The Air Force Falcons made it to overtime against the top overall seed Yale Bulldogs in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, but an unlucky bounce doomed the Cinderella story and Yale advances.
The underdog Falcons fell behind Yale in the first period, as top prospect Brian O’Neill placed a perfect pass over the stick shoulder of Air Force freshman goaltender Jason Torf, who finished a spectacular game with 26 saves.
Air Force tied up the game in the second period with a beautiful wrap-around goal by Sean Bertsch that slid between the pads of Yale goaltender Ryan Rondeau. A scoreless third sent the game into overtime, where the Falcons dominated play. Unfortunately, Torf allowed a rebound and Yale forward Chad Ziegler dove past the defenseman and was able to deflect the puck past Torf for the victory.
Air Force is the first Colorado team to fall out of the tournament. Colorado College plays against favored Boston College. The University of Denver faces off against Western Michigan on Saturday afternoon.
Yale advances, and will face the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs in the next round to determine who enters the Frozen Four.