Miami survives Air Force in overtime

Last update: March 29, 2008 - 9:47 PM

WORCESTER, MASS. - Justin Mercier made the play of the game Saturday at 15 minutes, 21 seconds into overtime.

The junior left winger for Miami of Ohio skated around a defenseman, then switched to his backhand and put the puck into the far corner of the net as the RedHawks beat Air Force 3-2 in the first game of the Northeast Regional.

Miami (33-7-1) is the top seed in this regional and the second overall seed in the 16-team NCAA hockey field. But the RedHawks were severely tested.

In overtime alone, fourth-seeded Air Force (21-12-6) had several good chances. The last came with five minutes to play when Jeff Hajner shot wide with the goalie down after making a save on a Falcons rush.

Tommy Wingels gave the RedHawks a 1-0 lead at 19 seconds of the opening period on the first shot of the game.

Air Force, which came into the game with a tournament-best nine-game unbeaten streak (8-0-1), took a 2-1 lead in the second period on rebound goals by Derrick Burnett and Josh Print in the first nine minutes. Burnett scored while he was off balance, on one skate in front of Miami goalie Jeff Zatkoff. Print's first goal of the season came after he followed his own shot to the net.

The RedHawks tied the score 2-2 on Carter Camper's power-play goal at 13:44. Carter was on the left side of the net when a rebound came directly to him and, with Falcons goalie Andrew Volkening at the top of the crease, there was a lot of open net.

ROMAN AUGUSTOVIZ

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