Falcons open season at Lefty McFadden Tournament
10/2/2002 12:00:00 AM | Hockey
Oct. 2, 2002
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Tournament Schedule: Below is the schedule for the inaugural Lefty McFadden Tournament at the Ervin J. Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio. The tournament is hosted by Miami (Ohio) University and the Dayton Hockey Foundation. Below is the schedule (all times are EST).
Fri., Oct. 4 Niagara vs. Bowling Green 5 p.m. Fri., Oct. 4 Air Force vs. Miami-Ohio, 8 p.m. Sat., Oct. 5 Consolation Game, 3 p.m. Sat., Oct. 5 Championship Game, 7:35 p.m.
Radio/Television/Internet: There is no radio in the Colorado Springs area. Air Force's game against Miami will be broadcast in the Dayton area by Time Warner. Satellite coordinates or other broadcast areas are not available. Live stats for all tournament games will be available on the internet at www.MURedHawks.com. The gamecast is similiar to what ESPN.com and CBS SportsLine.com run on their web sites.
Season Openers: Air Force is 15-17-2 overall in season openers. The Falcons are 8-11 when they open the season on the road. Last season, the Falcons lost two games on the road at Alaska-Fairbanks to open the 2001-02 season.
Series Records: Air Force and Miami (Ohio) have never played before this weekend. AFA and Bowling Green have played nine times and BG holds a 7-2 lead in the series. The teams have not met since 1975 when BG swept the series played in Ohio. AFA and Niagara have played 24 times and the Purple Eagles hold a 13-8-3 lead. In the last seven games, AFA is 3-2-2 against Niagara. Last season, NU defeated the Falcons 4-0 at the Academy in the only meeting at Air Force. The Falcons took three of four points at Niagara with a 3-3 tie and a 4-1 win. The Falcons beat Niagara, 5-3, in the first round of the CHA Tournament last season on the Purple Eagles home ice. The teams have met on neutral ice twice and NU has won both games, a 3-0 win in the Johnson Nissan Classic in Anchorage in 1999 and a 2-1 win in the CHA Tournament in Huntsville, Ala., in 2001.
Scouting the Opponents: Miami (Oxford, Ohio) is a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and was 11-22-2 last season under coach Enrico Blasi. The Red Hawks return 10 of the 19 lettermen from last season's team that finished ninth in the CCHA with a 9-17-2 record. Junior forwards Greg Hogeboom and Mike Kompon each scored 23 points last season and are the top returning scorers. Senior David Burleigh is the top goaltender and posted a 3.20 GAA and a .889 saves percentage last season. Bowling Green (Bowling Green, Ohio) is also a member of the CCHA and was 9-25-6 overall last season. Under first-year coach and BGSU grad Scott Paluch, the Falcons return 14 of the 21 lettermen from last season's team that finished 11th in the CCHA with a 7-18-3 record. Junior forward D'Archy McConvey is the top returning scorer with 29 points last season. Senior Tyler Masters is the team's top goalie. He tallied a 3.42 GAA and a .905 saves percentage last season. Niagara (Niagara, N.Y.) is a member of College Hockey America and was 17-17-1 last season. Under second-year coach Dave Burkholder, the Purple Eagles return 22 of the 25 lettermen from last season's team that finished fourth in the CHA with an 8-10-1 record. Senior John Heffernan is the top returning scorer with 26 points and 16 goals last season. Junior Rob Bonk is the top goaltender. He had a 3.12 GAA and a .876 saves percentage.
Serratore Vs. the Opponents: As a head coach, Serratore has never faced Bowling Green or Miami (Ohio). Serratore is 6-13-3 against Niagara.
Tournament Success: Last year, for the first time in school history, the Falcons won two tournaments in the same season. Air Force won its own Radisson Inn Classic, Nov. 29-30, and the SNET/UConn Classic, Dec. 29-30, in Storrs, Conn. Air Force claimed its first ever championship in an all-Division I tournament by winning the UConn Classic. It was also the first tournament championship on the road. Air Force is 10-39 in Division I tournaments. In the history of Falcon hockey, Air Force has played in the championship game of four Division I tournaments. Three of those have come under Serratore in the last three seasons. AFA placed second in the UMass-Lowell 1999-00 and in the Q-Cup Tourney in 2000-01.
Preseason Poll: In the preseason coaches poll, Wayne State was picked to win College Hockey America. The defending regular-season and tournament champion Warriors picked up 25 points in the poll. Warrior goalie David Guerrera, the CHA player of the year last season, was picked as the preseason player of the year. Air Force and Findlay were picked to tie for fifth.
Looking Back: Air Force closed out the 2001-02 season with a 16-16-2 overall record, marking the second time in three years the Falcons have finished at or above .500. The Falcons finished the season with just one loss in their last nine games. The team's eight-game unbeaten streak was the second longest in the nation. AFA was 6-10-2 in College Hockey America and finished fifth in the regular season. As the fifth-seed in the tournament, the Falcons defeated fourth-seeded Niagara, 5-3, in the first round. The season ended with a 3-1 loss to regular season and tournament champion, Wayne State.
Falcon Breakdown: Air Force returns 18 of the 26 lettermen from last season's team that finished 16-16-2 overall and fifth in the CHA with a 6-10-2 mark. The Falcons return 12 forwards, five defensemen and one goalie from last season's team. AFA also returns eight of the top 10 scorers, six of the top nine defensemen and the starting goaltender from last season. Senior captains Andy Berg and Scott Zwiers, along with assistant captains senior Brian Reaney and junior Shane Saum, will lead the team. Berg and Zwiers were among the league's top scorers last season. Zwiers is AFA's top returning scorer (11-23-34) while Berg was third on the team last season (15-17-32). Saum was fifth on the team last season in scoring (14-15-29) and led the team with a +10 plus/minus ratio. Reaney led all Falcon defensemen last season with six goals and 18 points.
Inside the CHA: The 2002-03 season will be the most exciting in the three-year history of College Hockey America. The biggest news is the automatic qualifier. For the first time in league history, the CHA tournament champion will receive an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament's new 16-team format. The CHA Tournament also has a new home as the city of Kearney, Neb., will host the six-team championship. "The Great Face-off on the Great Plains" will be held March 14-16, 2003, at the Tri-City Arena. All six teams will compete in the single-elimination postseason tournament. The No. 1 and No. 2 finishers in the regular season will receive a first-round bye while No. 3 will play No. 6 and No. 4 will face No. 5. Game times for days one and two will be 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. The championship game on Sun., March 16, is at 5 p.m. For more information or to purchase tickets, please call Kearney Hockey Inc., at 308-338-8809.
All-CHA: Three Falcons earned all-CHA honors last season. Forward Derek Olson was named to the first team while goalie Zach Sikich was named to the all-rookie team. Brian Gornick was named the CHA Student-Athlete of the Year. Olson, who graduated after last season, led the CHA with 20 goals during the regular season. He finished the season as the team leader in goals (21) and points (39). Sikich, who transferred out of the Academy, was the only freshman goalie in the league with at least one victory. Sikich posted a 2-2-1 record in CHA games and had a 3.26 GAA and a .883 saves percentage in all games.
Berg Named to CHA All-Tournament Team: Forward Andy Berg became the first Falcon ever named to the College Hockey America all-tournament team. Berg, the first player ever named to the team that did not play in the championship game, had three points in AFA's win over Niagara in the first round of the tournament. The Stillwater, Minn., native had two goals and one assist against Niagara with three shots on goal. Most Division I Wins: Air Force's 14 Division I wins last season tied the school record set in 1999-2000.
Streak was Second Longest in Nation: AFA's eight-game unbeaten streak, which ended with a loss to Wayne State in the CHA Tournament semifinals, was the second longest in the nation by any Division I team. The only team with a longer streak was Wayne State, which ended the season with a 12-game unbeaten streak.
More on the Streak: Air Force's eight-game unbeaten streak was the longest in school history against Division I competition and was the longest conference unbeaten streak in school history. The unbeaten streak tied as the longest in all games since 1980.
Five Straight Home Winning Seasons Under Serratore: Air Force secured its fifth consecutive winning season at home by sweeping Findlay, March 1-2. AFA was 9-6 at home last season. Serratore's home records, beginning with his first season, are 13-8, 12-5-2, 12-4-2 and 11-6-2.
A League of His Own: Head coach Frank Serratore is the only coach in Air Force history to lead the team to 15 wins in each of his first five seasons. He is also the only coach to lead Air Force to five-straight 15-win seasons at any point during their careers. The Falcons won 15 in 1997-98 and 1998-99. AFA won 19 in 1999-2000 and 16 in 2000-01. AFA was 16-16-2 this season. Serratore has led the Falcons to 81 wins in five seasons, the most in the first five years of any AFA hockey coach. The previous school record for wins in a coach's first five years was set by Chuck Delich who led AFA to 79 wins from 1986-90. His 81 wins in any five-year span are the most by any coach since the mid-1970's.
Seniors Will Be Missed: Last seasons six seniors comprised the largest class in five years. The class was the largest under Frank Serratore and was the first class recruited by Serratore and his staff. Seniors Jace Anders, Brian Gornick, Derek Olson, Brian Rodgers, Ryan Smith and Jeff Zurick combined to play in more than 750 games. The class of 2002 produced 66 wins, the most by a class in 24 years. The class combined to score 420 points. The class scored 45 goals (35 percent) and 100 points (31 percent) last season.
Head Coach Frank Serratore: Frank Serratore (Bemidji State, 1982) is in his sixth season as the Falcons' hockey coach. Serratore has a 81-89-10 record at Air Force. He is in his 10th season as a college head coach with a 130-180-19 career record. In service academy competition, Serratore is 10-1-1 vs. Army overall and 9-1-1 vs. the Black Knights while at Air Force. Since Navy does not have a varsity team, the only competition is against Army. Serratore came to the Academy from the Manitoba Moose of the International Hockey League, where he was the director of hockey operations in 1996. He was also the Moose head coach and general manager for two seasons and led the team to a 52-56-16 record. Serratore was the head coach at Denver from 1990-1994 posting a 49-91-9 record. Serratore spent seven seasons in the United States Hockey League with three different teams and collected a combined record of 247-103-6. He was named general manager of the year twice and coach of the year once in the USHL.
Blue-Silver Game: Freshman Carson Strang scored two goals to lead the White team to a 3-2 win over the Blue in the annual Air Force Hockey Blue/Silver game, Sunday, Sept. 29, at the Cadet Ice Arena. The Air Force coaching staff divided the teams equally and then played two 22-minute periods. Instead of power plays, the teams took penalty shots on all penalties. Each team had four penalty shots in the game. Strang, originally from Shaker Heights, Ohio, played junior hockey for the Pittsburgh Forge of the North American Hockey League last season. He had five shots on goal in the game and nearly completed a hat trick late in the second period. His first goal came from fellow freshman Will Zimmerman. Strang's first shot was saved by freshman David Goodley, but he collected his own rebound and scored just over a minute into the game. Zimmerman then gave the White team a 2-0 lead on a penalty shot. Junior goalie Mike Polidor, who will be the Falcons' starter this season, played the first period with the White team and the second period with the Blue team. He played 38 minutes and allowed just one goal while making 26 saves. Two minutes into the second period, the Blue team scored as Brian Reaney made a nice pass from the left post to Shane Saum who was right in front of the net. At the 5:50 mark, the Blue team was whistled for too many men on the ice and Strang made them pay. His second goal of the game was on a penalty shot as he beat Polidor. Reaney made the final score 3-2 as he scored from freshman Steve Cook at 16:23. Cook won the face-off and Reaney scored for his third point of the game. The Blue team pulled Polidor for the final 1:41 to get the extra skater on the ice. Josh Priewe fired two shots that were saved by Tyler John and the game ended. The Blue team out-shot the White team, 15-12 in each period and 30-24 in the game. Goodley, from Escondido, Calif., played the first period with the Blue team and made 10 saves while allowing two goals. John, from Brainerd, Minn., played the second period with the White team and made 13 saves while allowing two goals.
On Deck: Air Force plays its first home game of the 2002-03 season with an exhibition game against the University of Windsor (Canada) on Sunday, Oct. 13, at 12:05 p.m. in the Cadet Ice Arena. Following the game, the Falcon Blue Line Club will host the annual Skate with the Falcons at 3 p.m. Fans can get autographs, take photos and skate with the Air Force hockey team.
