Falcons host Canisius, Feb. 19-20

This Week:Air Force (1-9-1, 1-9-1 AHA) hosts its final regular-season series against the Canisius Golden Griffins (7-2-0, 7-2-0 AHA), Friday-Saturday, Feb. 19-20, at the Cadet Ice Arena. The Friday game starts at 7:05 pm MT while Saturday's opening faceoff is at 5:05 pm MT.

Back On the Ice: Air Force returns to the ice after an 16-day layoff (Feb. 2-18) as the Holy Cross and RIT series were postponed due to Atlantic Hockey COVID protocols. After starting the season Nov. 27, the Falcons have had three pauses. Air Force had a 19-day pause from Dec. 14-Jan. 2 due to the Sacred Heart postponement and the holiday break. The Falcons then had a 20-day pause due to the postponement of the Army and Long Island series (Jan. 10-30).

Season Notes
* Air Force earned its first win of the season with a 4-3 overtime victory over Bentley, Feb. 1.
* Air Force scored eight goals in the first six games, but the Falcons have scored 15 in the last five games.
* AF has scored three or more goals in four of the last five games including a season-high four at Bentley, Feb. 1
* Willie Reim scored the game-winner in the 3-on-3 overtime period.
* Reim leads the team with five assists and eight points
* Reim has scored in three straight games (1-4-5)
* Reim, Will Gavin, Thomas Daskas and Shawn Knowlton are tied for the team lead with three goals
* Daskas leads the team with 101 faceoff wins.
* Bowery leads the team with a .602 faceoff winning percentage
* Alex Schilling has started the last three games in goal and eight games overall.
* Zach LaRocque has played in six of the 11 games with three starts and leads the team with a 2.47 GAA and a .903 saves percentage
* Blake Bride has scored in three straight games (1-2-3)
* Shawn Knowlton has scored in three straight games (3-1-4)

The Seniors: Saturday night will be the final home regular-season game for the Class of 2021 The eight-member senior class was part of the 2017-18 Atlantic Hockey Championship team that advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight. The senior class is comprised of: Erik Anderson, Marshall Bowery, Max Harper, Shawn Knowlton, Zach LaRocque, Jake Levin, Alex Mehnert and Zach Mirageas. The class has combined to play in 572 games and has produced 190 points. Three Falcons (Bowery, Levin, Mirages) have played more than 100 games with Alex Mehnert sitting at 98.

Scouting Canisius: Canisius is 7-2-0 overall and 7-2-0 in the AHA this season and is in third place in the Atlantic Hockey standings in point percentage. The Griffs played just five games from Nov. 27-Feb. 8. However, the Griffs played four games in a span of eight days over the last two weeks. Last weekend, Canisiius swept a series with RIT in Buffalo, 5-3 and 3-0. This past Tuesday, Canisius defeated Mercyhurst, 5-4 in overtime for its fourth straight win. Sophomore Keaton Mastrodonato leads the team with seven goals and 11 points. Junior Mitch Ladd and sophomore Jacob Barczewski have split time in the goal and both have been solid. Ladd has a 4-1 record with a 2.41 GAA and a .923 saves percentage. Barczewski has a 3-1 record with a 2.01 GAA and a .942 saves percentage.

Series vs. Canisius:Air Force and Canisius have played 49 times and the Falcons hold a 23-16-10 lead in the series that began in 2006. The teams played twice last season in Buffalo and Canisius took four of the six points with a 3-3 overtime tie (AF won shootout) and a 1-0 win over the Falcons. Air Force is 12-9-5 against Canisius at the Cadet Ice Arena. Air Force is 1-3-1 in the last five games against Canisius.

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Players Mentioned

Erik Anderson

Marshall Bowery

Blake Bride

Thomas Daskas

Will Gavin

Max Harper

Shawn Knowlton

Zach LaRocque

Jake Levin

Alex Mehnert

Zach Mirageas

Willie Reim

Alex Schilling

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