Air Force faces Michigan in NCAA East Regionals
3/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
March 24, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
This Week No. 4 seed Air Force (27-10-2, 20-6-2 AHA) makes its third straight trip to the NCAA Regionals, this time facing No. 1 seed Michigan (29-11-0, 20-8 CCHA) at the NCAA East Regional, Friday, March 27, at 3:05 p.m. ET at the Arena at Harbor Yards in Bridgeport, Conn. No 2 seed Yale (24-7-2, 15-5-2 ECAC) faces No. 3 seed Vermont (20-11-5, 15-8-4 Hockey East) Friday, March 27, at 6:35 p.m. ET. The winners meet in the regional final on Saturday, March 28, at 5:30 p.m. ET. Tickets for the East Regional are available by phone at 1-800-666-USAF or online at www.GoAirForceFalcons.com. Tickets for all three games are $75.
Television The Air Force-Michigan game will be televised live on ESPNU Friday at 3:05 p.m. The regional final will also be on ESPNU. ESPNU is available on DirecTV channel 614 and on Dish Network channel 148. ESPNU is not available on Comcast in Colorado Springs.
Radio/Internet All games will be broadcast live in Colorado Springs on KCSF AM 1300 and on the internet at www.GoAirForceFalcons.com by clicking on this link http://goairforcefalcons.cstv.com/sports/m-hockey/spec-rel/m-hockey-live-audio.html. The pregame show begins 20 minutes prior to faceoff. Jay Ritchie will call the play-by-play while Dave Toller will provide the analysis.
Three-Peat Air Force became the first team in Atlantic Hockey Association history to win three straight championships. The Falcons defeated Bentley, 3-0, in the AHA semifinals on March 20. The Falcons then defeated Mercyhurst 2-0 to win the title. Including the AHA quarterfinal round, AFA outscored its opponents, 18-8, in the five games. AFA is the only team in league history to shutout its opponents in the semifinals and championship games. Air Force is the only team in this year's NCAA Tournament to win three consecutive conference championships.
The Big Dance The Falcons will make their third consecutive trip to "The Big Dance". It is also the third trip to NCAA Tournament in the 41 years of hockey at the Air Force Academy. Air Force is the first service academy team to ever compete in the NCAA Hockey Tournament.
One of Six Air Force is one of just six teams in the nation to go to three straight NCAA Tournaments, joining North Dakota, New Hampshire, Notre Dame, Michigan and Miami. The Falcons are the only team in the field to win three straight conference tournament titles.
Rankings Air Force is currently 14th in the PairWise. The Falcons are ranked 18th in the USCHO/CBS College Sports poll and No. 15 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. Michigan is ranked No.3 in both polls. Yale is No. 5 in both polls. Vermont is No. 10 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll and No. 11 in the USCHO/CBS College Sports poll. Michigan is No. 3 in the PairWise while Yale is No. 5 and Vermont is No. 9.
Back-to-Back-to-Back Rare Feat at Academy The Air Force hockey team became the first team in Academy history to win three straight conference championships at the Division I level in any sport. In fact, the three conference championships tie as the most outright titles in AFA history. The cross country team won the Western Athletic Conference championship in 1992 and 1996 and the Mountain West title in 2004. The football team tied for the WAC title in 1985 and 1995 and won the championship outright in 1998.
AFA in the NCAA Tournament Air Force is 0-2 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Air Force, the No. 4 seed in the NCAA West Regional in Denver in 2007, nearly upset Minnesota, the overall No. 1 seed in the tournament. Air Force led 3-1 with just over eight minutes left, but the Gophers came back for a 4-3 win. Last season, Air Force was the No. 4 seed in the Northeast Regional and fell to No. 1 seed (No. 2 overall in the tournament), Miami, 3-2 in overtime. Miami tied the game midway through the third period and then won at 15:21 of overtime.
Series Record AFA and Michigan have only met once in the history of the two programs. Michigan defeated Air Force, 7-6 in overtime, in the Flint Tournament in Flint, Mich., Dec. 27, 1973.
Air Force vs. the CCHA The matchup with Michigan marks the second consecutive season that the Falcons will face a team from the CCHA in the NCAA Tournament. Last season, Miami came from behind for a 3-2 overtime win over Air Force in the 2008 NCAA Northeast Regional in Worcester, Mass. The Falcons made their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2007 when Minnesota overcame a 3-1 deficit with eight minutes remaining in the third period to defeat Air Force, 4-3, in regulation. Air Force's last win over a team from the CCHA was a 2-0 win over Miami at the Nye Frontier Classic in Anchorage, Alaska in 2003.
Scouting the Opponent Michigan is 29-11 overall and fell to Notre Dame in the CCHA Championship Game, 5-2. The Wolverines have won 14 of their last 17 games with their only losses to Notre Dame (twice) and Ohio State, both tournament teams. Michigan has been to 32 NCAA Tournaments, including 19 straight. The Wolverines own nine national championships and have played in 23 Frozen Fours.
Michigan Connections Despite the teams only playing once in the hockey history of the two programs, there are several major connections between the schools. Air Force's first head coach Vic Heyliger took the Falcon program from the club level to the Division I level. He coached the Falcons for six seasons and earned an 85-77-3 record from 1969-74. Prior to coming to Air Force, he spent 13 seasons at his alma mater, Michigan, and won six national championships while collecting a 228-61-13 record from 1944-57. One of Heyliger's most decorated players was John Matchefts, a two-time All-American, played on three of those national championship team from 1951-53. Matchefts served as Heyliger's assistant at Air Force from 1972-74 and served the Falcons' head coach from 1975-85. He won 154 games, a record that was broken by Frank Serratore. While Heyliger was the recruiting coordinator at Michigan, he recruited a football player from Charlevoix, Mich., named Jim Bowman. A football letterman at Michigan, Bowman came to the Air Force Academy as a football coach and later became the associate athletic director for recruiting. He spent 49 years at the Air Force Academy.
Lamoureux Named a Hobey Finalist Air Force sophomore center Jacques Lamoureux was named one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, given each year to college hockey's top player. The top 10 Hobey finalists advance to the Selection Committee, which decides the eventual winner. This committee is composed of print media, electronic media, NHL scouts, the American Hockey Coaches Association (college hockey coaches), a member from USA Hockey and from the second-round of online fan voting at HobeyBaker.com. Lamoureux is the second Air Force player in school history, and the second in the last three years, to be named a finalist. Eric Ehn was a finalist, and also named to the Hobey Hat Trick as one of three finalists, in 2007. Lamoureux leads the nation with 32 goals, 15 power-play goals and nine game-winning goals. He is currently second in the nation with 1.38 points per game (32-20-52) and 52 points. Lamoureux is also the second service academy hockey player ever selected as a Hobey finalist, which was first awarded in 1981 to Minnesota's Neal Broten.
Playing Best When it Counts Over the past three seasons, Air Force has played its best hockey late in the season. In 2006-07, the Falcons were below .500 in mid-February, but won six straight and claimed their first AHA Championship and NCAA berth. Last season, Air Force was 4-1-2 in February and 5-1 in March as the team captured its second straight AHA Championship and NCAA berth. This season, after a 1-1-2 December and a 3-4-1 January, the Falcons were 6-2 in February and are 4-1 in March. Over the last two years, Air Force is a combined 8-12-5 in December and January and a combined 19-5-2 in February and March.
School-Record 27 Division I Wins Air Force's 27 wins are the most in school history. The previous record of 25 wins was set in 1971-72. The previous record for Division I wins was set last season. The back-to-back 20-win seasons are also a school record.
Senior Transformation This year's senior class of Greg Flynn, Josh Frider, Michael Mayra, Brent Olson and Mike Phillipich have seen the greatest transformation in Air Force hockey history. As freshmen then won 11 games and lost in the play-in game of the College Hockey America. Then, in the next three years they won three AHA tournament championships, one AHA regular-season title and played in three straight NCAA Tournaments. AFA's record of the last three years is 67-38-13
