AFA to face RIT in AHA semifinals, March 15
3/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
March 12, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
This Week Air Force (19-11-6), the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Hockey Association Tournament, faces No. 2 seed RIT (19-11-6) in the AHA semifinals, Saturday, March 15, at 7:35 p.m. at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y. The winner plays in the AHA championship game, Sunday, March 16, at 7:05 p.m.
AHA Final Five Format This is the first season of the Final Five format. Mercyhurst, the No. 5 seed, will play No. 4 seed Sacred Heart, Friday, March 14, at 7:05 p.m. The winner will face top-seeded Army in the semifinals on Saturday, March 15, at 4:05 p.m. Air Force, the No. 3 seed in the AHA Tournament, will face second-seeded RIT, Saturday, March 15, at 7:35 p.m. The semifinal winners advance to the championship game, Sunday, March 16, at 7:05 p.m. The tournament is single elimination. The Final Five is played at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, an 11,000-seat arena that is the home of the Rochester Americans of the AHA. Although RIT is located in Rochester, the arena is not their home ice. RIT plays its home games on campus. Last season, the Blue Cross Arena hosted the NCAA East Regionals.
Radio/Internet All of Air Force's games will be broadcast 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 All 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.
What's At Stake The winner of the AHA Tournament gets the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament and will be one of 16 teams to play in one of four NCAA Regionals. The four regional sites are Colorado Springs, Madison, Wis., Worcester, Mass. and Albany, N.Y. The 2008 Frozen Four will be held at Pepsi Center in Denver, April 10-12.
Last Week Air Force defeated No. 8 seed Bentley in the best two out of three quarterfinal series at the Academy by winning the first two games, 9-2 and 3-1. RIT defeated No. 9 seed Holy Cross in the best two out of three quarterfinal series in Rochester by winning the first two games, 9-2
Rankings Air Force has received votes every week in the USCHO/CSTV poll. Based on the number of votes, Air Force was No. 29 in last week's poll. The Falcons did not receive any votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. Air Force peaked at No. 20 in the USCHO/CSTV poll and No. 18 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll the week of Jan. 21.
Scouting The Tigers RIT is 19-11-6 overall and is the No. 2 seed having a 15-8-5 league record. RIT enters the Final Five after back-to-back overtime wins over No. 9 Holy Cross by identical 5-4 scores in Rochester. The Tigers have a current seven-game unbeaten streak and are 7-1-2 in their last 10 games. Simon Lambert leads the league with 51 points on 21 goals and 30 assists. Matt Smith leads the AHA with 27 goals. He had back-to-back hat tricks in the Holy Cross series last week. Smith forced overtime in the first game with a goal late in the third. He netted the game-winner on Saturday in overtime. Sophomore Louis Menard has a 2.67 goals-against average and a .912 saves percentage playing 88 percent of the team's minutes
AFA in the AHA Tournament Air Force is unbeaten in the AHA Tournament with a 5-0 all-time record. The Falcons are in their second season in the AHA and won the AHA title in their first year (2006-07). Air Force was 3-0 last season with wins over Holy Cross in the quarterfinals, Sacred Heart in overtime in the semifinals and Army in the championship game last season. AFA is 2-0 this season after sweeping Bentley in the quarterfinals last week. Air Force is 2-0 at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, having won the title in Rochester last season.
AFA All-Time in Conference Tourneys Air Force is 9-9 all-time in conference tournaments. The Falcons won three games in the AHA Tournament last season in its first year in the league and two this season in the quarterfinals. Air Force was a member of the College Hockey America conference for seven seasons from 1999-00 to 2005-06. The Falcons were 4-9 in the history of the CHA Tournament. The Falcons won one game in the first three CHA Tournaments, twice beating Findlay and once beating Niagara on its home ice. After consecutive seasons of losing the first game, the fifth-seeded Falcons earned a tournament victory in 2004-05 with an overtime win over fourth-seeded Wayne State, 4-3, in Grand Rapids, Minn. AFA lost to Robert Morris, 4-3, in the first round of the 2006 CHA tournament in Detroit.
Unbeaten Streak Air Force's current seven-game unbeaten streak is tied as the second-longest in the nation. The Falcons are 6-0-1 in the last seven and have outscored its opponents by a combined score of 33-8. AFA has won three of the games by shutout (7-0 at Mercyhurst, 3-0 at Canisius and 5-0 vs. AIC). North Dakota owns the nation's longest unbeaten streak at 16 games. RIT also has a seven-game unbeaten streak (5-0-2)
AFA Sets Record With 17 Regular-Season Division I Wins Air Force's 17 Division I regular-season wins are the most in school history. Air Force had 16 Division I wins in the regular season (16-15-5) last season. The overall school record for victories was set in 1971-72 with 25 wins.
AFA Ties School Record with 19 Division I Wins Air Force's 19 Division I wins this season tie the school record set last season. Air Force finished the 2006-07 season with a 19-16-5. AFA is 19-11-5 this season. The overall school record for victories was set in 1971-72 with 25 wins.
Winning Season Clinched Air Force has clinched a winning season for the second consecutive season. The Falcons are 19-11-6 overall this season. Head coach Frank Serratore has led the Falcons to consecutive winning seasons for the first time in his 11 years. It also marks the first time in 18 years (1988-89 and 1989-90) that Air Force has had consecutive winning seasons.
