Falcons open season in Ice Breaker Tournament
10/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
This Week
Air Force opens the 2016-17 season in the annual Ice Breaker Classic, hosted by the University of Denver on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 7-8, at Magness Arena. Air Force, receiving votes in the USCHO.com poll, will face Boston College (No. 5 USCHO/No. 9 USA Today-USA Hockey Magazine) on Friday, at 4:35 pm MT. The Falcons will then play either Denver (No. 3 USCHO)/No. 4 USA Today-USA Hockey Magazine) or Ohio State, receiving votes in both polls, on Saturday, Oct. 8. In the tournament format, the two winners from Friday's game will play each other while the two losing teams will play. If Air Force plays Ohio State on Saturday, faceoff will be 4:05 pm. If Air Force plays Denver on Saturday, faceoff will be 7:05 pm.
Inside the Ice Breaker
The Ice Breaker Tournament, managed by College Hockey Inc., on behalf of the Hockey Commissioners Association, is celebrating its 20th year and marks the traditional start to the college hockey season. The tournament brings together four of the nation's top teams from four different conferences.
This season marks Air Force's third appearance in the tournament. In 2005, Air Force competed in the Ice Breaker at the Colorado Springs World Arena, falling to No. 11 Maine (3-1) and defeating Union (9-2). In 2011, the Falcons competed in the Ice Breaker at Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D., falling to No. 3 North Dakota (4-3) and to Michigan State (3-2 in overtime).
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. Jay Ritchie will call the play-by-play while Dave Toller will provide color analysis. Pregame show begins 30 minutes before faceoff each day.
A Look Back
Air Force closed out the 2015-16 season with a 20-12-5 overall record. The Falcons tied for second in the Atlantic Hockey Conference with a 16-7-5 record. Air Force was the No. 2 seed in the AHC playoffs and swept a quarterfinal series from Canisius at the Cadet Ice Arena. Air Force's season came to an end at the AHC Final Four in Rochester, N.Y., with a 2-1 overtime loss to RIT in the semifinals.
An Impressive Run
This season is Air Force's 11th in Atlantic Hockey and the Falcons have clinched a top four finish, and a first-round bye, in nine of the 10 years. In the 10 seasons in Atlantic Hockey, the Falcons have won two regular-season titles, five tournament titles and have advanced to the AHC Final Four seven times.
Who's Back
Air Force returns 11 of its top 12 scorers, all six defensemen that played in the final game last season and the top two goaltenders. The Falcons returns 83 percent of its goal scoring from last season (91 of 110). Tyler Ledford is Air Force's top returning scorer. The junior center had 27 points (7-20-27) last season. Junior Ben Kucera led the Falcons with 15 goals last season.
Preseason Poll
The Air Force hockey team was picked to finish second in the 2016-17 Atlantic Hockey preseason poll, as voted on by the league's coaches.
RIT was picked to win the league with 95 points and eight of the 11 first-place votes. Air Force was picked second with 88 points and two first-place votes while Holy Cross was third with 72 points and one first place vote. Army West Point and Mercyhurst tied for fourth (70 points), Robert Morris was sixth (60), Sacred Heart was seventh (48), Bentley was eighth (43), Canisius was ninth (27), Niagara was 10th (17) and AIC was 11th (15).
