Falcons travel to Niagara
10/29/2002 12:00:00 AM | Hockey
Oct. 29, 2002
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This Week: Air Force (3-3, 0-0) opens College Hockey America play this weekend with a two-game series at Niagara (2-6, 0-0), Friday-Saturday, Nov. 1-2. Face-off is at 7:05 p.m. EST each night at Dwyer Arena in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
Radio/Television: Both games vs. Niagara will be broadcast live in Colorado Springs on KUBL AM 1300. The pregame show begins 20 minutes prior to faceoff. Jay Ritchie, in his sixth season of Air Force hockey, will do the play-by-play. Friday's game will be televised in Niagara by the Adelphia cable network.
Follow the Falcons Anywhere: Air Force hockey can be heard anywhere in the United States via the telephone. Falcon hockey radio broadcasts can be heard on TeamLine by dialing 1-800-846-4700. The team access code is 0671. This service is free of charge to listeners thanks to the Air Force Academy athletic department. Hockey games can also be listened to on the internet at www.AirForceSports.com. Go to the hockey page and click on Listen to the Falcons on the right side of the screen. The broadcast schedule for the remainder of the season has not yet been set. Once determined, the schedule will be posted on the hockey page of the web-site.
Conference Unbeaten Streak: Air Force carries a seven-game regular-season conference unbeaten streak (5-0-2) into this weekend's series. The streak dates back to last season and started with a 2-2 overtime tie at Bemidji State, Feb. 9. AFA then swept the home series with Alabama-Huntsville and took three points at Niagara, Feb. 22-23. Air Force swept Findlay in the final regular-season conference series last season. The streak is the second-longest in the league. Wayne State has a current 10-game regular-season conference unbeaten streak (9-0-1). The Warriors last loss was at home to Air Force, Jan. 12, 2002.
Scouting the Opponents: Niagara University is located in Niagara Falls, N.Y. at the base of the world-famous Niagara Falls. The Purple Eagles are coached by Dave Burkholder, in his second season. He led the team to a 17-17-1 record last season and a fourth-place finish in the CHA. Niagara, 2-6 overall, returns 22 of the 25 lettermen from last season's team. The Purple Eagles defeated Air Force and Canisius this season. NU's losses have come against Bowling Green, UMass Lowell, Union, No. 3 Michigan and No. 7 North Dakota. Niagara lost two close game at UND last week, 6-4 and 5-3. NU is led in scoring by junior Joe Tallari, who also leads the CHA, with eight goals and 13 points in seven games. Rob Bonk and Jeff VanNynatten have split time in the net.
Series Records: Niagara and Air Force have played 24 times and the Purple Eagles hold a 13-8-3 advantage in the series that began in 1996. After losing eight straight to Niagara in 1999-2000, Air Force has gained the slight upper hand in the series. AFA has won the last two games and is 3-2-2 in the last seven games. At Niagara, Air Force has a three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1). The Falcons are 3-6-2 all-time at Dwyer Arena.
Earlier This Season Vs. Niagara: Niagara's Joe Tallari and Matt Ryan each scored a hat trick to lead Niagara to a 7-3 win in the consolation game of the inaugural Lefty McFadden Tournament at the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio. Tallari got the Purple Eagles on the board first just three minutes into the game. Three minutes later, NU's Matt Ryan scored on the power play for a 2-0 lead. Andy Berg got the Falcons on the board at the 11:45 mark with a power play goal from Scott Zwiers and Ryan Wiggins. Ryan's second goal of the game gave the Purps a 3-1 lead after one period. Tallari's second goal of the game put Niagara up 4-1 midway through the second period, but the Falcons quickly answered. Freshman Carson Strang netted his first career goal at 9:52. NU's Hannu Karru scored four minutes later for a 5-2 Niagara lead after two. All three goals in the third period came in the final 3:30 of the game. Tallari completed his hat trick at 16:33 on the power play. Berg scored his second goal of the game from Spanky Leonard at 18:40 while Ryan's scored his third with 54 seconds remaining. Niagara outshot Air Force, 38-27, in the game. NU was 4-for-11 on the power play while AFA was 2-for-9. NU goaltender Jeff VanNynatten stopped 24 shots, including 11 in the third period. AFA goalie Mike Polidor stopped 31 shots.
Last Game at Niagara: The last time Air Force and Niagara played at Niagara was in last season's CHA Tournament quarterfinal game. The fifth-seeded Falcons beat the fourth-seeded Purple Eagles, 5-3, and advanced to the semifinals. Niagara out-shot Air Force, 36-26, but Falcon goalie Mike Polidor made 33 saves, including 16 in the third period. Andy Berg scored two goals and had one assist for the Falcons. Special teams were key for the Falcons as AFA was 1-for-3 on the power play while killing all six Niagara power plays.
Last Regular-Season Series at Niagara: Air Force took three of the four points from Niagara in a two-game regular-season series in February, 2002. In the first game, Niagara's Scott Crawford's second goal of the game gave the Purple Eagles a 3-2 lead in the third period. AFA forward Scott Zwiers tied the game at 3-3 with a goal from Shane Saum and Jace Anders at 16:58. AFA freshman goalie Zach Sikich, making his first road conference start, stopped 22 of the 25 shots he faced. Derek Olson scored two goals in the second game and the Falcons welcomed back goaltender Mike Polidor with a 4-1 victory. Polidor stopped 25 of 26 shots and Andy Berg chipped in with two assists. In the series, Air Force 3-for-10 on the power play while Niagara was 0-for-6.
Mead Player of the Week: Sophomore Steve Mead was named the College Hockey America Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in two games against Bentley College, Oct. 25-26. Mead, a 5-9, 175-pound defenseman from Warminster, Penn., helped the Falcons to a series sweep of Bentley with a career-best five-point series. Mead tallied a career-best three points, including a power-play goal, in the 5-2 win Friday. He added two assists in Saturday's win. Mead has played in all six games this season and leads the Falcon defense with six points. He also stands second on the team with five assists and third in points. The honor is the first of Mead's career.
CHA Leaders: Air Force boasts two of the top three scorers in the CHA. Andy Berg is second in goals (7) and points (13) while Scott Zwiers leads the league in assists (7) and is third in points (9). Ryan Wiggins and Steve Mead are tied for sixth with six points. Wiggins is also second in the CHA with five assists. Berg leads the league with six power-play goals and eight power-play points. The Falcons also have the top two scoring defensemen in the league. Mead leads all defensemen with five assists and six points. Ross Miller is second with three assists and four points. AFA also has two of the top three scoring freshmen in the league. Matt Bader leads all CHA freshmen with three goals. Bader is tied with teammate Carson Strang for first in the league with three points.
Trifecta: Freshman Matt Bader has scored a goal in three straight games, the longest goal-scoring streak on the team. The forward from Beaverton, Ore., scored a goal in the second game against Holy Cross and then had one in each game against Bentley. His streak is the longest since Derek Olson scored a goal in five straight games in February last season.
Who's Hot: Four Falcons had four points or more in the Bentley series. Steve Mead, who had four points in 31 career games, had five points against Bentley. Andy Berg, Scott Zwiers and Spanky Leonard all had four points against Bentley. Mike Polidor stopped 46 of 50 shots he faced for a .920 saves percentage and a 2.00 goals-against average against Bentley.
Serratore Unbeaten in Home Openers: Head coach Frank Serratore is unbeaten in six home openers. The sixth-year head coach is 5-0-1 in the first home game of the season. His first season, the Falcons defeated Nebraska-Omaha, 4-2. His second season, AFA tied Holy Cross, 5-5 in overtime. In 1999-2000, after four straight road games, the Falcons defeated Fairfield, 10-1. Two years ago, the Falcons beat American International (4-2) and last season AFA defeated Fairfield, 6-1. Earlier this season, the Falcons swept Bentley, 5-2 and 6-2. In the season-opening home series, AFA is 10-1-1 with the only loss coming to Neb.-Omaha.
Berg and Zwiers Climb Up the Charts: Seniors Andy Berg and Scott Zwiers continue to climb up the career scoring list at Air Force. Berg has 113 points (49-64) in 109 games and is tied for 28th on the career scoring list. Zwiers has 99 points (40-59) in 116 games and is tied for 36th on the list.
Last Week: Air Force picked up its first series sweep of the season by taking two from Bentley College, 5-2 and 6-2, at the Cadet Ice Arena.
On Deck: Following the Niagara series, Air Force is idle for the week of Nov. 8-9. The Falcons resume play Nov. 15-16 at Alabama-Huntsville.
