No. 11 Air Force travels to UConn/Yale
1/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Jan. 2, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
This Week No. 11 Air Force (14-3-1 overall and 11-1-1 in the AHA) faces the University of Connecticut (4-12-1, 3-5-1 AHA), Saturday, Jan. 3, at 7:05 p.m. ET at the Mark Edward Freitas Arena in Storrs, Conn. The Falcons then take on the Yale Bulldogs (8-4-0, 4-2-0 ECAC), Sunday, Jan. 4, at 6:05 p.m. ET at Ingalls Rink in New Haven, Conn. The UConn game is a conference game.
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 20 minutes prior to faceoff. Jay Ritchie will call the play-by-play while Dave Toller will provide the analysis. Both 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 placed second in the Toyota/UConn Classic in Storrs, Conn. Air Force tied UConn, 2-2 in overtime, and then fell to Quinnipiac, 4-2, in the championship game UConn tied Air Force, 2-2, and then fell to Merrimack, 5-2, in the consolation game Yale split two home games, losing to Nebraska-Omaha, 8-3, and defeating Minnesota State, 3-2
Rankings Air Force is ranked 11th in the USCHO/CBS College Sports and 12th in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls. The Falcons were also 11th in the InsideCollegeHockey.com power rankings. UConn and Yale are unranked.
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 184-203-30 and a career mark of 233-295-39 in his 16th year. Bruce Marshall (UConn, 1985) is in his 21st year as the head coach of the Huskies with a school and overall record of 289-295-56. Keith Allain (Yale, 1980) is in his third year at Yale with a school an overall record of 35-35-7.
Scouting the Opponents UConn (Storrs, Conn.) is 4-12-1 overall and 3-5-1 in the AHA. UConn swept Army early in the season and also split with RIT and defeated Brown in late November. The Huskies tied Air Force, 2-2 in overtime, Dec. 29. Freshman Marcello Ranallo and sophomore Jason Krispel lead the team with 13 points. Sophomore Andrew Olson is the top goal scorer with seven. Junior Beau Erickson is the top goaltender with a 3.7 1GAA and a .888 saves-percentage. The team is allowing 2.12 goals per game while allowing 3.53. Yale (New Haven, Conn) is 8-4 overall this season and 4-2 in the ECAC. The Bulldogs split two games last weekend at home with an 8-3 loss to Nebraska-Omaha and a 3-2 win over Minnesota State. Yale has won four of the last six games. Sophomore Broc Little leads the team with 15 points. Junior Sean Backman leads the team with nine goals. Senior goalie Alec Richards has played the majority of the minutes in net and has a .874 saves percentage and a 3.01. The team is averaging 3.42 goals per game and allowing 2.75 per game.
Series Records Air Force has faced UConn 14 times and the Falcons hold a 10-3-1 lead in the series. As Atlantic Hockey opponents, the teams have split five games with a split at each site and then a tie in Storrs last week. Yale and Air Force have played 11 times and the Bulldogs hold an 8-3 lead in the series. The teams have not met since 1999 when Air Force won a 2-0 decision at the UMass Lowell Thanksgiving Tournament. Air Force is 0-4 all-time at Yale. The last meeting was in 1997, a 5-1 loss. Most Wins Before the Break Air Force's 14 wins before the holiday break are the most in school history. The previous record of nine wins was set six times, including last season when the team was 9-4-3 entering the break.
Nation's Top Scoring Team Air Force is the top scoring team in the nation, averaging 4.24 goals per game. Air Force has scored three or more goals in 12 of the 18 games and has scored five or more six times. Denver is second in the nation with 3.88 goals per game. Air Force's scoring margin (+2.60 goals per game) is the best in the nation.
National Rankings Senior Greg Flynn is the top scoring defenseman in the nation with 1.38 points per game (4-18-22 in 16 games). Flynn is 11th in the nation among all players in scoring and is the only defenseman in the top 35. Flynn is also second in the nation with 1.11 assists per game. Jacques Lamoureux is fifth in the nation in scoring with 1.39 points per game (13-12-26). Brent Olson is 16th in the nation with 1.28 points per game. Lamoureux, a center from Grand Forks, N.D., leads the nation in in power-play goals (9) and is tied for the national lead in game-winning goals (4). Lamoureux is also fourth in the naiton in goals per game with 0.72. Olson is tied for third in the nation in assists with 1.00 per game.
Recently Air Force took second in the Toyota/UConn Classic. Air Force tied UConn, 2-2 in overtime, in the first game and advanced to the championship game after winning the shootout. Air Force then lost to Quinnipiac, 4-2, in the championship game.
