Saturday was a busy day for Air Force sports, as the football, basketball, and hockey teams were all in action. Unfortunately, all three teams lost, bringing a bit of a bummer feeling to the end of 2012.
First up was the Falcon football team, playing in their sixth straight bowl game, the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, TX. First the good news: the Falcons had a really good second quarter. They scored twice to erase an early Rice lead, taking a 14-7 advantage at halftime. Now the bad news: their second half was atrocious. The Falcons mustered only 58 yards of total offense, finishing the game with a season low 214. Rice erupted for 19 points in the fourth quarter, and the Owls flew away with a 33-14 victory.
The loss dropped the Falcon record to 6-7, the first losing season in head coach Troy Calhoun's six years at the helm. Which is why 6-6 teams should not be going to bowl games. "We made it to a bowl; oops, we had a losing season." Too many bowl games.
In Sunrise, FL, the Air Force basketball team put up a really good fight against #14 Florida. The Falcons trailed 33-31 at the half. Alas, the Gators came out of the locker room charged up, quickly building on that lead, and pulled away for a 78-61 win.
Mike Lyons came into the game leading the Mountain West in scoring, but was held to just 11. Kyle Green came off the bench to also score 11. The Falcons recond now stands at 8-3.
Closing out the day was the Falcon hockey team, on the ice at the Mariucci Classic in Minneapolis. Minnesota freshman goalie stopped all 18 shots he faced for his third shutout of the year, and the Falcons lost to the #4 Gophers 4-0. Minnesota got single goals in the first two periods, then broke the game open with two more in a three-minute span in the third.
The Falcons are now 5-8-4, but have a chance to rebound, as they will face Alabama-Huntsville Sunday afternoon. The Chargers lost their game Saturday to #1 Boston College 5-2. In that game, Eagle coach Jerry York became the winningest college hockey coach ever, getting victory number 925.
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