Falcons to host Bemidji State, Oct. 17-18
10/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Oct. 15, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
This Week Air Force steps away from Atlantic Hockey Association play as the Falcons host a familiar foe, the former College Hockey America rival Bemidji State Beavers, Friday-Saturday, Oct. 17-18, at 7:05 p.m. MT each night at the Cadet Ice Arena.
Radio/Internet Both games will be broadcast live in Colorado Springs on KCSF AM 1300 and on the internet at www.GoAirForceFalcons.com. The pregame show begins at 6:45 p.m. Tony Desiere, filling in for Jay Ritchie, will call the play-by-play while Dave Toller will provide the analysis. The games will also be video streamed live with audio by the B2 Network on a subscription basis. For more information, please go to the Atlantic Hockey Association web-site at AtlanticHockeyOnline.com. No television.
Last Week Air Force swept a two-game AHA series at Sacred Heart, 4-1 and 4-3 in overtime Bemidji State was swept at No. 10 St. Cloud State, 5-2 and 4-2
Rankings Air Force is receiving votes in both the USA Today/USA Hockey magazine poll and the USCHO/CBS C polls. Based on the number of votes, AFA is No. 22 in both polls.
The Coaches Frank Serratore (Bemidji State, 1982) is in his 12th season as the head coach of Air Force. He has led the Falcons to back-to-back conference championships and NCAA Tournament berths. Serratore is the winningest coach in the history of Air Force hockey with a record of 172-201-30 at AFA and a career mark of 221-293-39 in his 16th year. Tom Serratore (Bemidji State, 1987) is in his eighth season as the head coach at Bemidji State with a school and overall record of 120-102-37.
Battle of the Brothers This week will be a battle of the brothers at the Cadet Ice Arena. Air Force head coach Frank Serratore's Falcons will take on Bemidji State, coached by Frank's younger brother Tom. The pair coached against each other for five seasons in the College Hockey America conference from 2001-06. During that time, Bemidji State was 18-1-1 vs. Air Force.
Raise The Banners At Friday's game vs. Bemidji State, the banners for winning the Atlantic Hockey Association and competing in the NCAA Hockey Tournament will be hung from the rafters of the Cadet Ice Arena. The first 1,000 fans on Friday will receive a commemorative replica championship pennant. Fans can join in the celebration the second of two banners and the the battle of the Serratores for just $2 each game. For ticket information, please call 800-666-USAF or visit the website at GoAirForceFalcons.com.
Scouting the Opponents. Bemidji State opened the season last week on the road at No. 10 St. Cloud State, losing twice by scores of 5-2 and 4-2. The Beavers return 17 of 25 lettermen from last season's team that went 17-16-3 overall and won the CHA with a 13-4-3 record.
Home opener Air Force has been strong in home openers in the 11 years under coach Frank Serratore. In the first home game of the season, Serratore has led the Falcons to a 7-3-1 mark. The only losses have been to Colorado College twice and Denver once. In the season-opening home series, AFA is 16-5-1.
Series with Bemidji State Bemidji State has dominated the series vs. Air Force, holding a 23-6-2 lead in the series that began in 1997 when BSU was a Division II team. Both teams were charter members of the CHA in 1999 and from 1999-00 to 2005-06 (AFA's last season in the CHA), Bemidji State held a 21-4-2 series lead as conference opponents. The teams have not played since the 2005-06 season when the Beavers took three of four that season. AFA is 5-8 vs. the Beavers at Cadet Ice Arena.
Last Meeting vs. Bemidji State Air Force and Bemidji State have not played since the teams met four times as league opponents in the 2005-06 season. BSU won three of the four games. However, early that year, BSU came to Cadet Ice Arena ranked 15th in the nation and the teams split the two-game series. AFA won the first night, 4-3, while BSU won game two, 2-1. In the first game, AFA built a 3-0 lead and then held the Beavers off. Current team captain, senior Mike Phillipich, a sophomore at the time, had a goal and an assist in the game. Current senior Josh Frider, a sophomore that season as well, scored a goal the second night to make the final score 2-1. In the series in Bemidji, Phillipich had one goal while Frider had one assist. Current senior Brent Olson had three assists in the series in northern Minnesota.
Road Sweep Air Force earned a very difficult road sweep last weekend at Sacred Heart. AFA was picked by the league's coaches to win the league while Sacred Heart was picked fourth. The road sweep is the first since taking two from Canisius late last season. The school record for road sweeps is two in one season set several times during the Frank Serratore era.
The Air Force -- Not the Bus Force Over the last two years, Air Force has been the best road team in Atlantic Hockey. Air Force's 10 Division I victories away from home (road and neutral) last season tie the school record set in 2006-07. AFA's 20 Division I road wins are the most in back-to-back years in school history. The 10 road wins are the second most in school history and the most since AFA won 11 road games in 1971-72 (mostly against non-Division I teams). Over the past two seasons, Air Force has won 42 total games (19 in 2006-07, 21 in 2007-08 and two so far this season). Of those 42 wins, 22 have come away from Cadet Ice Arena.
Some Home Cooking While the Falcons have proven to be a strong road team, coach Frank Serratore hopes his Falcons will be better on the home ice. On the surface, the team's 11-3-5 home record last season looks pretty stout, but the Falcons left many points on the table. The Falcons were just 6-3-5 in conference regular-season home games. All five of the team's home ties came against teams that finished in the bottom half of the league.
Volkening Picks Up Where He Left Off Junior goaltender Andrew Volkening set four school records during the 2007-08 season. His season goals-against average (2.09) and saves percentage (.911) set new school records. The previous record for saves percentage was .907 set by Marc Kielkucki in 2000-01. Volkening also set a new school record with 21 Division I wins. In his last outing last season, he held the nation's top scoring team, Miami, to just three goals in 65 minutes of action and was named to the NCAA Northeast Region All-Tournament Team. In his first two games this season, he has not missed a beat. He led the Falcons to two road wins at Sacred Heart last weekend and posted a 1.97 goals-against average and a .929 saves percentage. Among goaltenders who have started more than one game this season, Volkening ranks fifth in the nation in goals-against average and fourth in saves percentage.
