Regular season ends at Wayne State
3/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Hockey
March 1, 2004
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This Week: Air Force (12-20-2, 4-13-1 CHA) travels to the Detroit area for a two-game series with Wayne State (8-21-3, 4-13-1). The teams play Friday, March 5, at 7:05 pm EST, and Saturday, March 6, 3:05 pm EST. Both games are at the CompuWare Arena in Plymouth, Mich.
Radio/Television: Both games can be heard on the radio, internet and telephone. The game will be broadcast live in Colorado Springs on KBZC AM 1300. No television.
Series Records: Air Force and Wayne State have played 16 times and the Warriors hold a 10-4-2 lead in the series that began in 2000. WSU has won five of the last six in the series. AFA's 5-2 win earlier this season broke a six-game winless skid against WSU. Air Force is 2-4 vs. WSU in Detroit and 0-2 on neutral ice. The two teams met in the quarterfinals at the CHA Tournament in 2003 and WSU eliminated the Falcons, 4-2. Complete series results are on page six of this release.
Scouting the Opponents: Wayne State is 8-21-3 overall this season and 4-13-1 in the CHA. The Warriors are tied with the Falcons for fifth place in the league. WSU had a10-game winless skid, including eight straight losses in league play, snapped by sweeping a two-game series at Alabama-Huntsville, Feb. 28-29. The Warriors won by scores of 4-2 on Friday and 4-1 on Saturday. Prior to those wins, the last victory was at Air Force, 3-2, on Jan. 10. Wayne State has won the CHA Tournament each of the last three seasons, but suffered substantial losses to graduation after last season's title. The top two scorers are freshmen Nate Higgins (8-14-22) and Jason Baclig (10-9-19). Junior Billy Collins has scored six goals in the last six games against Air Force. Sophomore Matt Kelly and senior Marc Carlson have split time between the pipes. The Warriors are coached by Bill Wilkinson who is in his 22nd season as a collegiate head coach and his fifth year at Wayne. He has a career record of 393-380-67 and a school record of 80-79-14.
First Time at CompuWare: Air Force will be making its first ever appearance at the CompuWare Sports Arena in Plymouth, Mich. Air Force has played three series against WSU in the Detroit area and all three have been played at the Great Lake Sports Complex in Fraser, Mich.
Earlier This Season vs. Wayne State: Air Force and Wayne State split a two-game CHA series, Jan. 8 and 10, at the Academy. AFA won the first game 5-2. WSU won game two with an improbable, come-from-behind, 3-2 win. In the first game, Theo Zacour scored two goals to lead Air Force to a 5-2 win. Brandon Merkosky and Zacour gave the Falcons a two-goal lead in the first period. Zacour's second of the game was followed by WSU's Billy Collins as AFA had a 4-2 lead after two periods. The only goal of the third period came from Falcon senior Adam Larson. Air Force outshot Wayne State, 32-23. The Falcons were 2-for-6 on the power play while WSU was 0-for-4. Mike Polidor made 21 saves for AFA while WSU's Matt Kelly made 27. In the second game, Wayne State scored three goals in the third period for a 3-2 win. Air Force had a 2-0 lead with 14 minutes remaining, but the Warriors scored three in a span of seven minutes. Knaeble gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead in the opening period. Ryan Wiggins' fifth goal of the season gave the Falcons a two-goal lead in the second period. A breakaway goal by Billy Collins at 6:47 of the third period ignited the Warriors. Ryan Wright tied the game with a one-timer at 12:12 of the third period. Just over a minute later, Jason Baclig scored the game winner on a breakaway at 13:52. Air Force outshot Wayne State, 36-31, in the game. The Falcons were 1-for-8 on the power play while the Warriors were 0-for-4. Polidor made 28 saves for the Falcons while Carlson made 34 for the Warriors.
Last Time in Detroit: Air Force lost a pair of one-goal games to Wayne State (3-2 and 4-3). The Warriors scored two goals in the first period of both games. In the first game, AFA came back to tie the game on goals by Scott Zwiers and Andy Berg. WSU's Billy Collins netted the game-winner with 31 seconds left in the third period on an unassisted, short-handed goal. In the second game, WSU had a 4-1 lead after two periods. Justin Hamilton and Mike Knaeble scored to cut the lead to 4-3 with five minutes remaining and that was how the game ended. David Guererra started both games for WSU. Mike Polidor started the first game for AFA and had 24 saves. David Goodley started game two and had 22 stops.
Division I Wins: Air Force is playing its first all-Division I schedule in school history and the team has won 12 Division I games this season. The Falcons need just two more wins to tie the school record of 14 set twice, both times under Frank Serratore (1999-00 and 2001-02). In his seven seasons, Serratore has led Air Force to more Division I wins than any other AFA coach. Serratore has won 81 Division I games while Chuck Delich is second with 49.
Game 400 This Week: Frank Serratore's 400th game as a college head coach will come this week. Serratore currently has 398 games with 149 coming at Denver and 249 at Air Force. His 400th game will be on the road against Wayne State, in the regular-season finale on March 6.
Road Success: Air Force is 6-11-2 on the road this season. The six road wins are twice as many as the team had last season (3-14-1). 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 33 road games. In the last 108 road games, the Falcons are 33-70-7 (33 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.
On Deck: Following the Wayne State series, the Falcons compete for the College Hockey America Tournament championship, March 12-14, at the Tri-City Arena in Kearney, Neb.
Last Week: Bemidji State swept Air Force, 7-4 and 9-1, at Cadet Ice Arena, Feb. 27-28. BSU clinched the CHA title with the sweep. Air Force remained in fifth place with nine CHA points.
