Falcons host Wayne State
1/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Hockey
Jan. 6, 2004
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This Week: Air Force (7-11-2 and 1-6-1 in the CHA) hosts the Wayne State Warriors (5-11-2, 1-5-0 CHA) in a College Hockey America series, Thursday and Saturday, Jan. 8 and 10. Faceoff each night is at 7:05 p.m. in the Cadet Ice Arena (2,502).
Series Records: Air Force and Wayne State have played 14 times and the Warriors hold a 9-3-2 lead in the series that began in 2000. WSU has won four straight in the series and has a six-game unbeaten streak against AFA. The Falcons are 1-3-2 against WSU at the Cadet Ice Arena. The two teams last met in the quarterfinals at the CHA Tournament in 2003 and WSU eliminated the Falcons, 4-2. In the last series at the Academy, WSU took three points with a 2-2 overtime tie in the first game and won 5-3 the second night (Jan. 4-5, 2003).
Scouting the Opponents: Wayne State (Detroit, Mich.) is 5-11-2 overall and 1-5-0 in College Hockey America. The Warriors are coached by Bill Wilkinson who is in his 22nd season as a collegiate head coach and his fifth year at Wayne. The Warriors lost 12 seniors that were key members of the last season's team that won the CHA tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Freshmen Jason Baclig and Nate Higgins lead the team in scoring with 13 points. Baclig leads the team with seven goals and Higgins leads the team with eight assists. Only one other player has 10 points (Nathan Rosychuk).
Last Game vs. the Warriors: Air Force and Wayne State met in the quarterfinals of the CHA Tournament, March 14, in Kearney, Neb. WSU won, 4-2, then won the CHA title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. After a scoreless first period, WSU scored three in the second period and held on for the win. After two quick goals in the second period, AFA's Andy Berg cut the deficit to 2-1. Warrior Derek MacKay scored early in the third for a 4-1 lead and Spanky Leonard rounded out the scoring in the final 70 seconds.
Last Time at Air Force: Wayne State took three of four points from the Falcons with a 2-2 tie and a 5-3 win, Jan. 4-5, at the Cadet Ice Arena. Wayne State scored four of the seven goals in the first or last minute of the period. In the first game, Derek MacKay scored 14 seconds into the game but AFA's Carson Strang tied the game later in the first period. Andy Berg's power-play goal gave the Falcons a 2-1 lead midway through the third period. WSU pulled the goalie late in the game and tied the game with 10 seconds remaining. In the second game, Each team scored twice in the first period. Goals by Scott Zwiers and Shane Saum gave the Falcons a 2-1 lead. Dustin Kingston tied the game with four seconds left in the period. WSU's Jack Redwood scored 38 seconds into the second period for a 3-2 lead. A short-handed goal by Billy Collins early in the third period gave WSU a 4-2 lead.
Home Stand Ahead: Air Force played 15 of the first 20 games on the road, but a home stand is ahead. Beginning with the Wayne State series, AFA will play eight of the next 10 and 10 of the final 16 at home. The Falcons will play six straight home games from Jan. 23 through Feb. 14.
Road Success: Air Force is 5-8-2 on the road this season. The five road wins are already more than the team had all of last season (3-14-1 on the road in 2002-03). Serratore has been a master at getting his teams prepared to play on the road. Prior to Serratore taking over the Falcons in 1997-98, AFA won just eight road games in six years. Under the seventh-year coach, the Falcons have won 32 road games. In the last 106 road games, the Falcons are 32-69-7 (34 percent). The team has won seven road games in a season twice under his tenure (1999-00 and 2001-02). The seven road wins tie as the second most in school history. AFA won 11 road games in 1971-72.
P2K: Senior goaltender Mike Polidor became the ninth goaltender in Air Force history to post 2,00 or more career saves. A three-year starter, Polidor entered the season with 1,603 saves and has 422 this season for a total of 2,025. He is the first to reach the milestone since Marc Kielkucki in 1998-01. Among players who have played more than 50 games, Polidor ranks third in career saves percentage with .884 and is second in career goals against average with a 3.44.
Tough in the Third: Air Force has scored 25 of its 53 goals in the third period this season. The 25 goals in the third are more than any other CHA team. The Falcons have used those goals to preserve their second-period leads. AFA is 5-0 when leading after the second period and are 2-1-1 when the score is tied after two periods.
Game 400 on the Horizon: Head coach Frank Serratore's 400th game as a college head coach will come this season. Serratore currently has 384 games with 149 coming at Denver and 237 at Air Force. His 400th game will be on the road against Wayne State, in the regular-season finale on March 6.
Balanced Scoring: Air Force has used a balanced scoring attack this season with eight players scoring four or more goals. Shane Saum and Matt Bader each have seven goals. Spanky Leonard has six and Theo Zacour has five. Mike Knaeble, Andrew Ramsey, Ryan Wiggins and Brandon Merkosky each have four goals. Air Force also has seven with 10 or more points. Leonard leads the team with 16 and Knaeble has 12. Three players have 11 points and two others have 10.
Second Period Slump: Air Force has struggled scoring goals in the second period this season. Air Force has been outscored in the second period 24 to 12 this season.
Scoring Slump: One of the main reasons for the team's recent slide is a lack of scoring. In the first 10 games, the Falcons were 6-4 and were averaging 3.6 goals per game. In the last 10 games, the Falcons have scored more than two goals just once and are averaging just 1.7 goals per game.
On Deck: Following the Wayne State series, Air Force returns to the road against service academy rival Army, Jan. 16-17, in West Point, N.Y.
Last Week: Bemidji State swept Air Force, 3-1 and 5-1, in a College Hockey America series, Jan. 2-3.
