Falcons travel to Bentley for two-game series
1/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Jan. 11, 2010
This Week
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Air Force (9-8-5, 9-4-5 AHA) travels to Waltham, Mass., for a two-game series with Bentley (9-8-3, 7-5-2), Friday-Saturday, Jan. 15-16, at 7:05 p.m. ET each night at the John A. Ryan Center. Air Force is tied for second in the AHA with 23 points while Bentley is fifth with 16 points
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 4:35 p.m. MST with faceoff at 5:05 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 207-218-37 (13th year at AFA) and a career mark of 256-310-46 (17th year) Bentley coach Ryan Soderquist (Bentley, 2000) is in his eighth season with a record of 94-143-7
Searching for Offense Air Force has struggled scoring goals this season and recently that fact has cost the Falcons games. Air Force has scored 10 goals in the last six games and the Falcons are 1-3-2 in those games Early in the season, Falcon offense sputtered, but the team still earned points. Against Holy Cross, Nov. 13-14, AFA scored just three goals in two games and earned a win and a tie. Against UConn, Nov. 20-21, AFA scored five goals and got three points in two games AFA scored one goal in three straight games (Dec. 12, Jan. 2-3) and lost all three Last weekend vs. UConn, AFA scored four goals and earned three points For the season, Air Force is averaging just 2.55 goals per game to rank 46th in the nation of 58 teams When Air Force scores three or more goals, the Falcons are 7-1-2. When AFA scores two or less, the Falcons are just 2-7-3
Penalty Kill No. 1 in the Nation The penalty kill is No. 1 in the nation at 90.0 percent, killing 90 of 100 this season AFA gave up two power-play goals to UConn on Jan. 9, ending a streak of 24 consecutive kills. The streak ties the longest of the season. AFA also had a streak of 24 consecutive kills before UConn scored a power play goal on Nov. 20 Fifteen times (in 22 games) Air Force has held its opponents without a power play goal. Just three have the Falcons allowed more than one PPG
Scouting the Bentley Falcons Bentley is 9-8-3 overall and 7-5-2 in the AHA for fifth place Bentley's three-game winning streak ended with a 3-2 loss at home to Canisius last Saturday Bentley is 4-2-1 in its last seven game. Both losses have been to Canisius who is one spot above Bentley in the standings During the holiday break, Bentley won the Toyota UConn Classic with wins over the host school and a 4-1 victory over then 15th-ranked Massachusetts in the championship game Sophomore Kyle Rank is the team's top goaltender He earned AHA Goalie of the Week, Jan. 3, when he made 42 saves in the win over UMass Rank has a 3.40 GAA and a .897 saves percentage Senior Marc Menzione leads the team with nine goals and 25 points Bentley is fifth in the league in scoring offense, seventh in scoring defense and second in power play
Volkening Sets Another Record Senior goaltender Andrew Volkening played his 111th career game on Jan. 8 vs. UConn to set a new school record for games played by a Falcon goaltender He broke the record of 110 set by record set by Marc Kielkucki (1998-2001). Volkening's 100th game, vs. Bentley on Nov. 7, ended up being his 12th career shutout in a 3-0 win Volkening moved past Al Morrison (1971-75) who is third most with 105. Pat Kielb (1993-97) ranks fourth on the list with 101 Volkening also holds the school record for career shutouts (13), wins (62), goals-against average (2.17) and saves percentage (.914). His 2,472 saves are the third most in school history. Al Morrison (1971-75) holds the school record with 3,270, followed by Kim Newman (1968-71) with 3,228
