PROVIDENCE, R.I. — In a playoff run full of nail-biters, Air Force hockey held on in another for its second NCAA Tournament win in program history.
Two Western Michigan goals only 23 seconds apart turned a rout into the hotly contested game that eventually ended with the Falcons’ 5-4 victory – the academy’s fourth game in a row decided by one goal. That playoff experience helped Air Force handle the adversity, coach Frank Serratore said.
“When it was 4-3 and there was some deer-in-the-headlights looks on the bench I asked the guys if they would have taken a 4-3 lead with 10 minutes left before the game began and they said ‘Yeah,'” Serratore said. “That settled them down. I wasn’t ready to jump off a bridge at that point, but I had one picked out.”
“Our leadership really calmed us down and got us back on track,” said junior Jordan Himley, who recorded three points (two goals) while Kyle Haak had two goals.
After the Falcons went ahead 4-1 with 16:02 left on the first Air Force power-play goal in four games, WMU responded with a goal by Griffen Molino with 15:12 left and a tally by Sheldon Dries off the resulting faceoff with 14:49 remaining to make it a one-goal game at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, R.I.
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