RIT defenseman Chris McKay scored a disputed winning goal with 2:39 to play, and the Tigers added an empty-net goal to defeat Air Force, 5-3, in an Atlantic Hockey Conference game at Rochester, N.Y., on Saturday night.
The goals by McKay and fellow senior Shawn Cameron capped a wild game in which the Falcons were playing for a shot the conference’s fifth seed and a first-round playoff bye.
Instead, the Falcons finished tied for sixth with Robert Morris and Bentley, but they hold head-to-head tiebreakers against both. Air Force will play host to 11th-seeded Mercyhurst in a best-of-3 series at Cadet Ice Arena next weekend. The Falcons took five of six points from the Lakers in a series last weekend at Cadet Arena.
“It was for men only out there,” Air Force coach Frank Serratore said. “I liked the way we managed the game for the most part. It was a good hockey game. It could have went either way.
“I liked the fight in our guys. Our guys did not wilt. It was tough out there. We didn’t let that intimidate us.”
Freshmen scored all three goals for Air Force (10-18-6, 10-12-6 AHC).
The win lifted RIT (19-13-4) into third place in AHC. The Tigers will play the highest-seeded winning team from the first round, and if Air Force defeats Mercyhurst, it would be the Falcons.
Crazy third
The game could have spun out of control 7:10 into the third period when Air Force defenseman Zach Mirageas was assessed a 5-minute major and a game misconduct for a contact to the head penalty.
The Tigers scored exactly one minute later on a strike by Caleb Moretz. However, the Falcons came back 1:14 later when Luke Manning scored shorthanded, his second goal in two nights.
That marked the second time Air Force came back to tie the score.
McKay’s goal was challenged by Air Force, which thought the Tigers went offsides. The goal was upheld.
The Falcons pulled Alex Schilling (15 saves), and a little over a minute later Cameron struck.
Comeback No. 1
Freshman Brandon Koch‘s power-play goal with 3:41 to go in the second stemmed RIT’s momentum in a period in which the Tigers seized the lead early and outshot the Falcons, 9-3.
Fellow freshman Willie Reim scored after barreling down the right wing and beating Ian Andriano (12 saves) with 57 seconds left.
RIT, however, gained the lead on strikes by Will Caverley 2:58 into the second period and Ryan Kruper from the right circle 92 seconds later.
Notes
Air Force managed just 15 shots on goal. … Falcons freshman forward Blake Bride missed the game because of a lower-body injury.
©First Line Editorial 2020
