No. 13 Falcons travel to Holy Cross
11/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Nov. 12, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
This Week No. 13/13 Air Force (8-0-0 overall and 6-0-0 in the AHA) travels to Worcester, Mass., for a two-game Atlantic Hockey Association series with Holy Cross (2-4-1, 2-3-1 AHA), Friday-Saturday, Nov. 14-15, Faceoff is at 6:35 p.m. Friday and 7:05 p.m. Saturday EST.
Radio/Internet Both games will be broadcast live in Colorado Springs on KCS AM 1300 and on the internet at www.GoAirForceFalcons.com. The pregame show begins 20 minutes prior to faceoff. Tony Desiere 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 was idle. The Falcons swept a two-game league series from Bentley, 5-1 and 8-2, Oct. 31-Nov. 1. Holy Cross split a two-game series with Mercyhurst in Worcester with each team winning 4-3 in overtime.
Rankings The Falcons are ranked 13th in both the USCHO/CBS College Sports poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey magazine poll. The Falcons entered the USCHO/CBS College Sports poll on Oct. 27 at No. 17. Air Force entered the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll on Nov. 3 at No. 14 marking the first time in school history Air Force has been in the top 15 of both polls. Air Force is also No. 12 this week in the Inside Hockey.com power rankings.
Inside the Rankings Air Force's No. 13 national ranking is the highest ever by an Atlantic Hockey or MAAC team. Late in the 2005-06 season, Holy Cross was No. 14 in the USA Hockey/USA Magazine poll. The ranking is the second highest ever by a team not from one of the "Big Four" conferences (WCHA, CCHA, ECAC and Hockey East) and the highest since Niagara was No. 11 in both polls late in the 1999-00 season.
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 berths. Serratore is the winningest coach in the history of Air Force hockey with a record of 178-201-30 and a career mark of 227-293-39 in his 16th year. Paul Pearl (Holy Cross, 1989) is in his 14th season with the Crusaders with a school and overall record of 203-191-44.
8-0 First Time Since ... Air Force's 8-0 start matches the best start in school history. The 1971-72 team also opened with an 8-0 start en route to a school-record 25 victories. The 8-0 start this season marks the best start in school history vs. Division I teams.
School-Record Winning Streak The eight-game winning streak is the longest in school history vs. Division I teams. The previous long was a six-game Division I winning streak in the 2006-07 championship season. The school record winning streak vs. teams from all divisions is 10 games set in 1975.
And Then There Was One Air Force is the only undefeated and untied team in the nation. Air Force's eight-game winning streak is the longest in the nation.
The FLO Line The Falcons' line of Frider, Lamoureux and Olson has dominated this season. The FLO line is the top scoring line in the nation. Jacques Lamoureux leads the nation with 19 points and 2.38 points per game. Brent Olson is second in the nation with 2.12 points per game (17 points) while Josh Frider is 12th in the country with 1.50 points per game (12 points). Air Force has scored 41 goals in the eight games and the FLO line has scored 21 of them. The trio ranks 1-2-3 in the league in scoring.
Scouting the Opponents Holy Cross (Worcester, Mass.) is 2-4-1 overall and 2-3-1 in the AHA. The Crusaders opened the season taking three points from Canisius. However, HC lost to Providence and was swept at RIT. Holy Cross bounced back last weekend with a split against Mercyhurst, the team picked second in the league by the coaches. Junior Brodie Sheahan leads the team with four goals and 10 points in seven games. Sophomore goalie Adam Roy has a .865 saves percentage and a 3.77 goals-against average. He has started six of the seven games.
Series Records Air Force and Holy Cross have played 16 times and Air Force holds a 11-4-1 lead in the series that began in 1993. Since joining the AHA, the teams have played five times. AFA has won two and three have ended in ties. The last time the teams played in Worcester, AFA and HC skated to back-to-back 2-2 overtime ties, Jan. 12-13, 2007. Later that season, AFA blanked Holy Cross, 3-0, in the AHA Quarterfinals en route to the Falcons' first AHA championship. Last season, the teams played twice in the regular season at Air Force. AFA won the first game, 3-1, while the second game ended in a 5-5 overtime tie. Holy Cross's last win in the series was a 5-2 win in Worcester in 2004. AFA is 3-2-3 at the Hart Center in Worcester.
Nation's Top Scoring Team Air Force is the top scoring team in the nation, averaging 5.12 goals per game. Air Force has scored three or more goals in every game and has scored five or more in five of the eight games. Boston University is second in the nation in scoring, averaging 4.71 goals per game while St. Cloud State is third at 4.00.
Best in the Nation Sophomore Jacques Lamoureux leads the nation in four categories. The center from Grand Forks, N.D., leads the nation in goals (11), points (19), power-play goals (7) and game-winning goals (4). Senior right winger Brent Olson leads the nation in assists with 14 and is second in the nation in points with 17. Senior Greg Flynn is tied as the top scoring defenseman in the nation with 1.38 points per game (2-9-11 in eight games).
Volkening Strong Again 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. Volkening also set a new school record with 21 Division I wins and for consecutive shutout minutes vs. Division I opponents (133). In his first eight games this season, he has not missed a beat. He has led the Falcons to a perfect 8-0 record, playing every minute. He has a 1.49 GAA and a .935 saves percentage. He ranks sixth in the nation in GAA and 17th in saves percentage.
