Air Force beats RIT 1-0 to win AHA championship, clinch NCAA berth

Rochester, N.Y. • The mantle of supremacy in the Atlantic Hockey Association is firmly back in the hands of Air Force.

The Falcons earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over defending champion Rochester Institute of Technology on Saturday night in a title game played before 3,400 fans. It is Air Force’s fourth championship in five years.

“When we won in 2009, we were supposed to win,” Air Force coach Frank Serratore said. “This was pure gratification. … They are very, very worthy champions.”

Tournament MVP Jacques Lamoureux scored on a power play midway through the second period for his third goal in two days. Freshman Jason Torf posted 40 saves for his second shutout, both in the playoffs.

Upon the final horn, the Air Force bench emptied and rushed Torf, eventually pushing the entire goal cage up against the end boards.

Air Force (20-11-6) heads for the NCAA Tournament next weekend. The selections will be announced at 9:30 a.m. today on ESPN2. The four regional sites are St. Louis, Mo., and Bridgeport, Conn., for Friday-Saturday play and Green Bay, Wisc., and Manchester, N.H., for Saturday-Sunday play.

Air Force likely will draw No. 1 overall seed Yale in Bridgeport, Conn., where the Falcons won theirfirst NCAA Tournament game against Michigan two years ago.

Air Force won the AHA title in its first three seasons in the league, from 2007 to 2009. A semifinal loss to Sacred Heat last year can now be considered merely a stumble now that the Falcons have improved to 8-1 in final-four playoff action at Blue Cross Arena.

A one-year absence from raising the championship trophy was not lost on the players.

“It was pretty disappointing,” Air Force junior defenseman Scott Mathis said. “It was a real eye-opener. That served as motivation for me personally in the offseason that, hey, you can’t take anything for granted. You have to cherish this stuff when it comes along so when you have the chance to seize it, you have to go after it.”

Air Force held RIT’s power play to a 0-for-4 performance through the first two periods. Torf made 13 stops during the Tigers’ power plays. Mathis said his team did a good job finding RIT scoring threat Tyler Brenner and communicating well on the penalty kill.

Lamoureux established a league record with his fourth-career game-winner. With Brenner in the penalty box for hooking, Air Force defenseman Tim Kirby used his speed to make a long rush up the left wing, beating his defender to the outside. When Kirby charged the net, Lamoureux followed him. RIT goalie Shane Madolora went down to his knees to stop Kirby’s shot and the rebound squirted free out front. Lamoureux pounced on the puck and swept it into the net.

“Right spot, right time,” Lamoureux plainly stated.

On Friday, Lamoureux said his two third-period goals in the semifinal win over Holy Cross were the biggest of his career. Now, he has a new favorite.

“This is something I will cherish for a long time,” he said.

Torf became the third goalie in league history to post a shutout in the title game. Tony Quesada of Holy Cross made 28 saves on Sacred Heart in the 2004 final. Torf’s predecessor, Andrew Volkening, made 25 saves in a 2-0 win over Mercyhurst in the 2009 final.

“I feel like it’s something that I really won’t be able to truly appreciate until a couple years from now,” Torf said. “They had me really scrambling but never had I ever had more faith in my defensive corps as I did tonight. The last couple of games they have been there every time I gave up a bad rebound, or any time they’ve had a post, they tied up sticks. They were great, especially in the third period … it felt like I had three shots.”

Actually, Torf made 13 stops in the final period.

Serratore leaned over to his young goalie and said, “You will some day appreciate what you accomplished tonight, probably when you hit puberty, son.”

The all-tournament team included Lamoureux, Torf, Mathis, Kirby, Connecticut’s Cole Schneider and RIT’s Sean Murphy.