THE BASICS:

Score: Air Force 4, Holy Cross 2 
Location: Worcester, Mass. (Hart Center)
Records: Air Force (15-10-5, 13-6-5 AHC); Holy Cross (14-11-5, 12-7-5 AHC)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016
Time: 7:05 p.m.

THE LEAD: With the game tied at 2-2 in the third period, Tyler Rostenkowski scored the game-winning goal for the Falcons as the Holy Cross men's hockey team fell to Air Force, 4-2, in Atlantic Hockey action on Saturday evening. With just four regular season games remaining, the Crusaders are in fourth place in Atlantic Hockey with 29 points. Robert Morris leads the conference with 34 points. Air Force is second with 31 points and RIT is in third place with 30 points.

 HOW IT HAPPENED:

• With 1:24 left in the first period, Air Force scored first off a goal from Matt Serratore who picked up the pass from Tyler Ledford. Ledford sent the puck from behind the net to Serratore who shot a one timer into the top right corner of the net to make the score 1-0 Falcons.
• Holy Cross responded quickly with a goal from sophomore Ryan Ferrill (Havertown, Pa.) with only 28 seconds left in the period. Sophomore Tommy Muratore (Mendham, N.J.) blasted a wrist shot to the net that was tipped by sophomore Brett Mulcahy (Kelowna, British Columbia) and saved by Shane Starrett. Ferrill scored off the rebound to tie the score 1-1 at the end of the first period.
• Air Force outshot Holy Cross 6-5 in the first period, going 0-1 on the power play while the Crusaders went 0-2.
• At 12:55, Jordan Himley sent a pass to Ben Carey in the crease who then scored a short-handed goal to Berrafato's glove side, making the score 2-1 Falcons.
• Just 24 seconds later during a power play, freshman Michael Laffin (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) scored the equalizer with a backhanded goal to the top left corner of the net, making the score 2-2. Sophomore T.J. Moore (Edina, Minn.) sent a pass to senior Joe McNamara (Chestnut Hill, Mass.) who kicked the puck to Laffin for the score.
• Holy Cross outshot Air Force 8-6 in the second period and went 1-2 on the power play while the Falcons went 0-2. 
• At 9:57 in the third period, Dylan Abood sent a shot from the left face off circle that was deflected by Dan Bailey and then saved by sophomore Paul Berrafato (Williamsville, N.Y.). Rostenkowski scored off the rebound to make the score 3-2 Falcons.
• With 48 seconds left, the Crusaders went with an empty net.
• Then, with just 28 seconds left in the game, Jonathan Kopacka sent a pass to Himley who scored from behind his own blue line on the Crusaders' empty net to make the final score of the game 4-2 Falcons.

 INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Holy Cross outshot Air Force 22-21 in the contest.
• Berrafato recorded 17 saves, while Starrett recorded 20.
• The Crusaders went 1-5 on the power play, while Air Force went 0-4.
• Holy Cross won 32 face-offs, while the Falcons won 26.

.BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• The Crusaders split their two-game home series as they won 4-2 on Friday night. The season series is tied at 2-2-0 as the Crusaders went 1-1-0 earlier this season at Air Force. 
• The Crusaders are now 9-4-1 at home this season.
• Senior assistant captain Brett Lubanski (Farmington Hills, Mich.) has played 143 career games, which are tied for sixth all-time in program history.
• Senior Castan Sommer (Shrewsbury, Mass.) has played in 142 games, which are tied for eighth all-time.
• McNamara now has 17 assists this season, which are tied for eighth by a defenseman in the program's Division I history.

 UP NEXT

• The Crusaders return to action next Friday Feb. 19 when they take on conference opponent AIC at the Hart Center.
• Friday will feature the seventh annual “Pink the Rink” at the Hart Center. “Pink the Rink” is sponsored by Saint Vincent Hospital and the team will be wearing special edition light gray jerseys with pink and white trim to show their support for breast cancer awareness. The jerseys will be auctioned off throughout the game to benefit Pink Revolution, which is an alliance of dedicated individuals with a unified commitment to those touched by breast cancer.

 BE PART OF THE ACTION THIS SEASON

• To purchase tickets for the 2015-2016 Holy Cross men's hockey season, call 1-844-GOCROSS or visit GoHolyCross.com/Tickets.

 STAY CONNECTED

• There are numerous ways to stay connected with the Holy Cross men's hockey team. Follow the Crusaders on Twitter @HCrossMHockey, Facebook and Instagram.