Falcons and Gophers skate to 2-2 overtime tie
12/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Dec. 30, 2007
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Brent Olson's goal with 1:02 left in the third period forced overtime as Air Force and 12th-ranked Minnesota skated to a 2-2 overtime tie in the consolation game of the Dodge Holiday Classic at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, Minn.
Boston College won the tournament with a 6-0 win over RIT in the championship game. Air Force was sent to the consolation game of the tournament after an 8-2 loss to Boston College on Saturday. Minnesota lost to RIT, 4-3, in the first round.
The Falcons, 9-5-4 overall, opened the scoring at the 4:19 mark of the first period when Olson scored from Jeff Hajner and Matt Fairchild. Fairchild made a centering pass to Hajner at the top of the crease. His first shot was saved by Alex Kangas, but Olson put back the rebound.
Minnesota, 9-9-2 overall, tied the game in the second period on a goal by Ben Gordon from Blake Wheeler and Jay Barribell at the 6:18 mark. The Gophers took a 2-1 lead at 5:05 of the third period when Tom Pohl's wrister from the right point sailed through traffic and got past Andrew Volkening. Drew Fisher and R.J. Anderson assisted on the play.
The Gophers held the 2-1 lead until late in the third period. The Falcons called a timeout at the 18:49 mark and pulled the goaltender in favor of the extra skater. On the ensuing faceoff, Hajner won the draw back to Michael Mayra at the right point. Mayra slid the puck to Flynn who made a cross ice pass to the bottom of the left circle to Olson. Olson buried his team-leading ninth of the season at the 18:58 mark.
The Falcons had several quality scoring chances in overtime, outshooting the Gophers, 5-3, in the extra five minutes. Kangas stopped Hajner, Olson and Josh Frider from point-blank range in the extra period.
After the conclusion of the game, Minnesota won a shootout, 2-0, but the game officially is scored as a tie. Hajner had the first shot that was saved by Kangas. Gopher Evan Kaufman then beat Volkening for a 1-0 Minnesota lead. Olson's shootout attempt was denied by Kangas and then Ben Gordon's shot was stoned by Volkening. Eric Ehn had the next attempt for the Falcons but Kangas made a pad save on the shot. Jay Barriball then beat Volkening through the five-hole for a 2-0 Gopher lead. The shootout ended when Mike Phillipich's shot was saved by Kangas.
"This was a very even game tonight," head coach Frank Serratore said. "This was a good tie for us. Our goaltender gave us a chance to win tonight and that is where it all starts. We had the momentum early and then they came back . We had some great chances in overtime, but there goalie was very good. These were two evenly-matched teams. They are struggling a bit, but they are still the Gophers."
Air Force returns to Atlantic Hockey Association play next week with a two-game series against Sacred Heart in Fairfield, Conn. The Falcons and Pioneers play Jan. 4-5 at 7:05 pm ET each night.
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