Falcons travel to Army
1/13/2004 12:00:00 AM | Hockey
Jan. 13, 2004
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This Week: Air Force, 8-12-2, 2-7-1 CHA) travels to West Point to face Army (4-7-3, 3-6-3 AH) Friday-Saturday, Jan. 16-17. The faceoff is at 8:05 p.m. EST on Friday and at 7:05 p.m. EST on Saturday.
National TV/Radio: The first game of the Air Force-Army series, Jan. 16, will be broadcast nationally on College Sports Television at 8:05 p.m. EST. The second game, Jan. 17, will be broadcast nationally on the radio by the Creative Sports Network at 7:05 p.m. EST.
National Broadcasts: Air Force's series against Army, Jan. 16-17 in West Point, will receive much national attention. The Air Force-Army hockey game on Friday, Jan. 16, will be telecast live by College Sports Television (CSTV). CSTV is available on Adelphia Cable in Colorado Springs on Channel 170 or on Direct TV on channel 610. Eric Frede will handle the play-by-play duties while Dave Starman will be the color analyst. The faceoff time is 8:05 p.m. EST. The game will be featured as the "Friday Night Game of the Week." The game is the first CSTV appearance by any College Hockey America team. The Air Force-Army hockey game on Saturday, Jan. 17 is slated to be broadcast nationwide on the radio by Creative Sports Network (CSN). The faceoff is at 7:05 p.m. EST. CSN boasts 129 affiliates in 38 states coast-to-coast.
Series Records: Air Force and Army have played 34 times and the Falcons hold a 20-12-2 advantage in the series that began in 1976. Army swept Air Force last season by identical 2-1 scores. Under Frank Serratore, the Falcons are 9-3-1 vs. the Black Knights. Air Force has won six straight at West Point and Serratore has never lost at Tate Rink (6-0). Of those six games, two games were decided by one goal, three by two goals and one by three goals.
Scouting the Black Knights: Army (West Point, N.Y.) is a member of the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Black Knights are 4-7-3 overall and 3-6-3 for sixth place in the nine-team league. Army is coached by Rob Riley who is in his 20th season as a collegiate head coach and his 18th year at Army. He has a career record of 298-291-34 and an Army record of 249-277-33. Army has struggled scoring this season, averaging 1.79 goals per game which is last in the nation (58th). Army is also last in the nation in power play at 6.3 percent (5-of-79). Sophomore Seth Beamer leads the team with six assists and 10 points.
PK Among Nation's Best: The Air Force penalty kill ranks second in the CHA and 14th in the nation, killing 86.2 percent. The Falcons have killed 10 straight power plays. Dating back to the Findlay game on Dec. 5, the Falcons have killed 33 of the last 35 opponents power plays with the only two goals coming against Bemidji State, Jan. 3.
Lack of G's for Falcons and Black Knights: Both Air Force and Army have struggled scoring goals this season. Army is dead last in the nation in scoring offense (58th), averaging 1.79 goals per game. Air Force is 39th in the nation in scoring offense with 2.73 goals per game.
Last Year vs. Army: For the first time in the history of the series, Army swept Air Force in Colorado. Army won by identical scores of 2-1 to snap a three-game losing streak to Air Force. The Black Knights were led by their goaltender, Brad Roberts, who stopped 73 of the 75 shots he faced. In the first game, AFA outshot Army, 44-28, but Roberts made 43 stops. With the score tied at 1-1, Nic Serre scored the game-winner at 6:15 of the third period. AFA was 1-for-9 on the power play. In the second game, AFA outshot Army, 31-21, but Roberts made 30 saves. Army again scored the first goal of the game and AFA tied the score in the second period. Army's Chris Garceau scored the game-winner at 6:37 of the second period.
Last Time at West Point: Air Force completed its third consecutive sweep at Army, defeating the Black Knights, 4-2 and 5-4, Dec. 7-8, 2001. In the first game, Army took a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Tim Murphy and Nathan Mayfield. Trailing 3-1, Air Force scored three in the third period. Joe Locallo tied the game at 7:58 and then Andy Berg scored the game-winner at 11:01. Locallo scored again at 14:30. In the second game, Air Force scored three in the first and took a 4-0 lead midway through the second period. Army came back to tie the score in the third period. Brian Reaney's power-play goal with 56 seconds remaining was the game-winner. Berg scored two goals for the Falcons in the first period. Reaney also had two goals in the game. Scott Zwiers had four assists in the game and six in the series.
Zacour Earns Second Player of the Week: Freshman Theo Zacour was named the CHA Rookie of the Week for his performance in the Wayne State series, Jan. 8-10. Zacour earned his second rookie of the week honor this season. He scored two goals and had seven shots on goal as the Falcons split with the Warriors. In AFA's 5-2 win on Jan. 8, Zacour scored two goals, both on the power play. He also notched the game-winner with his second period tally. The effort was the first multiple-goal game of his career.
On Deck: Following the Army series, Air Force returns to the home ice to host CHA rival Alabama-Huntsville, Jan. 23-24, at the Cadet Ice Arena. Faceoff is at 7:05 p.m. each night.
Last Week: Air Force and Wayne State split a two-game CHA series, Jan. 8 and 10, at the Academy's Cadet Ice Arena. AFA won the first game 5-2. WSU won game two with an improbable, come-from-behind, 3-2 win.
