Air Force hosts Mercyhurst, Dec. 11-12
12/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Dec. 9, 2009
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Complete Release in PDF Format 
This Week * Air Force (8-5-3, 8-1-3 AHA) hosts Mercyhurst College (8-9-1, 8-5-1) * Friday-Saturday, Dec. 11-12, at 7:05 pm each night at Cadet Ice Arena (2,470) * Mercyhurst is in third place in the league, two points behind Air Force * Following the Mercyhurst series, Air Force is off until Jan. 2-3 at Sacred Heart
Radio/Internet * Both games will be broadcast in Colorado Springs on The Sports Animal AM 1300 and on the internet at GoAirForceFalcons.com * Pregame show is at 6:35 p.m. MST with faceoff at 7:05 p.m. MST each day * Both games will be video streamed with audio by the B2 Network on a subscription basis. For more information, please go to AtlanticHockeyOnline.com
The Coaches * Air Force coach Frank Serratore (Bemidji State, 1982) is in his 13th season as the Falcons' head coach * He has led the Falcons to three straight conference championships and NCAA Tournament berths. * Winningest coach in the history of Air Force hockey with a record of 206-217-35 (13th year at AFA) and a career mark of 255-309-44 (17th year) * Mercyhurst's Rick Gotkin (Brockport, 1982) has a 392-261-50 overall and school record in his 21st season with the Lakers
Scouting the Lakers * Mercyhurst opened the season with eight straight, and nine of the first 10, on the road. The Lakers were 2-7-1 in those games * However, the Lakers have since won six straight, the longest active winning streak in the nation * Mercyhurst has won those six games by a combined 27-5 * The Lakers are 8-9-1 overall and 8-5-1 in the AHA and in third-place, just two points behind Air Force * Junior forward Brandon Coccimiglio leads the team with nine goals and 19 points * Junior Ryan Zapolski is the top goaltender with a .920 saves percentage, a 2.54 GAA and an 8-8-1 record * The Lakers are 15th in the nation in scoring, averaging 3.33 goals per game
Battle of Two Hot Teams * The Air Force-Mercyhurst series pits two of the nation's hottest teams against each other * Air Force's nine-game unbeaten streak is the second-longest in the nation * Mercyhurst's six-game winning streak is the longest in the nation
The Streak * Air Force is on a current nine-game unbeaten streak with a 6-0-3 record. * Since a 3-1 loss at Canisius on Oct. 31, AFA beat Canisius, 4-1 the next night, and took three points each from Bentley, Holy Cross and UConn. The Falcons swept AIC last weekend * The streak is the second-longest unbeaten streak in the nation, but another AHA team is also streaking. * RIT has the longest unbeaten streak in the nation at 10 games. After getting swept at Air Force in late October, the Tigers are 9-0-1 in the last 10
Special Teams Are Special ---Both Units Top 10 in Nation * Both of Air Force's special teams units are among the best in the nation. * The penalty kill is No. 5 in the nation, first in the AHA, at 89.2 percent this season, killing 66 of 74 opponent power plays * AFA had a streak of 24 consecutive kills before UConn scored a power play goal on Nov. 20 * AFA has now killed 39 of the last 42 opponent power plays * Ten times (in 16 games) Air Force has held its opponents without a power play goal. Just twice have the Falcons allowed more than one PPG * The power play ranks ninth in the nation at 23.1 percent. In the 16 games this season, Air Force has scored a power play goal 14 times, including four times with more than one power-play goal * Air Force is 5-3-1 when winning the battle of special teams this season. * Since the beginning of the 2006-07 season, AFA is 53-5-8 when winning the special teams battle and 8-29-4 when losing it.
