An unlikely rematch has Air Force one game away from a return trip to the NCAA Tournament.

The fifth-seeded Falcons did their part with a 3-0 Atlantic Hockey Conference semifinal victory over second-seeded Canisius at Rochester, N.Y. Air Force (21-14-5) will play seventh-seeded Robert Morris, which knocked off top-seeded Mercyhurst, in a rematch of last season’s AHC final, which the Falcons won 2-1 to earn an NCAA Tournament berth. The Falcons are going for their seventh AHC title.

Goaltender Billy Christopoulos made 24 saves and posted his second shutout in a row, as well as his fifth of the season. The last time a Falcons goaltender posted back-to-back playoff shutouts was Andrew Volkening in the AHC final four in 2009.

Christopoulos also extended his scoreless streak to 171:11. He has not allowed goal since Army West Point’s Dominic Franco scored 8:39 into Saturday’s Game 2.

Kyle Haak, Erik Baskin and Matt Serratore scored goals and Zack Mirageas had two assists for Air Force. All three goals were initiated by defensemen putting the puck on net.

Canisius (19-17-2) carried play for much of the first period, when it built a 12-9 shots on goal edge.

Christopoulos turned the tide a couple of minutes into the second when he made a big glove save.

“They came hard, with their best players playing an awful lot,” Falcons assistant coach Joe Doyle told AM 1300 after the game. “Somehow we weathered that storm, and that somehow was Billy Christopoulos.

“That save he made, the diving glove save on the east-west play was huge. They were taking it to us, that’s just a big-time save. You could see their bench get a little deflated.

“Our depth started to take over. We got some energy from that first goal. Frank always says special teams and goaltending wins, and we got both tonight.”

In addition to going 1 for 3 on the power play, Air Force’s penalty kill went 4 for 4.

Four minutes after Christopoulos’ save, Haak got the Falcons on the board with a power-play strike. Mirageas shot the puck from the point, and the junior center redirected it past Golden Griffins netminder Daniel Urbani (34 saves).

Baskin pushed the lead to 2-0 with 3:47 left in the second when Jake Levin‘s shot was stopped by Urbani but Baskin put the puck between the netminder’s pads.

“That second and third period was all about us,” Doyle said. “Our D were very active getting pucks through. That’s our mindset, attack, don’t pass up any chances.”

Serratore put a dent in Canisius’ comeback hopes with 5:51 left in the third. Haak won an offensive zone draw back to Mirageas, who fired the puck right on Urbani. Serratore tracked down the rebound and buried it.

‘We didn’t have our legs early, and (Christopoulos) gave us a chance through his play to get our legs,” Doyle said.

 

Notable

Senior right wing Jordan Himley returned after missing the final two games against Army West Point because of an ankle injury. Sophomore wing Pierce Pluemer sat out. … The Falcons’ Game 3 victory at Army helped them surpass the 20-win threshold for the third season in a row, a school record. … Air Force is 16-2-2 when scoring the first goal of the game. … Canisius forward Dylan McLaughlin was named one of the 10 semfinalists for the Hobey Baker Award this week.

In the other AHC semifinal

Michael Louria scored early in overtime to lift Robert Morris over top-seeded Mercyhurst, 5-4. The Colonials’ Brady Ferguson scored three goals, including one with 45 seconds to play in regulation.

Air Force’s three stars

1. Billy Christopoulos. The junior extended his scoreless streak to 171:11 with his second shutout in a row – making 24 saves – and fifth this season.
2. Kyle Haak. The junior scored the winning goal and started the play for Matt Serratore’s clinching tally.
3. Zack Mirageas. The freshman had two primary assists and continued his strong postseason play.

Up next

The Falcons will play Robert Morris for the Atlantic Hockey Conference championship at 5:30 p.m. Air Force went 1-0-1 vs. the Colonials on the last weekend of the regular season.

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