Air Force hockey captain Austin Schwartz, Falcons embrace high-stakes nature of weekend’s home playoff game | Sports

The Army Black Knights spoiled Air Force hockey’s senior night so senior captain Austin Schwartz earned a second one for himself and his classmates.

Last week, in his penultimate regular-season game with Air Force, Schwartz netted his first-career hat trick. His effort led the Falcons to a win and home ice this Saturday in a winner-take-all game in the first round of the Atlantic Hockey America tournament.

“It was a special moment just being able to do it with the boys, and send the seniors off to have another home ice game,” he said. “Obviously, our senior night didn’t go the way we planned. We really just wanted to get back to home ice and that was my goal. I love everything this institution’s given me. The fans, the community here. So to be able to play one more game here was kind of the inspiration.”

At 5 p.m. on Saturday, the Falcons host the same team they beat last week in Pittsburgh, the Robert Morris Colonials.

Air Force finished the season with a 14-19-3 overall record and an 11-13-2 mark in conference play. The team enters the AHA tournament as the seventh seed while Robert Morris (10-19-5-, 7-15-4) enters the postseason as the 10th seed.  Featuring 11 teams, the AHA has only half the league in action this weekend for the first round of the playoffs. The top five seeds are on a bye and the bottom six play each other with the sixth, seventh and eighth seeds hosting the bottom three.

The winners of these “play-in games” in essence, advance to conference quarterfinals next week.

Last season, Air Force earned a bye as the league’s fourth seed. Schwartz recalled what Robert Morris did this time last year as the league’s lowest seed.

“It’s a different animal when you get to playoffs. You never know what can happen,” he said. “Last year, Robert Morris was the last seed and they took over Bentley.”

Game analysis and insights from The Gazette sports staff including columns by Woody Paige and Paul Klee.

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No matter the sport however, besting a team three times in a row is a difficult challenge. The answer, per Falcons coach Frank Serratore, is that Air Force’s best players need to be at their best come Saturday. Schwartz, fellow senior and captain Clayton Cosentino, and junior defenseman Chris Hedden are the team’s leading scorers. Cosentino has 26 points on seven goals and 19 assists, Hedden has 21 on 11 goals and 10 assists, and Schwartz has 18 with seven assists and 11 goals.  Senior goalie Guy Blessing has been a rock for the team all season, leading the Falcons to the third-best scoring defense in league play with just 2.23 goals allowed per game. 

But as big a game as this is for the upperclassmen, it’s equally so for the younger players. All season,  freshmen and sophomores have played big minutes for Air Force. 

The Falcons will need the same come Saturday.

Fortunately for them, freshman winger Sam Stitz has stuffed the stat sheets in recent weeks. Stitz has tallied seven points in his last six games, five of which are goals. He skates alongside fellow freshmen Will Dawson and Nick Sajevic. The three have have great chemistry on the ice. Generating 2.1 goals per game this season, Air Force will need the trio to maintain their level of play to have success this weekend. 

“They’ve been studs for us all year and fighting for their spots in the lineup and I’m glad they finally solidified themselves,” Schwartz said. “I got the opportunity to play with Dawson for a little bit. He’s just a tenacious player, loves the game, plays his heart out and Stitz is the same way. And (Sajevic), he sees the ice so well.”

Saturday, Falcons young and old will take the ice for likely the final time this season, or in their hockey careers. But the team isn’t shying away from the moment, or the urgency, of this weekend’s one-and-done format. Instead, the Falcons are embracing the high stakes. 

“This is our Game 7. This is our Stanley Cup so each guy is brining what they have to the table, giving their best effort. That’s really what you need to do, eliminate the emotion of the game and enjoy the moment we have in playoff hockey,” Schwartz said.

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