Air Force Academy
Wayne State
Falcons sweep Wayne State with 3-1 win
3/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Hockey
March 6, 2004
Air Force played one of its most complete games of the season, defeating Wayne State, 3-1, at the CompuWare Center in Detroit, Mich., Sat., March 6. It was the final regular season game of the season.
The win gives the Falcons their first-ever series road sweep of a current College Hockey America team. Air Force swept Army at West Point in the 1999-2000 season when the Black Knights were members of the league. The victory also improved AFA to 8-11-2 on the road this season. The eight road wins are the second most in school history and the most since the 1971-72 season.
The win is Air Force's 14th Division I win of the season which matches a school record. All three seasons the Falcons have won 14 Division I games have come under current head coach Frank Serratore.
Air Force improved to 14-20-2 overall this season and 6-13-1 in CHA action. Wayne State falls to 8-23-3 overall and 4-15-1 in the conference.
Air Force will be the fifth seed in next week's CHA Tournament in Kearney, Neb. The Falcons will take on fourth-seeded Findlay in the opening round on Friday, March 12, at 3:05 p.m. MST.
Senior Tom Starkey opened the scoring for Air Force in the first period when he scored in heavy traffic in front of the net at the 6:46 mark. Steve Mead and Brian Reese picked up assists on the goal. Freshman Andrew Ramsey staked the Falcons to a 2-0 lead when he scored at the 9:36 mark of the second period on assists by Brandon Merkosky and Ross Miller.
"Senior Tom Starkey has shown great leadership down the stretch," head coach Frank Serratore said. "He plays on every one of our units and tonight he scored a big goal when he went in front of the net, took a beating and put the puck away. That is a perfect example of putting the team ahead of yourself. We have very good players and when they are playing together, they are a very good team."
Miller added his first goal of the season at the 1:12 mark of the third period to put Air Force in command, 3-0. Wayne State finally got on the board late in the third period on a goal from Travis Rycroft.
Air Force goalie Peter Foster was tremendous. The freshman from Canton, Mich., recorded 26 saves and collected his sixth win of the season. Marc Carlson finished with 28 saves for the Warriors. WSU went 0-for-7 on the power play while Air Force was 0-for-8. Air Force outshot WSU, 31-27.
"We were picked 57th out of 58 division I teams in one preseason poll and we just won our 14th Division I game of the season to tie a school record," Serratore said. "And the season is not over yet. This team has overachieved. I'm excited for our team and for our seniors and I am very proud of the team.
"We got contributions from every player this weekend and every line scored a goal. I'm a happy guy right now. I'm so happy four this team because they are a great group. We lost four straight games to two very good teams, but this team never gave up. They never lost confidence. They are proof that if you stick with it, good things will happen."
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