In stunning fashion, the Hope College men’s hockey team delivered an un-four-gettable finale at the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division 3 level.
The Flying Dutchmen stunned top-ranked Air Force Academy with five third-period goals on Saturday in St. Louis, Missouri, skating away with the program’s fourth and final ACHA Division 3 national championship with a 6-3 victory.
Hope, which previously won national titles in 2022, 2021 and 2018, finished this season with a 35-4-1 record. The Flying Dutchmen are moving up to the ACHA Division 1 level for the 2025-26 season.
Head coach Chris Van Timmeren said his team, playing for the fifth time in five days, wasn’t fazed after previously unbeaten Air Force soared to a 3-1 lead with three second-period goals at Centene Community Ice Center NHL Rink.
“We knew if we could get one, they would start thinking about ‘What if?’ We wanted to put that double in their minds,” Van Timmeren said. “We wanted them to think that this team, which won 34 games this year and played really tough competition, is going to be coming. The effort the guys put in after four really hard games — everybody’s tired, we’re tired, they’re tired — we knew if we could keep going for the next 10 minutes we could have greatness.”
After a successful penalty kill early in the third period, Hope cut the Air Force lead to 3-2 on the first three goals from senior defenseman Nolan Holtrop (Walker, Michigan / Kenowa Hills HS) at the 6:04 mark. Freshman right wing Brady Kingsbury (Saginaw, Michigan / Michigan International Prep) and senior defenseman Casen Faustyn (Okemos, Michigan / Okemos) were credited with assists.
Kingsbury delivered the equalizer 6 ½ minutes later on assists from freshman left wing Cade Pratt (Byron Center, Michigan / Byron Center) and junior center Jake Onstott (Zeeland, Michigan / Grand Rapids Catholic Central).
The Michigan Collegiate Hockey Conference champions then had Air Force scrambling and trailing, 5-3, with two goals in 31 seconds.
At the 13:28 mark, sophomore right wing Griffin Riemersma (Grand Haven, Michigan / Grand Haven) netted the game-winner off assists from sophomore center Jake Nanna (Muskegon, Michigan / Mona Shores) and junior forward Brenden Tarpening (Fenton, Michigan / Flint Powers Catholic).
At the 13:59 mark, Holtrop made it a two-goal game off assists from Pratt and sophomore defenseman Collin Peal (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Grand Rapids Christian).
Holtrop iced the victory with an empty-net goal at the 17:41 mark.
The Flying Dutchmen outshot Air Force by a 38-30 margin, including a 17-9 edge during the third period.
Senior goalie Maclane Schick (Kohler, Wisconsin / Kohler) stopped 27 shots.
Hope won the fourth time in as many days since dropping the opener of pool play to Michigan State University on Tuesday. The Flying Dutchmen topped Dordt University (Iowa) and Grand Valley State University to advance out of their pool, then knocked off defending national champion and second-ranked Lawrence Tech in the national semifinals.
The title game appearance was Hope’s fourth in five years and eighth since 2010. The Flying Dutchmen finished national runner-up four times in that stretch and five times overall.
Van Timmeren is proud of his team’s legacy at the ACHA Division 3 level.
“I hope they remember how dominant we were for the last 15 years here, 10 for sure,” Van Timmeren said. “We had a good team here, played hard, had good sportsmanship and never gave up. No more true than tonight.”