Falcons off until Feb. 22-23 vs. Canisius
2/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Feb. 12, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Radio/Internet Both games will be broadcast. Friday's game will be broadcast to the internet only at GoAirForceFalcons.com. Saturday's game will be on the radio on KKML AM 1300 The Sports Animal and on the internet at GoAirForceFalcons.com. Jay Ritchie will do the play-by-play while Dave Toller will do the color. The pregame show begins 20 minutes prior to faceoff each night.
Video Streaming/Television Both games will be video streamed 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 split two games at Mercyhurst, losing on Friday, 3-1, and winning on Saturday, 7-0 Canisius split two games with first-place RIT, losing at RIT on Saturday, 4-1, and winning 5-4 on Sunday at home
Rankings Air Force has received votes every week in the USCHO/CSTV poll. Based on the number of votes, Air Force was No. 29 this week. The Falcons did not receive votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll or the InsideCollegeHockey.com poll. Air Force peaked at No. 20 in the poll the week of Jan. 21. Canisius is unranked
Scouting The Opponents Canisius is 9-15-5 overall and 8-10-4 and in sixth place in the AHA. The Golden Griffins have won two of their last three with wins over first-place RIT and third-place Sacred Heart. Beginning with last Sunday's home win over RIT (5-4), Canisius plays six of its last seven at home. The Griffs are 7-2-1 at home this season. Canisius hosts two games with Holy Cross, Feb. 16-17, hosts Air Force on Feb. 22-23 and then plays a home and away series with Mercyhurst, Feb. 29-March 1. Sophomore Josh Heidinger and freshman Vincent Scarsella are tied for the team scoring lead with 23 points. Sophomore Jason Weeks leads the team with 10 goals. Sophomore Andrew Loewen is the team's top goaltender with a .916 saves percentage and a 2.79 saves percentage. However, Loewen was injured in the Sacred Heart game, Feb. 2, and did not play vs. RIT last week.
Series Records Canisius and Air Force have played six times and the series is dead even with each team winning two and two games ending in ties. Last season, the teams split the two-game series at each site. At Canisius, Air Force won the first game, 5-3, while Canisius won the second game, 4-1. The teams again met in mid-February last season at the Academy and again split the two-game series. Canisius won the first game, 4-2, while AFA earned the split with a 5-0 win the next night. After the 4-2 loss on Feb. 16, AFA did not lose again until the NCAA West Regional. The Falcons rolled up six consecutive wins before falling to top-seeded Minnesota, 4-3, in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Earlier this season, Canisius and Air Force skated to back-to-back 3-3 overtime ties at the Cadet Ice Arena.
Earlier This Season The two teams skated to consecutive 3-3 overtime ties at the Cadet Ice Arena, Dec. 7-8. In the first game, Canisius scored two goals in the first period and held a 2-0 lead entering the third period. The Falcons then scored the next three goals to take a 3-2 lead. Scott Kozlak, Josh Schaffer and Jeff Hajner scored for Air Force. However, Vincent Scarsella tied the game with 1:27 remaining in the third period. Volkening made 17 saves while Andrew Loewen made 32 for Canisius. In the second game. Each team scored twice in the first period. Brent Olson's two goals gave AFA a 2-0 lead. Canisius tied the game later in the period. Hajner scored early in the second period but Jason Weeks answered later in the period for a 3-3 tie. That was how the game ended. Volkening made 21 stops while Loewen made 40.
Tight Conference Race As many people expected, the Atlantic Hockey race is getting tighter every weekend. The top five teams in the league are separated by just three points. RIT is in first with 28 points, but Army and Sacred Heart are just one point behind with 27. Air Force is fourth with 26 points while Mercyhurst is fifth with 25. RIT and Air Force have played two more games than every other league team. Both teams are off or out of league this weekend, so entering the weekend of Feb. 22-23, all teams will have played the same number of games.
Most Goals Since ... Air Force's seven goals vs. Mercyhurst are the most this season and the most since scoring seven vs. Alabama-Huntsville, Oct. 26, 2006, in the first game of the Lightning College Hockey Classic in Tampa, Fla. The seven goals ties as the most since scoring nine vs. Union in the Icebreaker Tournament at the Colorado Springs World Arena, Oct. 8, 2005. The seven goals are the most AFA has ever scored in an Atlantic Hockey Association game and are the second most AFA has ever scored in a conference game. In Air Force's first ever conference game vs. College Hockey America opponent Findlay, AFA defeated the Oilers, 8-1, at Cadet Ice Arena.
