Falcons host Colo. College/Alabama-Huntsville
10/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Oct. 4, 2006
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This Week: Air Force (0-0, 0-0 AHA) opens the 2006-07 season against 15th-ranked Colorado College and former CHA rival Alabama-Huntsville. The Falcons and Tigers play Friday, Oct. 6, at 7:05 p.m. MT. The Falcons and Chargers play Sunday, Oct. 8, at 5:05 p.m. MT. Both games are at the Cadet Ice Arena (2,502).
Radio/Television/Internet: No television or Air Force radio for either game. The Colorado College game will be broadcast locally in Colorado Springs on FM 103.9 The Eagle and will also be available on the internet at www.1039theeagle.com.
Season Openers: Air Force is 16-19-3 overall in season openers. The Falcons are 7-7-2 when the Falcons open the season at home. Last season, Air Force lost to Maine, an eventual Frozen Four participant, 3-1, in the Icebreaker Classic at the Colorado Springs World Arena to open the 2005-06 season. Air Force hasn't opened the season at home since 2000-01 when the Falcons swept AIC at Cadet Ice Arena. Since then, the Falcons are 1-3-1 in season openers. The Falcons are 3-4-2 in season openers under Frank Serratore.
Scouting the Opponents: Colorado College and Alabama-Huntsville both open the season this weekend. CC enters the season ranked 15th in the nation in the USCHO poll. The Tigers were 24-16-2 last season and tied for fourth in the WCHA. However, the Tigers lost much of the scoring power from last season, including 2005 Hobey Baker winner Marty Sertich and fellow linemate Brett Sterling. UAH faces Colorado College on Sat., Oct. 7 to open the season. The Chargers were 19-13-2 overall last season and finished third in the CHA with a 12-7-1 record. The Chargers return 18 of the 26 lettermen from that team.
The Coaches: Air Force coach Frank Serratore (Bemidji State, 1982) is in his 10th season at Air Force and his 14th as a collegiate head coach. He has a 130-173-19 record at AFA and an overall mark of 179-265-28. UAH coach Doug Ross is in his 25th season at UAH with a school record of 441-249-40. CC Scott Owens is in his eighth season at CC with a school and overall record of 177-92-20.
Last Meeting: Colorado College defeated Air Force, 6-3, last season at the Colorado Springs World Arena. Air Force led 2-0 in the first period, but the Tigers roared back for the win. Air Force and UAH played four times last season with each team winning twice at home. UAH swept Air Force, 3-2 and 6-3, in Huntsville. AFA swept the Chargers, 3-1 and 5-0, at the Cadet Ice Arena.
Series Record: Air Force and Colorado College will play for the 63rd time and the Tigers hold a 54-6-2 advantage in the series that began in 1969. CC has a 23-game winning streak and a 28-game unbeaten streak. The teams skated to a 3-3 overtime tie in 1989. The last Falcon victory was a 6-5 overtime decision in 1985 at the Broadmoor. Air Force and UAH have played 53 times and the Chargers hold a 36-15-2 lead in the series. However, recently the series has been very even. In fact, Air Force has won three of the last five games played in the series.
Looking Back: Air Force finished the season with an 11-20-1 overall record. The Falcons were 8-12 in College Hockey America to tie for fourth place. AFA was the fifth seed in the CHA Tournament in Detroit, Mich., but lost to fourth-seeded Robert Morris, 4-3, in the first round.
Who's Back: The team returns 87 percent of its goal scoring. The top eight scorers, six of the top seven defensemen and all three goaltenders return to lead the Falcons into the 2006-07 season.Team MVP Eric Ehn led the team in scoring last season with 14 goals and 35 points. Senior left winger Andrew Ramsey tied for second on the team with 16 assists and 23 points. Junior Josh Schaffer, the team's most improved player last season, tied for second on the team with 10 goals and 23 points. Captains Billy Devoney and Brian Gineo lead an experienced and deep defensive corps. Devoney has missed just one game in his career and had four goals and nine points last season. Gineo, a second-team all-conference selection two years ago, was fourth on the team in scoring last season with 21 points (6-15-21). Air Force has three returning goaltenders and one freshman that will all compete for time in the net. Senior Peter Foster is the incumbent as he played in 23 games last season and is a three-year starter. After a stellar sophomore season in which he set the school record for goals-against average and Division I shutouts, he struggled last season to a streaky 9-14 record, an .868 saves percentage and a 3.09 goals-against average. Junior Ian Harper, senior Ben Worker and freshman Andrew Volkening will all be in the mix.
Inaugural Season in Atlantic Hockey: Air Force is in its first season in the Atlantic Hockey Association The addition of the Falcons to Atlantic Hockey brings the total number of members in the league to 10 teams for 2006-07. The announcement was made April 12, 2005. The league includes American International College, Army, Bentley College, Canisius College, the University of Connecticut, the College of the Holy Cross, Mercyhurst College, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and Sacred Heart University. Over the last three years, the Falcons are 14-6-5 against Atlantic Hockey, including an 0-3 mark last season.
CHA Awards Last Season: Four Falcons were named to the CHA all-league teams last season while a school-record 11 players were named to the academic team. Brooks Turnquist, graduated, was named the CHA Student-Athlete of the Year. Eric Ehn and defenseman Michael Mayra were named to the second team. Mayra was also named to the CHA all-rookie team. The Falcons placed a school-record 11 players on the all-academic team. Matt Bader, Mike Knaeble and Brooks Turnquist were on the team along with Billy Devoney, Jay Medenwaldt, Ben Worker, Theo Zacour, Matt Charbonneau, Eric Ehn, Frank Schiavone and Peter Shenk.
Close Games: Of Air Force's 32 games last season, 20 were decided by two goals or less. Several others were one or two-goal games late before the opponent scored an empty-net goal. Six of Air Force's 11 wins last season were by one goal. Air Force was 6-7 in one-goal games and 2-5 in two-goal games. Shots Denied: Over the last eight games last season, the opponents averaged just 21 shots allowed per game. Air Force held its opponent to 26 shots or less in 20 games last season. The Falcons allowed just 24.9 shots per game throughout the 2005-06 season. The national average for shots in a game last season was 29. The Falcons held their opponents to 20 or less shots in six of the last 11 games.
More on Shots: Air Force led the CHA in shots on goal per game (31.6) and shots allowed per game (24.9). The shot differential of +6.7 was also the best in the league and one of only two CHA teams to be on the "plus" side. The only other "plus" team is tournament champion Bemidji State at +0.78. Regular-season champion Niagara was a -6.78 in shot differential.
Power Play Improved Late Last Season: The Air Force power play was much improved in the second half of last season. On the season, AFA was at 16.4 percent on the power play to rank 35th in the nation. However, in the second half of the season, the power play was much improved. After going 0-for-13 against Army, the Falcons hit a low-water mark at 6.2 percent (4-80) to rank last in the nation. In the last 22 games of the season, AFA connected on 21.4 percent (30-for-140). The 21 percent clip in the last two months would rank seventh in the nation.
Last Week: Senior Andrew Ramsey had a goal and an assist in the third period as Air Force beat the University of Calgary, 4-2, in an exhibition game Monday, Oct. 1, at the Academy's Cadet Ice Arena.
