Falcons travel to first-place RIT
2/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Feb. 7, 2007
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This Week: Air Force (13-12-5, 10-7-5 AHA) travels to Rochester, N.Y. to face the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Tigers (17-9-2, 16-5-1 AHA), Friday-Saturday, Feb. 9-10. Both games start at 7:00 p.m. EST at the Frank Ritter Arena (2,100)
Radio/ Internet: Both games can be heard on the internet at www.GoAirForceFalcons.com. The Friday game is an internet only broadcast while the Saturday game can also be heard 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.
Scouting the Opponents: RIT (Rochester, N.Y.) is in first place in the AHA with 33 points, four points ahead of second-place Army. The Tigers have won four of their last five and seven of the last nine. RIT split with Canisius last week, losing at home 4-1 and then winning in Buffalo, 4-2. Jocelyn Guimond is one of the top goaltenders in the conference with a 2.44 GAA and a .925 saves percentage with an 8-6-2 record. Freshman Louis Menard has a 9-3-0 record with a 2.49 GAA and a .914 saves percentage. Sophomore forward Steve Pinizzotto leads the team with 38 points. Junior Matt Smith has 16 goals. RIT is averaging 3.86 goals per game while allowing 2.61.
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 143-185-24 record at AFA and an overall mark of 192-278-33. RIT coach Wayne Wilson is in his eighth year with the Tigers with a school and overall record of 142-62-19.
Ehn for the Hobey; Junior center Eric Ehn is third in the nation in scoring with 47 points in 30 games and 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 four weeks. Fans can also vote for the Hobey by going to the official web-site at www.HobeyBaker.com. Ehn is currently fourth in the fan voting.
Ehn Third in the Nation: Eric Ehn (19-28-47) fell out of the top spot in the nation in scoring for the first time since Dec. 8. He is third in the nation in points per game (1.57), fourth in assists per game (0.93), and 14th in goals per game (0.63). He has led the nation in points in 10 of the last 12 weeks. Ehn has scored in 23 of the 30 games this season and has 12 multiple-point games and six multiple-goal games.
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.
Series Record: Air Force and RIT have played 11 times and AFA holds a 5-4-2 lead in a series that began in 1990. AFA has a current five-game unbeaten streak against the Tigers (3-0-2). Earlier this season, AFA earned three points with a win (3-0) and a tie (4-4 ot) at the Academy. Last season, AFA won a 3-2 overtime decision at RIT. In 2005, the Falcons earned a win and a tie at the Academy. AFA is 1-0 at RIT.
Earlier this Season: Air Force and RIT played Nov. 3-4 at the Academy. AFA won the first game, 3-0, and then tied the second game, 4-4 in overtime. In the first game. Ian Harper stopped all 24 shots he faced in his first career shutout. Matt Fairchild scored the first goal of the game, the eventual game-winner, in the second period. Josh Schaffer and Theo Zacour also scored. AFA scored two goals on the power play. In the second game, AFA forced the tie when Josh Frider scored with 39 seconds remaining after AFA pulled the goalie. The goal was Frider's second of the game. Mike Phillipich and Brian Reese also scored. Harper started the game, but was pulled late in the first period after giving up two goals. Freshman Andrew Volkening came in and played 24 minutes, but was pulled after the second period with RIT leading, 4-3. Harper played the third period and overtime.
One to Tie Record: Air Force has 13 Division I victories this season and needs just one more to tie the school record of 14 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 13 this season and 11 last season. for 24 in the last two years.
Nearing the Century: Senior left winger Andrew Ramsey is closing in on 100 career points. Ramsey had three points (1-2-3) in the Mercyhurst series and now has 97 career points in 128 games. Ramsey had 17 points as a freshman, 25 as a sophomore, 23 as a junior and 32 this season. He has scored in his last three games (1-3-4).
Last Week: Mercyhurst swept Air Force in a two-game league series at the Academy, Feb. 2-3. The Lakers won, 7-5, in the first game and, 3-2 in overtime.
