Air Force hosts RIT, Oct. 20-21

THE GAMES
Air Force vs. RIT
Game 1: Thursday, Oct. 20, 7:07 pm MT, Cadet Ice Arena
Game 2: Friday, Oct. 21, 7:05 pm MT, Cadet Ice Arena
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television: Oct. 20 on Altitude TV
Stream: FloHockey.TV (both games)
Radio: XtraSports 1300 AM; xtrasports1300.com
Live Stats StatBroadcast
THE BREAKDOWN
Quick Facts: Air Force RIT
2022-23 Record: 1-2-1 3-1-0
Streak: W 1 W 3
THE SERIES Overall: AF leads 35-25-4
Last Meeting: AF win, 4-3, 2022 AHA semifinals
Streak: AF 2 W
Quick Hitters
* Air Force split a two-game, non-conference series at Lindenwood, Oct. 14-15. Lindenwood rallied back for a 7-6 win in game one. The Falcons never trailed in the 5-3 win in game two.
* Air Force had a season high 45 shots on goal on Friday
* Air Force has scored 16 goals in the last three games and is second in the AHA and seventh in the nation in scoring offense at 4.25 goals per game
* Air Force has scored a power-play goal in all four games this season and is first in the AHA, fourth in the nation, at 33.3 percent
* Air Force had season highs, in a period, of 23 shots and four goals in the second period of game one at Lindenwood
* Junior Luke Rowe matched his career high with three assists, and three points, on Friday at LU
* Senior Brandon Koch matched his career high with three assists and three points on Friday
* Junior Will Gavin had two goals, tying the second most of his career on Friday
* Austin Schwartz, Will Gavin, Willie Reim, Brian Adams, Parker Brown and Jacob Marti all scored their first goals of the season at Lindenwood
* Sophomore Guy Blessing had 25 saves, second most of his career, in the Falcons' first win of the season, Oct. 15
* Gavin, Reim and Horn each have three goals and are tied for the team lead
* Koch and Rowe are tied for the team lead with four assists each
* Gavin and Reim are tied for the team lead with six points in four games
* Air Force is the only team in the country to return 100 percent of its scoring from last season
* Air Force was picked third in the AHA preseason coaches' poll
Series vs. RIT Air Force leads the all-time series vs. RIT, 35-25-4. The teams played three times last season. The teams split a two-game series at the Academy on the final weekend of the regular season, with both games going into overtime. Air Force then defeated RIT, 4-3, in the AHA semifinals in Utica, N.Y. Air Force has won 12 of the last 17 in the series. Both Air Force and RIT joined Atlantic Hockey in 2006 and, since then, the teams have played 52 times in league play. Air Force leads in AHA games 31-21-3. In the history of the series, 50 of the 64 games (78 percent) have been decided by two goals or less with 17 games going into overtime. At Air Force, the Falcons lead 19-11-3. In the last 16 years, Air Force and RIT have combined for five regular-season titles and 10 tournament titles.
About the Tigers
RIT is 3-1 overall this season and has won three straight, including an 8-5 win over Union on Oct. 15. The Tigers opened conference play at home against Army, Oct. 7-8, and swept the Black Knights, 3-2 and 4-1. RIT was picked fourth in the preseason coaches poll, just one spot and two points behind Air Force. Freshman Tyler Mahan leads the team with three goals in four games. Aiden Hansen-Bukata leads the team with six points. Sophomore Tommy Scarfone, the goalie on the AHA all-rookie team last season, has started three games and has a 3.70 GAA and a .889 saves percentage.
The Falcons in the National Stats Air Force leads the AHA, and is fourth in the nation in power-play percentage at 33.3 percent (6-18). The Falcons were a perfect 3-for-3 against Notre Dame. Air Force is also second in the league and seventh in the nation in scoring offense (4.25). The Falcons lead the league in both shots per game (32.5) and faceoff percentage (54.1) and rank 14th in the nation in both categories.

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Players Mentioned

Brian Adams

Guy Blessing

Parker Brown

Will Gavin

Brandon Koch

Jacob Marti

Willie Reim

Luke Rowe

Austin Schwartz

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