Season turning points usually are 20/20 hindsight. And, technically, the third period of Saturday’s Air Force hockey victory over Connecticut fits the description.

But the Falcons talk about it hoping it’s 20/20 foresight.

“That’s what playoff hockey is like,” senior defenseman Greg Flynn said Wednesday.

After squeaking out a 3-2 victory Friday, in a game where they were outshot, the Falcons were tied 1-1 after two periods Saturday and may have been losing control.

But in the final 20 minutes, Air Force dominated the Huskies, piling up a 14-5 edge in shots and scoring three times for a 4-1 victory.

“We definitely took control in the third period to the point that it felt like the early part of the season,” junior goalie Andrew Volkening said.

The victory changes the outlook heading into this weekend’s road games against a Bentley team that has won seven of its past eight games, and perhaps for the Falcons’ following final four regular-season games.

Air Force (19-7-2, 16-4-2 Atlantic Hockey Association) is 4-1-1 in the past six games and back in first place in the league. The Falcons are a point away from clinching home ice for the first round of the playoffs.

“I just want to see us going in the right direction,” coach Frank Serratore said, “and I thought I saw a glimpse of that last Saturday.”

Third periods for the past month-plus had been the Falcons’ undoing. After starting 14-1, the Falcons went 5-6-2, during which they either lost the lead or the game six times in the third period or overtime.

“We’d be in the third period of a close game and we’d be gripping the sticks real tight and making mistakes and pretty much beating ourselves, even if we had the game in hand,” Volkening said.

Before last weekend, assistant Mike Corbett spoke of the need for something to happen “so the guys could feel good about themselves again – something they could see on the score sheet, something they could read in the paper.”

It happened. Jacques Lamoureux scored twice in the third period to complete a hat trick and take the national lead with 23 goals. The Falcons rediscovered the power play and stayed out of the penalty box.

“There’s always the crucial turning point every season for the last two seasons when we’ve won the championship,” said Flynn, who moved back into second nationally in defenseman scoring (29 points). “I couldn’t tell you exactly what happens, but it’s a mindset, when we remember what we did that made us good.

“You need to figure that out before going into the playoffs, and it looks like that third period was the turning point.”

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