BOX SCORE

St. Louis, Mo. – A magical season came to an end for the Calvin ACHA D3 hockey team Saturday night in the semifinals of the ACHA D3 National Tournament.

The Knights fell to Air Force 5-3 in a national semifinal game.

Air Force scored a pair of unanswered goals in the third period to snap a 3-3 tie and ultimately skate away with the win.

Air Force stunned Calvin with a goal just 31 seconds in as Brett Oberle blasted a shot from the deep point that went through a sea of players and into the net. Calvin tied the game 2:11 into the period on a stunning goal of its own as freshman Bennett Eisma whistled a shot from the deep left point that eluded the Air Force goalie and into the top shelf of the net.

Junior Henry Holleman gave Calvin a 2-1 lead on an unassisted goal 8:43 into the period for a 2-1 Calvin lead.

Calvin carried the lead into the first intermission.

Air Force tied the game 7:09 into the second period on a goal by Cooper Boulanger. Air Force then utilized a fortunate bounce 41 seconds later to take a 3-2 lead. In the play, Air Force sent a shot wide of the Calvin goal that bounced back off the glass in front of the net. Oberle was there to whack the loose puck in for a 3-2 Air Force lead.

Calvin knotted the game at 3-3 nearly three minutes later as junior Zach Westrick took a pass from Eisma and slipped a shot home with senior Harry Ottsen also drawing an assist on the play.

The speedy Air Force team carried the play in the third period and took a 4-3 lead on a goal by Samuel Jacobs 3:50 into the period. Jacobs struck again with 9:31 left, converting a spin-o-rama into a back-handed goal for a 5-3 lead.

Calvin pushed to get back into the game in the closing minutes but ran shorty of quality chances as the Falcons claimed the win.

Air Force held a 35-32 shots on goal advantage. Senior Ryan Worosz came up with 27 saves in goal for Calvin.

Calvin finishes its season with an overall record of 22-4-1. The season included a first place finish in the MCHC West Division and an MCHC Tournament title.

Saturday's game marked Calvin's second appearance in the ACHA D3 National Tournament semifinals in the last three years.

COACHES COMMENT: "Credit to Air Force. They're a really good team with experience of being in the finals last year," said Calvin head coach Austin Huizenga. "We just couldn't find our legs tonight and get energy. We had spurts throughout the game, but just couldn't sustain it. But overall, I'm really proud of what this group accomplished. We won trophies we haven't won in decades. I know it's a sour feeling now, but tomorrow we'll wake up with a good feeling. I want to say thank you to the seniors. They've built this team into what it is and we couldn't have done it without them."