No. 17 Western Michigan holds off Air Force, 4-1

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Western Michigan, ranked 17^th in the nation, scored two early goals and then held off Air Force for a 4-1 win in the championship game of the second annual Ice Vegas Invitational, Saturday, Jan. 5, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Western Michigan controlled play in the first period and had two breakaways in the first six minutes that were both saved by Billy Christopoulos. The Broncos took a 1-0 lead with 4:57 left in the first period as Luke Bafia scored with a wrister from the high slot.

Early in the second period, WMU took a 2-0 lead on the rush as Ethen Frank scored at the 2:11 mark. Air Force cut the lead in half on the power play. Zach Mirageas drew a penalty and the Falcons capitalized. Kyle Haak won an offensive zone faceoff and Kieran Durgan slid the puck to Matt Koch at the center point. His one-timer at 14:11 was his first goal of the season.

Trailing 2-1, Air Force had two power plays in the third period, but were unable to convert. The Falcons pulled the goalie with just over three minutes remaining and had several chances. After several Gorsuch saves, Frank collected a loose puck and his shot from the top of the circle in his own end found the open net with 2:09 left. With the goalie out again, Lawton Courtnall's shot from the red line slid in the empty net with 34 seconds remaining to make up the final margin.

Western Michigan outshot Air Force, 43-25, in the game. Air Force was 1-for-5 on the power play while WMU was 0-for-6. Christopoulos made 39 saves, the second most of his career. Trevor Gorsuch, the tournament MVP, made 24 for the Broncos.

Christopoulos and senior defenseman Matt Koch were named to the all-tournament team. Christopoulos made 56 saves, while allowing just three goals, in the tournament. Koch had four points in the tournament on one goal and three assists.

"Billy Christopoulos kept us in this one," head coach Frank Serratore said. "We have to get better and we have to play faster. We aren't there yet. Western Michigan has some great athletes. That is what a great team looks like. They could have put us away early, but Billy wouldn't allow it. They couldn't deliver the knockout punch. I really thought we were going to tie it up. We had some good looks on our power plays and extra attacker late. I am really proud of the guys for the way they battled."

Air Force (11-8-1 overall) returns home for a pair of Atlantic Hockey games against Army West Point, Jan. 11-12, at the Cadet Ice Arena.

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