Falcons travel to AIC for final regular-season series
2/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Feb. 20, 2007
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This Week: Air Force (14-15-5, 11-10-5 AHA) travels to Springfield, Mass., for a two-game league series against American International College (AIC) (7-22-1, 7-18-1 AHA), Friday-Saturday, Feb. 23-24. The faceoff is at 7 p.m. EST at the Olympia Ice Center (2,200).
Radio/ Internet: Both games can be heard on the internet at www.GoAirForceFalcons.com and in Colorado Springs on ESPN 1300 AM The Sports Animal. Jay Ritchie, in his 10th season of Air Force hockey and 19th season of Falcon athletics, will do the play-by-play. Dave Toller will do the color. The pregame show begins 20 minutes prior to faceoff.
Final Regular Season Series:: The Air Force-AIC series, Feb. 23-24, is the final regular-season series for both teams. The Falcons will still play at least one game on March 10, either at home or on the road.
The Bottom Line: Air Force will clinch home ice in the first round of the playoffs with at least one point at AIC or a Holy Cross loss to Connecticut. The Falcons would then host a playoff game on March 10 at the Cadet Ice Arena. The winner of that game advances to the AHA Final Four in Rochester, N.Y., on March 16-17.The winner of the AHA Final Four gets an automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals.
A Look at the Standings: Air Force is currently in fifth place in the AHA standings, one point behind fourth-place Connecticut and four points ahead of sixth-place Holy Cross. With RIT ineligible for post-season competition, the Falcons are currently sitting as the No. 4 seed in the tournament, which would give AFA home ice in the first round. The Falcons could finish as high as fourth which would be the No. 3 seed. AFA could play Holy Cross, Mercyhurst or Bentley in the first round.
Tiebreakers: Air Force could end the regular season tied for fourth (No. 3 seed) with UConn or tied for fifth (No. 4 seed) with Holy Cross. Should two teams be tied in league points, the following tiebreaking procedure will be used: 1. Head-to-Head: AFA and Holy Cross split the series, Jan. 12-13, with back-to-back 2-2 ties. AFA and UConn split the series with a 4-2 AFA win and a 7-5 UConn win. 2. Number of League Wins UConn has 13 wins, Air Force has 11 wins and Holy Cross has nine wins. UConn would hold this tiebreaker over Air Force, but AFA and Holy Cross could still be tied at this point. 3. Goal Differential in All League Games: AFA is a +16 (83 goals for and 67 goals against). Holy Cross is a -2 (83 goals for and 85 goals against). UConn is a -4 (81 goals for and 85 goals against). Therefore, AFA has a huge advantage in this tiebreaker. If AFA and Holy Cross are tied in points and league wins, AFA would have to lose both games at AIC by a combined nine goals or more and Holy Cross would have to win both games vs. UConn by a combined nine goals or more.
Scouting the Opponents: AIC (7-22-1, 7-18-1 AHA) is in 10th place in the AHA with 15 points. However, the Yellow Jackets took three points from fourth-place UConn (3-2 win and 2-2 overtime tie) last week in a home-and-home series. After a rough start in which AIC lost its first 11 games (nine in the league), the team has rebounded. Since then, AIC is 7-11-1 overall and 7-9-1 in the conference. AIC is 3-2-1 in its last six games. Sophomore Tom Fenton is the team's top goalie with a 3.69 GAA and a .877 saves percentage. Junior Jereme Tendler leads the team with 14 goals and 25 points. The Yellow Jackets are averaging 2.30 goals per game while allowing 3.93.
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 143-187-24 record at AFA and an overall mark of 192-279-33. AIC coach Gary Wright is in his 23rd season at AIC with a school and overall record of 244-381-44.
Series Record: Air Force and AIC have played 10 times and the Falcons have won all 10 contests. AFA is 2-0 at AIC, 6-0 at Cadet Ice Arena and 2-0 on neutral ice. Earlier this season, AFA swept the series, 6-1 and 3-0, at the Academy. The teams last played in Springfield, Mass., in 2004. AFA swept the non-conference series, 5-4 and 2-0. AFA has out-scored AIC, 44-14, in the 10 games.
Earlier this Season: AFA swept AIC in a two-game league series, 6-1 and 3-0, at the Academy, Nov. 17-19. AFA broke a 1-1 tie in the first game with four second-period goals. Andrew Ramsey scored four goals in the game, while Eric Ehn and Mike Phillipich each had one. Ehn also had three assists in the game. Peter Foster earned the win in net making 15 saves. AFA out-shot AIC, 44-16. In the second game, freshman goalie Andrew Volkening posted his first career shutout by stopping all 19 AIC shots. AFA had 44 shots in the game. Ramsey, Jeff Hajner and Josh Print scored in the 3-0 win. Ehn had one assist. AFA was 2-for-16 on the power play and killed all nine AIC man advantages.
Ehn Leads the Nation: Junior center Eric Ehn leads the nation in scoring with 55 points on 22 goals and 33 assists. He moved back ahead of Michigan's T.J. Hensick who currently has 53 points. Ehn had five points in the Canisius series while Hensick had three points in the Lake Superior State series. Ehn's 1.62 goals per game average is tops in the country. Ehn is also eighth in the nation in goals per game (0.65) and second in assists per game (0.97). He has led the nation in points in 11of the last 14 weeks. Ehn has scored in 26 of the 34 games this season and has 14 multiple-point games and seven multiple-goal games.
Ehn for the Hobey; Ehn is in the top 10 on the CSTV.com Hobey Baker watch list. The Hobey is given annually to nation's top collegiate hockey player. Ehn first appeared on the list on Jan. 3 and was No. 10. He has been between sixth and 10th in the last seven weeks. Fans can also vote for the Hobey by going to the official web-site at www.HobeyBaker.com. Ehn is currently fifth in the fan voting.
Ramsey on Ballot for NCAA Skills Competition: Air Force senior left winger Andrew Ramsey is on the ballot of the 2007 NCAA Frozen Four Pontiac Skills Challenge. The skills challenge, in its second year, is a fast-paced, exciting event that pits male and female seniors in an East versus West team competition in the following events: puck-control relay, fastest skater, hardest shot, accuracy shooting, rapid fire shooting and penalty shot competition. One hundred and eighty players were nominated for the competition. A selection committee has narrowed the candidates down to 88 and now fans have a chance to help the selection committee identify the 32 players that will participate in the skills challenge. Voting will take place between January 26-February 12. The participants will be announced in mid to late February. The 2007 Pontiac Frozen Four Skills Challenge takes place on Friday, April 6 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The presentation of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award and the Hockey Humanitarian Award also will be part of the evening's festivities--"Friday Night at the "Frozen Four". As a member of the Atlantic Hockey Association, Ramsey is on the East ballot. Voting is done at www.ncaasports.com.
Home Record: AFA finished the regular season with an 8-6-3 record at home. The Falcons could have one more home game on March 10 if the AFA clinches home ice in the first round of the AHA playoffs. The eight wins are the most since the 2001-02 team won nine games. The home winning percentage of .559 is also the best since the 2001-02 team won 60 percent of its home games.
Ehn Could set AHA Record: With 40 points in 26 AHA games this season, Eric Ehn could break the league record for points in conference games only. Mercyhurst's Ben Cottreau and Holy Cross' Tyler McGregor both had 43 points last season in 28 games.
AFA Ties School Record for Division I wins; Needs One to Break Mark: Air Force has 14 Division I victories this season and has tied the record set several times. Serratore's 1999-00 team first set the record with 14 Division I wins. The 2001-02, 2003-04 and 2004-05 teams all tied the record. The 2003-04 and 2004-05 teams won 28 Division I games to set a two-year school record. AFA has won 14 this season and 11 last season. for 25 in the last two years.
55 Points for Ehn: With five points vs. Canisius, Eric Ehn now has 55 points for the season. He became the first Falcon with 55 or more points in 27 years when Bob Sajevic had 64 points (35-29-64) in 1979-80.
20+ Goals for Ehn: Eric Ehn became the first Falcon to have 20 goals in a season since current assistant coach Andy Berg had 22 in 2003. In the last 11 years, the Falcons have had a 20-goal scorer just five times. Justin Kieffer had 23 goals in 1996-97 and 24 in 1997-98. Derek Olson had 21 goals in 2001-02 and Berg had 22 goals in 2002-03. The school record for goals in a season was set by Chuck Delich with 44 in 1975-76. Since 1980, just two players have had 25 or more goals. Mark Manney had 27 in 1981-82 and Frank Daldine had 28 in 1984-85.
... And 30+ assists: Ehn's 33 assists this season tie as the most by a Falcon in 28 years. Defenseman Beau Bilek also had 33 in 1993-94 and Bob Sajevic had 33 in 1978-79. Bob Sajevic had 34 assists in 1977-78. Defenseman Tom Uren had 39 assists in 1976-77. The school record for assists in a season is 49 set by center Dave Skalko in 1971-72.
Two over 40: For the first time in 13 years, Air Force has two players with 40 or more points. Eric Ehn has 55 points and Andrew Ramsey has 40. The last time was in 1993-94 when Beau Bilek had 42 points and Mike Veneri had 41. The 95 combined points by Ehn and Ramsey are the most in 25 years when Mark Manney (27-26-53) and Tom Richards (22-26-48) combined for 101 in 1981-82.
Number 100: Senior left winger Andrew Ramsey reached the 100-point mark for his career and became the 39th player in AFA history to reach the plateau. He did it with a goal vs. Canisius in the first period, Feb. 16. Ramsey had six points in the Canisius series and now has 104 for his career. Ramsey has had 11 points in the last six games. Ramsey had 17 points as a freshman, 25 as a sophomore, 23 as a junior and 40 this season.
Last Week: Air Force and Canisius split a two-game series, Feb. 16-17, at the Cadet Ice Arena. Canisius won the first game, 4-2, while AFA won the second game, 5-0.
