WORCESTER, MASS. — Air Force men’s hockey coach Frank Serratore said watching film of Miami (Ohio) was a nightmare.
That nightmare became reality for Serratore and his Falcons today.
Justin Mercier scored at 15:21 of overtime as top-seeded Miami escaped with a 3-2 victory over fourth-seeded Air Force in an NCAA Northeast Regional semifinal at the DCU Center.
Air Force (21-12-6) falls to 0-2 all-time in the tournament — the Falcons blew a 3-1 lead to top-seeded Denver with eight minutes remaining in last year’s tournament. Yesterday’s loss also halted Air Forces unbeaten streak, which had been a nation-best nine games.
The RedHawks (33-7-1) will take on the Boston College/Minnesota winner today at 4:30 with a trip to the Frozen Four on the line.
Tommy Wingels scored on a wrister on a 2-on-1 break just 19 seconds into the game as the RedHawks, who entered the game with the nation’s best offense (4.08 goals per game), second-best defense (1.80 goals allowed), and penalty-killing unit (.896, with seven shorthanders).
Air Force sophomore goalie Andrew Volkening, who entered the game 10th in the nation in GAA (2.08), gave the Falcons a chance to win this one, stoning the RedHawks on an array of point-blank opportunities throughout the game. Miami was sloppy on two power-play opportunities through the first two periods.
Miami’s Jarod Palmer controlled a rebound off Volkening and had a wide-open net at 1:50 of the second period. Volkening, however, sprawled to his right and made a stick save, keeping the game close and sparking the Falcons’ offense.
Falcons forward Derrick Burnett grabbed a rebound 1:31 after Volkening’s highlight-reel save and tucked it under the glove of a diving Jeff Zatkoff to tie the score at 1-1 at 3:21 of the second period.
Josh Print gave the Falcons a 2-1 lead when he knocked home another loose rebound at 8:34 of the second.
Carter Camper tied the game at 2-2 when he rifled home a rebound off a shot by Alec Martinez at 13:34 of the third frame. The RedHawks, who are ranked No. 2 in the country, had the puck in the offensive zone for the bulk of the final two minutes but could not convert.
Burnett was called for slashing just two minutes into overtime. On the ensuing Miami possession, Ryan Jones and Camper fanned on shots just outside the crease with a wide-open net.
Volkening made a game-saving, blocker-side save on Jones, the nation’s leading goal scorer, on a breakaway just under five minutes into overtime.
Mercier went around Greg Flynn near the right faceoff circle, brought the puck out in front of the crease and flicked it top-shelf by Volkening for the winner.
