Falcons idle until Feb. 6
1/27/2004 12:00:00 AM | Hockey
Jan. 27, 2004
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Idle until Feb. 6: Air Force is idle until Feb. 6-7 when the Falcons host Findlay at the Cadet Ice Arena. Faceoff is at 7:05 p.m. MST each night.
Series Records: Air Force and Findlay have played 20 times and the series in knotted at 9-9-2. AFA took three points from Findlay earlier this season with a tie and a win in Ohio in December. At the Cadet Ice Arena, the Falcons hold a 5-3 advantage in the series. The Falcons have won three of the last four at home.
Scouting the Opponents: The University of Findlay (Findlay, Ohio) is 5-17-4 overall and 2-7-1 in the CHA for fifth place with five points. The Oilers tied (0-0) and lost (4-2) at Ferris State last week. Findlay is winless in the last three and just 1-10-4 in the last 15 games. Senior Christian Olsen leads the team with 14 points. Junior Kris Wiebe leads the team with 11 goals. At the end of the current season, Findlay will no longer be a part of the CHA as the university will convert the program to the club level. Findlay plays at Bemidji State, Jan. 30-31.
Earlier this season vs. Findlay: Air Force took three of four points from Findlay, Dec. 5-6, in Ohio. The teams skated to a 1-1 overtime tie in game one as each team scored on special teams in the second period. Matt Bader scored a short-handed goal at 2:17 to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead. Three minutes later, Mark Bastl scored on the power play to tie the game. Findlay outshot AFA, 36-19 in the game. Mike Polidor made 35 saves. In game two, Air Force never trailed in a 5-2 victory. Five different Falcons scored as AFA outshot Findlay, 37-35. With the score tied at 1-1, Theo Zacour and Bader scored in the second period for a 3-1 lead. Leading 3-2 midway through the third period, Brandon Merkosky scored and Tom Starkey added an empty-net goal in the final minute. Box scores from this season are on page 11 of this release.
Winning Periods: Over a span of four games, Air Force had not lost a period of hockey until the second frame against UAH, Jan. 24. Starting with the second period of the first game at Army, Air Force had gone nine straight periods without losing one. The Falcons had won five periods and tied four. In Wayne State series, the Falcons won five of the six periods. Air Force is 3-3 in the last six games and has lost just four of the 18 periods.
PK Slips against UAH: The Air Force penalty kill dropped from sixth to 24th in the nation after the UAH series. The Falcons slipped from 87.2 to 84.8 percent are now third in the CHA. UAH scored five power-play goals in 13 attempts, Jan. 23-24. In nine games from Dec. 5-Jan. 17, the Falcons had killed 48 of 51 opponents' power plays (94.1 percent).
Last Year vs. Findlay at the CIA: Air Force and Findlay split two games in Colorado last season. In the first game, Findlay scored four goals in the third period for a 6-5 win in the first game. The Oilers scored the game-winner with 47 seconds remaining in regulation. In the second game, Air Force broke a 2-2 tie with four third-period goals for a 6-2 win. Andy Berg had a hat trick. Box scores from the series are on page six of this release.
Shutout Streak: Freshman Peter Foster's shutout streak ended in the second period against Alabama-Huntsville, Jan. 23. Foster posted 131 consecutive shutout minutes, the second-longest streak in school history and the longest ever against Division I opponents. After replacing Mike Polidor against Army on Jan. 16, Foster allowed two goals in the second period and then held Army scoreless for 36 minutes. He then blanked the Black Knights in 60 minutes on Jan. 17. Since 1990, Falcon goaltenders have had a streak of more than 100 shutout minutes just seven times. Marc Kielkucki had five of them with his longest being 116 in 1999-00. Pat Kielb holds the school record with 168:15 minutes of shutout hockey in 1993-94. He posted back-to-back shutouts of Mankato State (now Minnesota State).
Midst of Home Stand Ahead: Air Force played 17 of the first 24 games on the road, but the Falcons are in the midst of their longest home stand of the season. Beginning with the UAH series, the Falcons play six straight and eight of the next 10 at home. Air Force is 4-5 at home this season.
On Deck: Following the off-week and the Findlay series, the Falcons host Holy Cross in a non-conference series, Feb. 13-14, at Cadet Ice Arena.
Last Week: Air Force and Alabama-Huntsville split a two-game CHA series at the Cadet Ice Arena. The Falcons won the first game, 3-1, while UAH won the second game, 6-2.
