Most teams would struggle – to put it politely – to recover after a period in which they were outscored (2-0), outshot (14-0) and generally outplayed by a fast, skilled and equally as motivated team.

Most teams aren’t Air Force.

After Minnesota Duluth thoroughly dominated the opening act of Saturday night’s NCAA West Regional final at Sioux Falls, S.D., the Falcons – in a microcosm of their season – began to turn the tide, eventually pulling to within a goal and having a chance to tie the score in the waning moments of a 2-1 loss.

“We’ve got an older group and we’ve been through a lot of things and a lot of adversity, so this was nothing out of the ordinary, nothing that made us panic,” Falcons captain Dylan Abood said. “Coming out of that period 2-0 was not the start we wanted, not the start that we needed. But at the same time, we had every bit of confidence in all our guys.

“We knew that we would just take this game over one shift at a time and that’s all that we were focused on was that first shift of that second period. We knew if we could win that shift, then we could win the next one, too, and it just keeps it going from there.

“That’s just a testament to the maturity of our guys. There was never any panic, never any doubt that we were in this game.”

The Falcons, who overcame more than 200 man games lost due to injuries, did just that. Slowly taking some momentum in the second and third periods. In some ways the game mirrored the season.

“It doesn’t surprise me one bit that our guys found a way to slow Duluth down and get themselves back in the game,” coach Frank Serratore said. “At the end, with the goalie pulled, we’re a shot … we’re a bounce away from tying that game and going to overtime.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen to us. … We haven’t played with our full lineup since the first game of the season.”

The Falcons finished 23-15-5 but had to overcome a 7-8-3 start then win the Atlantic Hockey Conference tournament just to reach the NCAAs for the second year in a row.

“This group, we came together in the tournament in a do-or-die game at West Point, won that game and went to Rochester,” Serratore said. “We had won four elimination games going into this game.

“We came together at the right time, just achingly again, for the third time, one goal from getting to that Frozen Four. It wasn’t because we didn’t try. It wasn’t because we didn’t play well. Give Duluth credit for their start. We slowed them down, we made a game of it.”

The game also closed a chapter on what was – statistically the most successful senior class in the program’s history. The group of Abood, Erik Baskin, Phil Boje, Jordan Himley, Jonathan Kopacka, Ben Kucera, Tyler Ledford and Kyle Mackey amassed 86 wins, won back-to-back Atlantic Hockey titles and played a huge role in  two of the Falcons’ three NCAA wins.

“It’s an amazing accomplishment and there have been a lot of great classes that have come before us, so it’s awesome to have that kind of statement for our class,” Abood said. “At the same time, it couldn’t have been done without the other classes that came before us and the classes that have come after us.

“This has been a team effort from when we were freshmen all the way to this year to the freshmen who’ve been on our roster. Certainly a great group of seniors. I’m very proud of the job that they did, but there’s a lot of people who deserve credit for that.”

So one night after the Falcons pulled off the biggest upset in the program’s history, knocking out No. 1 and top-seeded St. Cloud State, 4-1, in a West opener, they found themselves within striking distance of that elusive Frozen Four berth. It was the same vs. Harvard last season and in 2009 vs. Vermont, in a double-overtime decision.

Still, on college hockey’s biggest stage, the Falcons proved that irrespective of the numbers, you can’t measure their heart.

“Anybody that watched this game tonight – if you’re an American you can’t but look and say, ‘I’m glad those guys are going to be defending our freedom,’” Serratore said.

MORE: Recap of Saturday’s game vs. Duluth

ALSO: Re-live the biggest victory in program history

Notable

Falcons senior assistant captain Tyler Ledford, who scored two goals in Friday’s win against St. Cloud State, and junior goaltender Billy Christopoulos, who stopped 64 of 67 shots he faced, were selected to the all-region team. They were joined by Duluth captain Karson Kuhlman and fellow forward Parker Mackay, who scored the overtime winner against Minnesota State on Friday, as well as defensemen Nick Wolff and Dylan Samberg.

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