U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Senior Alex Schilling stopped all 22 shots he faced as Air Force defeated RIT, 1-0, in overtime in the final regular season game of the season, Feb. 26, at Cadet Ice Arena. With the win, Air Force secured the sixth seed in the Atlantic Hockey tournament. The Falcons have a bye in the first round and will travel to Army in the quarterfinals, March 11-13.

Nate Horn netted his second overtime game-winner of the season with 40 seconds left in the extra period to give the Falcons two points in the standings. On senior night, Schilling, the Falcons’ only senior, recorded his third career shutout, and his first since blanking RIT in 2020.

After three scoreless periods, the game headed to a 3-on-3 overtime period. With under a minute remaining, Willie Reim started a rush down the left wing. His shot was saved, but Brandon Koch poked the puck free from a group of players and Horn scored his 11^th of the season with 40 seconds left in overtime.

On the first shift of the game, RIT (16-14-4, 12-10-4 AHA) forced a turnover leading to a flurry in front of Schilling. RIT outshot Air Force, 5-0 in the first three minutes of the game, but Schilling kept the net clean.

Early in the second period, a major penalty was called on RIT’s Gianfranco Cassaro for a hit on Blake Bride. The Tigers killed the penalty, allowing just three shots on goal. On that power play, Schilling stopped a 3-on-1 shorthanded breakaway by Kobe Walker.

Air Force (13-16-3, 11-12-3 AHA) outshot RIT, 21-8, in the second and third periods, but Tiger goalie Tommy Scarfone kept the game scoreless until Horn’s third career game winner.

“What a great night,” Schilling said. “It was awesome to take a lap in front of our great fans after that win. I always try to do my very best for the boys in front of me. I can’t wait to go into the playoffs with this team. We know it will be a great environment at Army. But we have a mature group. We are young, but we are mature. We stay level-headed when things get hectic and we will need that at Army.”

Air Force outshot RIT, 34-22, in the game. The Falcons were 0-for-3 on the power play and killed all four of RIT’s advantages. Scarfone made 33 saves for the visitors.

“I’m happy for our boys,” head coach Frank Serratore said. “With all the adversity that we have had over the last couple weeks with giving up so many third period leads. We were in a situation tonight where we needed to win and we did. We earned this first-round bye. Having won this game, and winning our way in, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t feel good about ourselves heading to West Point. It will be a series for the ages.”

–30—