ROUND ROCK, Texas – Behind a 10-0 run bridging the second and third quarters along with some fabulous goaltending from Ethan Zwickey, No. 4 Montana State posted a shocking, 21-4 victory over top-seeded Air Force in the first Division II semifinal of the 2024 MCLA National Championships presented by New Balance.

With the victory, Montana State (19-2) will make its first appearance in the national championship game on Saturday at 3 p.m. against the winner of the second semifinal between No. 2 St. Thomas and No. 3 Grand Valley State.

The game started out promising for the Bobcats as they scored the first three goals of the contest. Air Force managed to pull one back before the end of the first frame to cut the deficit to 3-1.

Then things went wild.

In the second quarter, the Montana State offense was unstoppable and the Bobcat defense – led by six of Ethan Zwickey’s 19 saves on the day – shut down the prolific Falcon attack.

Jonathan Serrell scored all four of his goals in the second as Montana State outscored Air Force (13-1), 8-0, to take an 11-1 lead into the half.

The start of the second half didn’t stop the onslaught, as Billy Diffley opened the scoring followed by another from Vernon Loucks to push the goal streak to 10 and the lead to 13-1.

Air Force’s Mark Tang ended the run for the Falcons, but two more Montana State goals to end the quarter gave the Bobcats a 15-2 cushion.

Four more markers to start the fourth, including Liam Prescott finishing off his hat trick, put a pin in the victory.

The win avenged Montana State’s loss to Air Force in the RMLC championship game.