Falcons travel to Canisius for two-game league series
1/26/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
This Week
Air Force (12-9-3, 8-5-3 AHC) travels to Canisius (8-14-4, 8-8-4 AHC) for a two-game Atlantic Hockey Conference series, Friday-Saturday, Jan. 29-30, at 7:35 pm each night at the Harborcenter in Buffalo, N.Y. Air Force is in fourth place in the AHC with 23 points. Canisius is in fifth place with 20 points..
Radio/Internet
Every regular-season and playoff game will be broadcast in Colorado Springs on Xtra Sports 1300 and on the internet at www.GoAirForceFalcons.com. The Jan. 16 game will be broadcast on AM 740 KVOR. Jay Ritchie will call the play-by-play while Dave Toller will provide color analysis. Pregame show begins 30 minutes before faceoff each day.
The Streak
Air Force is on a six-game unbeaten streak (5-0-1) that started with an 8-2 win over AIC on Jan. 8 ... The streak is the longest since a six-game winning streak in the middle of last season ... The Falcons have won three straight ... During the streak, Air Force has allowed just five goals in the six games ... The Falcons have scored 21 goals and have outshot the opponent 219-123 (an average of 36.5 to 20.5) ... Air Force has killed all 13 opponent power plays and is 19.0 percent on its own power plays (4-of-21) ... Shane Starrett has a 0.58 GAA and a .973 saves percentage.
Super Sophomores
Air Force's top three scorers, and six of the top seven, are sophomores. Air Force's sophomore class has combined for 34 goals (50 percent of the team's total) and 94 points (52 percent). Jordan Himley leads the team with 16 points. Erik Baskin leads the team with nine goals and is tied for second with 15 points.
Trending
Sophomore Jordan Himley leads the team with seven goals and 16 points ... Sophomore Erik Baskin leads the team with nine goals ... Senior captain Ben Carey and sophomore Tyler Ledford are tied for the team lead with 10 assists ... Air Force is unbeaten in six games (5-0-1) and has taken at least one point in every conference series this season ...Air Force has held its opponents to 29 shots or less 17 times in 24 games ... Air Force is 10-3-2 in the last 15 games ... The Falcons have killed 19 straight opponent power plays over the last eight games ... The Falcons rank first in the conference and seventh in the nation at 87.0 percent on the penalty kill.
First 9, Last 15
Air Force was just 2-6-1 in the first nine games of the season, but are 10-3-2 in the last 15 games. In those first nine games, four came against teams ranked in the top five in the nation (Denver and Omaha) and seven came on the road. Air Force averaged just 2.2 goals per game. In the last 15 games, the Falcons are 10-3-2 with 13 of those games coming in league (9-2-2) and 10 of them at home. In those 15 games, Air Force has averaged 3.2 goals per game and allowed just 1.9 per game.
Scouting the Griffs
Canisius is in fifth place in Atlantic Hockey, 8-14-4 overall and 8-8-4 in the league. Canisius is unbeaten in the last four games (2-0-2) and has lost just once since Jan. 3 (3-1-3). Last weekend, Canisius took three points on the road at Holy Cross, the second-place team in the conference. Both games went into overtime with a 2-2 tie and a 2-1 Canisius win on Jan. 23. Junior forward Shane Conacher leads the team, and ranks third in the conference, with 16 goals and 35 points. His linemate, Ralph Cuddemi, has 15 goals and 29 points. Sophomore Reilly Turner and freshman Simon Hofley have split time in goal. Hofley has the best numbers with a 2.46 GAA and a .929 saves percentage. Hofley has started the last seven games.
Series vs. the Griffs
Air Force leads the all-time series vs. Canisius, 15-10-7. The series began in 2006 when Air Force joined Atlantic Hockey. The teams have split the last four series, including one earlier this season. The last time the teams did not split came in the 2013 AHC Quarterfinals at the Academy when the Griffs won 4-3 and 4-3 in overtime to advance to the AHC Final Four. The teams have played 13 games in Buffalo and Air Force leads that series, 7-4-2. The teams played twice in Buffalo and split the series with Canisius winning game one, 3-1, and Air Force winning game two, 3-2.
