WORCESTER, Mass.—Miami of Ohio needed a spectacular play to beat Air Force goaltender Andrew Volkening.
Justin Mercier scored an unassisted goal 15:21 into overtime to lift the RedHawks to a 3-2 win over Air Force in the NCAA Division I Northeast Regional semifinals on Saturday night.
Volkening made 30 saves, many coming on open shots from in close or on odd-man rushes, before Mercier collected a loose puck near center ice, cut around an Air Force defenseman and fired a shot under the crossbar.
“Wow,” Mercier said while shaking his head when asked about Volkening’s performance.
The RedHawks, who advanced to their second consecutive regional final, had some excellent chances in OT.
Leading scorer Ryan Jones broke in alone, but was robbed by Volkening with a blocker save on a blistering wrist shot from about 20 feet out. They also missed a pair of chances when pucks bounced over players’ sticks while Volkening was out of position.
“He gave them a chance to win the game,” Jones said. “They fought right to the end.”
Miami (33-7-1), which won just its second NCAA tournament game, faces the winner of the Boston College-Minnesota semifinal on Sunday.
“This team gave us everything they had and could have won the game,” Miami coach Rico Blasi said.
Miami capitalized on a too-many-men penalty to tie the game on Carter Camper’s score with 6:16 left in regulation. Camper collected a deflected puck at the edge of the left circle and slipped a wrist shot by Volkening.
The Falcons also lost in OT last year in their first NCAA appearance.
“We ain’t going to get here every year. We ain’t going to have many chances,” Air Force coach Frank Serratore said. “I will take these two to my grave as missed opportunities.”
Air Force (21-12-6) took a 2-1 lead at 8:34 of the second period when Josh Print collected a loose puck in the right circle, cut in front and slipped a shot behind goalie Jeff Zatkoff. Zatkoff made 23 saves.
The Falcons tied it 1-1 early in the second when Derrick Burnett scored off the rebound of Jeff Hajner’s shot.
The RedHawks, the highest scoring team in the nation at 4.08 goals per game, jumped ahead 1-0 on the game’s opening shift when Tommy Wingels beat Volkening with a wrist shot inside the far post from the left circle.
Volkening made a number of highlight stops earlier in the game. His best came on a Miami power play early in the second when he dove across the crease and, while airborne, got the blade of his stick on a shot preventing what looked like a sure goal.
