Friday, March 6
Moon Township, PA
5:05 pm MT
Air Force Academy
18-13-4
3
at
2
Robert Morris University
13-19-3
1
2
3
OT 1
OT 2
F
Air Force
1
1
0
0
1
3
Robert Morris
0
0
2
0
0
2
Sajevic scores double-overtime game-winner
3/6/2026 10:43:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Nick Sajevic scored the game-winner with 13:20 left in the second overtime to lift Air Force to a 3-2 win over Robert Morris in game one of a best-of-three Atlantic Hockey America quarterfinal series, Friday, March 6, at Clearview Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Sixth-seeded Air Force (18-13-4 overall) drew first blood late in the first period, just after a Falcon power play ended. Jake Peterson set up Will Staring at the center point and Staring scored his sixth of the season at 15:29. Anthony Yu also assisted on the play.
Senior captain Mason McCormick gave the Falcons a 2-0 lead at 9:53 as he forced a turnover in the neutral zone and scored unassisted with a wrister from the left circle.
Third-seeded Robert Morris (13-19-3 overall) scored two goals in the final six minutes of the third period, both by the Colonials' leading scorer Tanner Klimpke. With 5:53 left, Klimpke scored on a rebound to cut the Falcon lead to 2-1. RMU pulled the goalie with 2:54 left in the third in favor of the extra attacker. Michael Craig set up Klimpke for a one-timer from the left circle to tie the game with 1:40 left in the third, forcing overtime.
In the second overtime, McCormick was hit into the boards, drawing a penalty that put the Falcons on the power play. On the first shift of the power play, Sajevic won the faceoff in the offensive zone. Nolan Cunningham fed Chris Hedden at the left point and his shot bounced hard off the back wall. Sajevic took advantage of the carom, burying his second game-winner of the season, giving the Falcons a 1-0 lead in the series.
"This time of year, it comes down to special teams and goaltending and your best players have to be your best players," head coach Frank Serratore said. "That was true for both teams tonight. It was a goaltenders' dual. The difference in the game ended up being us finally capitalizing on a power play. That was huge. That would have been a massive punch in the gut to lose that one after having a 2-0 lead. This was a great road victory."
Air Force outshot Robert Morris, 51-40, in the game, Air Force was 1-for-6 on the power play and killed all five of the Colonial man-advantages. Dominik Wasik had a career-high 38 saves. Charlie Schenkel had 48 saves for the home team.
"That one is in the bank and now we look at tomorrow," Serratore added. "Robert Morris is fighting for their lives and they don't want their season to end. I think these are two evenly matched teams. We have an opportunity to end the series tomorrow and they have the opportunity to extend it. We need to put our best foot forward tomorrow night."
Air Force and Robert Morris meet in game two of the playoff series on Saturday, March 7, at 7:05 pm ET in Pittsburgh.
--30--
Sixth-seeded Air Force (18-13-4 overall) drew first blood late in the first period, just after a Falcon power play ended. Jake Peterson set up Will Staring at the center point and Staring scored his sixth of the season at 15:29. Anthony Yu also assisted on the play.
Senior captain Mason McCormick gave the Falcons a 2-0 lead at 9:53 as he forced a turnover in the neutral zone and scored unassisted with a wrister from the left circle.
Third-seeded Robert Morris (13-19-3 overall) scored two goals in the final six minutes of the third period, both by the Colonials' leading scorer Tanner Klimpke. With 5:53 left, Klimpke scored on a rebound to cut the Falcon lead to 2-1. RMU pulled the goalie with 2:54 left in the third in favor of the extra attacker. Michael Craig set up Klimpke for a one-timer from the left circle to tie the game with 1:40 left in the third, forcing overtime.
In the second overtime, McCormick was hit into the boards, drawing a penalty that put the Falcons on the power play. On the first shift of the power play, Sajevic won the faceoff in the offensive zone. Nolan Cunningham fed Chris Hedden at the left point and his shot bounced hard off the back wall. Sajevic took advantage of the carom, burying his second game-winner of the season, giving the Falcons a 1-0 lead in the series.
"This time of year, it comes down to special teams and goaltending and your best players have to be your best players," head coach Frank Serratore said. "That was true for both teams tonight. It was a goaltenders' dual. The difference in the game ended up being us finally capitalizing on a power play. That was huge. That would have been a massive punch in the gut to lose that one after having a 2-0 lead. This was a great road victory."
Air Force outshot Robert Morris, 51-40, in the game, Air Force was 1-for-6 on the power play and killed all five of the Colonial man-advantages. Dominik Wasik had a career-high 38 saves. Charlie Schenkel had 48 saves for the home team.
"That one is in the bank and now we look at tomorrow," Serratore added. "Robert Morris is fighting for their lives and they don't want their season to end. I think these are two evenly matched teams. We have an opportunity to end the series tomorrow and they have the opportunity to extend it. We need to put our best foot forward tomorrow night."
Air Force and Robert Morris meet in game two of the playoff series on Saturday, March 7, at 7:05 pm ET in Pittsburgh.
--30--
Team Stats
AFA
RMU
Shots
51
40
PPG
1
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
6
7
Penalty Mins
12
14
Faceoffs Won
39
52
Game Leaders
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
9
A
0
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
4
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
0
+/-
1
Goals
0
Sh
5
A
1
Players Mentioned
D
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