Purple Eagles Advance to the AHA Semifinals with a 4-3 Overtime Win Over Air Force
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Senior Matt Williams scored the game-winning overtime goal 4:49 into extra time, lifting Niagara hockey to a dramatic 4-3 win over Air Force in game three of the Atlantic Hockey Association Tournament Quarterfinals Serieson Sunday evening at the Cadet Ice Arena.
Freshman TJ Sarcona started the go-ahead goal with a clean faceoff win against Jason Fabian. The puck dropped back to Williams who fired a slap shot from the top of the point and beat starting Air Force goaltender Jason Torf low, glove side to take the game and earn a spot into the AHA semifinals.
“This series will go down as one of the biggest moments in our hockey history,” head coach Dave Burkholder said. “It was a phenomenal effort from the entire team. Different guys stepped it up at different times for us including the weekend Patrick Conte had as a freshman, Jackson Teichroeb in net and the play of our seniors has been great. It was a team effort though. It took us a lot to pull this together this year, but you can feel the trust and love in the locker room and we certainly came together at the right time. I couldn’t be happier for Matt Williams pulling the trigger in overtime and sending us to Rochester.”
Patrick Conte scored and added an assist for a two-point evening, while Stephen Pietrobon and Michael Benedict added single goals. Freshman goaltender Jackson Teichroeb stopped 31-of-34 shots in his 10th consecutive start.
The teams traded goals in the first 20 minutes of play with Niagara drawing blood first at 5:23 of the first period. Kevin Albers managed to keep the puck inside the AF defensive zone along the near boards and chipped a pass to Benedict whose wrist shot from the slot beat Torf high, stick side. The goal was the junior’s first of the season.
Alex Halloran evened the game less than three minutes later via assists from Adam McKenzie and Scott Holm just 13 seconds into a man-advantage. The defenseman corralled a pass from McKenzie along the blue line and released a laser from the top of the point that clanged off the cross bar and behind Teichroeb at 8:42.
The Purple Eagles regained the lead off the stick of Pietrobon with 7:04 remaining in the frame, as the freshman made a superb solo effort to force an Air Force turnover and slapped a low shot home. Air Force needed only 32 seconds to answer as George Michalke pulled the puck around an NU defender and backhanded a shot top shelf to send the teams into the first break tied at two apiece.
Neither squad could sustain offensive pressure in the second stanza, but there were several quality scoring opportunities exchanged including a Ben Carey one-timer on the doorstep that sailed just wide of a sprawling Teichroeb. The tie score stood until the 3:44 mark of the second as Conte notched his second goal in two games and sixth of the season to give Niagara its third lead of the contest. A William’s shot was bobbled by Torf, giving Phil Nasca an opportunity on the rebound, but his attempt bounced out to Conte to the left of Torf to make it 3-2.
Despite holding a 3-2 lead heading into third period, the Falcons amped up the pressure in the remaining 20 minutes of play, outshooting the Purple Eagles 14-5, and sending the contest into extra time off a Ryan Timar goal at 6:29. Michalke sent a backhand across the crease that Timar one-timed into an open net to tie the game at three apiece. The Falcons almost saw the game tilt in their favor as less than two minutes later Air Force appeared to have scored again, but it was waved off for having been deflected in by an Air Force hand.
The contest ended with Air Force holding a 34-31 advantage in shots. The Purple Eagles went 0-for-2 on the power play and the Falcons went 1-for-3 while a man-up.
This was the third time in program history the Purple Eagles played three games in three days, holding a 7-2-0 record after the three-game series against Air Force.
The Purple Eagles will make its third consecutive trip to Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y. for the Atlantic Hockey semifinals. Niagara will face off against the fifth-seeded Robert Morris on Friday, March 21 at 7:05 p.m. with the winner advancing to the final game (March 22) against the winner of the Canisius/Mercyhurst series.
