Rochester, N.Y. – Air Force made a lot of history Saturday night.
The Falcons won their first Atlantic Hockey Association championship with a 6-1 rout of Army and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
The Falcons’ opponent, site and time of its NCAA Tournament game will be announced today during the selection show (12:30 p.m., ESPN2). Air Force is expected to play in the West Regional, which starts Saturday at the Pepsi Center.
“This is like (Colorado College) beating (Denver), or DU beating CC to get to the national tournament,” Air Force coach Frank Serratore said. “This is a really neat deal accomplished by a bunch of neat guys, and to top it off we beat our archrival to get there.”
The Falcons (19-15-5) have their first winning season since going 19-18-2 seven years ago, and it’s a big turnaround from last season’s 11-20-1 record.
The Falcons upset top-seeded Sacred Heart 5-4 in overtime Friday night. Senior captain Billy Devoney scored with 54 seconds left in regulation to tie the game. Josh Print’s goal at 8:04 of overtime kept the season alive.
“(Friday) we were 55 seconds from being eliminated, and today we win a conference championship,” Serratore said.
The Falcons’ Andrew Ramsey and Josh Frider each scored two goals Saturday.
Air Force sophomore winger Mike Phillipich was named the tournament’s MVP with two goals and three assists in the two games. He scored the first goal against Army for a lead the Falcons never relinquished.
After a scoreless first period, Air Force scored twice in a span of three minutes in the second period. In the first five minutes of the second period, Army outshot the Falcons 10-0, including being blanked on a power play.
Phillipich’s goal came with 4:26 to play in the period. Three minutes later, Ramsey’s power-play goal gave the Falcons a 2-0 lead.
Air Force extended the lead in the third period to 4-0 on two goals by Frider. His first came on a breakaway at the 4:39 mark and his second was at the 9:33 mark on a rebound shot.
Army broke up the shutout at 12:59 with a power-play goal by Tim Manthey.
The Falcons answered with two goals to put the game away. Josh Schaffer scored at 15:25, and with 2:45 remaining Ramsey scored his second of the game and 22nd of the season.
The Falcons outshot Army 27-24. AFA freshman goalie Andrew Volkening got the start and stopped 23 shots. He stopped five power-play shots early in the second period when the game was scoreless.
“I’m just really proud of these guys,” Serratore said. “To be the first AFA team to get there is something they’ll always remember.”
Air Force 0 2 4 – 6
Army 0 0 1 – 1
First period – No scoring.
Second period – 1, Air Force, Phillipich (Ramsey, Ehn), 4:26. 2, Air Force, Ramsey (Phillipich, Mayra), pp, 7:53.
Third period – 3, Air Force, Frider (Flynn), 4:39. 4, Air Force, Frider (Devoney, Zacour), 9:33. 5, Army, Manthey (Meyer, Flicek), pp, 12:59. 6, Air Force, Schaffer (Hajner, Print), 15:25. 7, Air Force, Ramsey (Phillipich, Mayra), pp, 17:15.
Shots on goal – Air Force 10-10-7-27. Army 7-11-6-24. Power-play opportunities – Air Force 2 of 6; Army 1 of 5. Goalies – Air Force, Volkening, 60:00, 7-11-5-23 saves, 24 shots. Army, Kassel, 60:00, 10-8-3-21, 27 shots.
Attendance – 713.
