the air and into the net for a 1-0 lead just 47 seconds into the game. Staring scored the next two goals for a 3-0 lead that chased Brown goalie Fred Halyk from the crease. At 3:35, Staring scored with a wrister from the left circle as Gibbons and Peterson had the assists. Staring's second of the game came from Peterson and Cade Moxham at 9:04 for a three-goal lead. With an assist on the first three goals, Peterson set a new career high with three helpers in the game.

Brown (0-2-0) started the second period strong, outshooting Air Force, 8-0, in the first seven minutes. The Bears found the back of the net on a flurry in front as Tanner Hartman scored at 5:01. The Falcons' top line struck again midway through the second period. Sam Stitz scored his third of the season from Will Dawson and Chris Hedden at 10:54 for a 4-1 lead. Brown answered with two goals in a span of 41 seconds late in the second as Ryan St. Louis (15:53) and Brian Nicholas (16:34) cut the Falcon lead to 4-3 after the first 40 minutes.

Late in the third period, a major penalty was called on Brown, but the Bears kills the five-minute power play as the Falcons clung to the one-goal lead. With 1:51 left in the game, Brown pulled the goalie for the extra attacker. Air Force only allowed three shots, all blocked by Dawson, who had a career-high six blocked shots in the game.

Brown outshot Air Force, 30-27. Air Force was 0-for-2 on the power play while the Bears were 0-for-1. Junior Dominik Wasik earned his second career win, making 27 saves, the second most of his career. Halyk started for the Bears and had two saves on five shots in 9:04. Tyler Shea played the final 49 minutes and stopped 21 of 22 he faced.

"We got the start that we wanted," head coach Frank Serratore said. "I want to credit Brown as they didn't go away. They pushed back and got back in the game. I'm proud of our guys because they bent, but didn't break. We have such a young team, and we have some veteran guys injured, but I'm proud of the guys for sticking to it. These wins were important in a lot of ways. We needed to have some momentum going into Sacred Heart next week."

Air Force hits the road for a pair of AHA games at Sacred Heart, Nov. 7-8.
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