Air Force travels to Denver Cup, Nov. 26-27
11/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Nov. 23, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
This Week Air Force (4-6-1, 3-3-1 AHA) drives up I-25 for a pair of non-conference games, Nov. 26-27, in the Denver Cup The Falcons face Clarkson (6-4-2, 2-2-1 ECAC) on Friday, Nov. 26 at 4:35 p.m. and then take on 12th-ranked Denver (8-4-2, 7-2-1 WCHA) on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. at DU's Magness Arena. Lake Superior State is also in the tournament.
Radio/Internet The games will be broadcast in Colorado Springs on The Sports Animal AM 1300 and on the internet at www.GoAirForceFalcons.com. Pregame show begins 30 minutes before faceoff. Jay Ritchie will call the play-by-play while Dave Toller will be the color analyst. All home games and all AHA games will be video streamed with audio by America One Television. Subscriptions can be purchased at www.americaone.com/college.
Scouting the Golden Knights Clarkson is 6-4-2 overall and tied for fifth with a 2-2-1 record in the ECAC. The Golden Knights are 4-2-1 in their last seven. Last weekend, Clarkson beat Harvard (3-1) and St. Lawrence (3-1) in pair of conference games. Senior Brandon DeFazio leads the team with seven assists and 10 points. Freshman Matt Zarbo leads the team with five goals. Junior Paul Karpowich, a St. Louis Blues seventh round draft pick, has played the majority of the minutes in the net and has a .921 saves percentage and a 2.69 GAA. He has held his opponents to one goal or less in five of his 12 starts.
Scouting the Pioneers Denver is 8-4-2 overall and 7-2-1 in the WCHA for second place. The Pioneers have won four straight, the second longest winning streak in the nation, with sweeps over Minnesota State and Bemidji State at home. The Pioneers have won six of the last seven. Three of the team's four losses are to teams ranked in the top 10 in the nation (Boston College twice and North Dakota). Sophomore Drew Shore leads the team with 16 points and is tied for second with eight goals. Freshman Jason Zucker leads the team with nine goals and has 13 points. Freshman Sam Brittain has played the majority of the minutes in the nets and has a 1.95 GAA and a .934 saves percentage He ranks in the top 12 in the nation in both categories. He was a fourth round pick by the Florida Panthers in the 2010 NHL draft. Nine Pioneers have been drafted by the NHL including first-rounder Beau Bennett (No. 20 overall by Pittsburgh). The Pioneers also have three second-rounders (Shore, Zucker and Wrenn).
Series with Clarkson Air Force and Clarkson have only met once and it was the worst loss in AFA history. The only meeting was a 17-0 Clarkson win at the Syracuse Invitational Tournament, Dec. 29, 1982.
Series with Denver AFA and Denver meet for the 33rd time and the Pioneers holds a 29-3-0 lead in the series that began in 1972. Denver has won two straight games in the series, including last season's 2-1 overtime win at the Academy. The last meeting in Denver was a 4-1 Pioneers' win in November, 2008. The last Air Force win was a 5-2 decision at the Academy in January, 2008. The last Air Force win in Denver was a 5-3 victory in 1980 In games played in Denver, the Pioneers have won 15 of the 16 games.
Looking for First DU Cup Win Air Force head coach Frank Serratore started the Denver up when he was at DU in 1992. The Falcons are looking for their first win ever in the tournament as AFA is 0-14. Air Force has played in more DU Cup games than any other team except the home team. The last time Air Force was in the DU Cup was 2004 when the Falcons fell to Colgate, 3-0, and Denver, 9-4.
Recovering after Rough Start Air Force got off to a rough start with an 0-4 record. However, Air Force is 3-1-1 in the last five games, including a win over No. 3 Yale and conference wins over teams picked in the top half of the league (RIT and Niagara). Last weekend, Air Force took three points on the road in conference games at Canisius and Niagara.
