Friday, March 11
West Point, N.Y.
5:05 pm MT
Air Force Academy
at
Army
Photo by: Photo by Trevor Cokley
Air Force to face Army in quarterfinals, March 11-13, in West Point
3/8/2022 10:10:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
This Week: Air Force (13-16-3, 11-12-3 AHA) travels to West Point for an Atlantic Hockey Association quarterfinal series against Army (14-15-4, 12-11-3 AHA). The Falcons and Black Knights will meet on Friday and Saturday, March 11-12, at 7:05 pm ET at Tate Rink. If necessary, the teams will meet in game three on Sunday, March 13, at 5:05 pm ET.
The Playoffs: In the first round, Mercyhurst swept Holy Cross in Erie and Bentley swept on the road at Niagara. In this week's quarterfinals,
No. 1 AIC will host No. 9 Bentley
No. 2 Canisius will host No. 7 Mercyhurst
No. 3 Army will host No. 6 Air Force
No. 4 RIT will host No. 5 Sacred Heart
Radio/Internet: Every regular-season and playoff game will be broadcast on Xtra Sports 1300 in Colorado Springs and will be available online 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.
About the Black Knights: Army finished the regular season with a 14-15-4 overall record and 12-11-3 in the conference. The Black Knights finished third in the AHA with 41 points, four points ahead of Air Force. Army was 3-2-1 in the last six games of the regular season. After a split with league champion AIC, Army swept Holy Cross in a pair of games, Feb. 17-18. In the final weekend of the regular season, Army lost at Sacred Heart, 5-2. In the regular season finale, SHU rallied for four goals in the third period to force a 6-6 overtime tie. Senior Colin Bilek, an All-American last season, leads the team with 31 points in 33 games. Sophomore Gavin Abric is among the top goalies in the conference, with a .927 saves percentage and a2.44 GAA with four shutouts this season.
Series vs. Army: Air Force leads the all-time series vs. Army, 46-26-9. The teams met in January at Air Force as the teams split the series. Army won 8-3 in the first game while Air Force won 3-2 in overtime in game two. The last time the teams played at West Point was Jan. 10-11, 2020 with Army taking five of the six points. The teams skated to a 3-3 overtime tie in game one as the Black Knights won the shootout in the ninth round. The Black Knights won game two, 5-2. In the last six games, Air Force has a 1-2-3 record against Army. In games played at West Point, the Falcons are 19-16-4 against Army. Since becoming the Falcons' coach in 1997, Serratore is 35-17-8 (64 percent) vs. the Black Knights (60 games).
Facing Army in the Playoffs: This will be the fifth time AF and Army will meet in the playoffs and Air Force has advanced every time. The Falcons are 6-1 against Army in the playoffs. The Falcons defeated Army in the 2007 championship game in Rochester, the 2010 Quarterfinals (AF sweep at USAFA), the 2017 semifinals in Rochester and the 2018 quarterfinals at Army (AF won in three). In three of the four previous playoff meetings, Air Force went on to win the AHA title (2007, 2017 and 2018). This season's series will be the third meeting in the quarterfinals and the second at Army.
The Falcons in the Playoffs: Air Force joined Atlantic Hockey for the 2006-07 season and has won seven Atlantic Hockey tournament titles in 15 years. This is Air Force's 16th season in the AHA. Air Force won the AHA Tournament title in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2017 and 2018. Air Force has earned a bye in 12 of the 15 seasons. The Falcons are 9-4 in quarterfinal series. In Air Force's first six years in the league, the Falcons won a quarterfinal series and advanced to the Final Four every year. AF is 36-14 all-time in the AH playoffs.
Quick Hitters
* Air Force's 1-0 overtime win over RIT, Feb. 26, clinched sixth place in the AHA
* It was the first overtime win by a score of 1-0 since beating Army in the 2018 quarterfinals
* The Falcons were picked ninth in the preseason poll and finished sixth (the +3 is the best improvement by any team in the league)
* Senior Alex Schilling made 22 saves in the overtime win on senior day. Schilling had a 1.44 GAA and a .932 saves percentage in the series
* Schilling made his 1500th career save on Feb. 26.
* Schilling recorded his third career shutout on Saturday night and his first since blanking RIT in 2020
* Sophomore Nate Horn scored the overtime game-winner, Feb. 26, his second OT GWG this season
* The Air Force penalty kill has killed 16 of the last 17
* Air Force has played 10 overtime games and is 5-2-3 in those games and has won two of the three shootouts
* With the lone goal on Saturday, Air Force is 11-1-2 when scoring the first goal of the game
* Sophomore Will Gavin leads the team with 14 goals and 24 points. He had an assist in game one against RIT and has a point in 10 of his last 13 games.
* Freshman Clayton Cosentino scored a goal in game one and has a goal in two of his last three games and a point in nine of his last 11.
* Air Force has earned at least one win against every team this season except first-place AIC and 10th-place Holy Cross.
The Playoffs: In the first round, Mercyhurst swept Holy Cross in Erie and Bentley swept on the road at Niagara. In this week's quarterfinals,
No. 1 AIC will host No. 9 Bentley
No. 2 Canisius will host No. 7 Mercyhurst
No. 3 Army will host No. 6 Air Force
No. 4 RIT will host No. 5 Sacred Heart
Radio/Internet: Every regular-season and playoff game will be broadcast on Xtra Sports 1300 in Colorado Springs and will be available online 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.
About the Black Knights: Army finished the regular season with a 14-15-4 overall record and 12-11-3 in the conference. The Black Knights finished third in the AHA with 41 points, four points ahead of Air Force. Army was 3-2-1 in the last six games of the regular season. After a split with league champion AIC, Army swept Holy Cross in a pair of games, Feb. 17-18. In the final weekend of the regular season, Army lost at Sacred Heart, 5-2. In the regular season finale, SHU rallied for four goals in the third period to force a 6-6 overtime tie. Senior Colin Bilek, an All-American last season, leads the team with 31 points in 33 games. Sophomore Gavin Abric is among the top goalies in the conference, with a .927 saves percentage and a2.44 GAA with four shutouts this season.
Series vs. Army: Air Force leads the all-time series vs. Army, 46-26-9. The teams met in January at Air Force as the teams split the series. Army won 8-3 in the first game while Air Force won 3-2 in overtime in game two. The last time the teams played at West Point was Jan. 10-11, 2020 with Army taking five of the six points. The teams skated to a 3-3 overtime tie in game one as the Black Knights won the shootout in the ninth round. The Black Knights won game two, 5-2. In the last six games, Air Force has a 1-2-3 record against Army. In games played at West Point, the Falcons are 19-16-4 against Army. Since becoming the Falcons' coach in 1997, Serratore is 35-17-8 (64 percent) vs. the Black Knights (60 games).
Facing Army in the Playoffs: This will be the fifth time AF and Army will meet in the playoffs and Air Force has advanced every time. The Falcons are 6-1 against Army in the playoffs. The Falcons defeated Army in the 2007 championship game in Rochester, the 2010 Quarterfinals (AF sweep at USAFA), the 2017 semifinals in Rochester and the 2018 quarterfinals at Army (AF won in three). In three of the four previous playoff meetings, Air Force went on to win the AHA title (2007, 2017 and 2018). This season's series will be the third meeting in the quarterfinals and the second at Army.
The Falcons in the Playoffs: Air Force joined Atlantic Hockey for the 2006-07 season and has won seven Atlantic Hockey tournament titles in 15 years. This is Air Force's 16th season in the AHA. Air Force won the AHA Tournament title in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2017 and 2018. Air Force has earned a bye in 12 of the 15 seasons. The Falcons are 9-4 in quarterfinal series. In Air Force's first six years in the league, the Falcons won a quarterfinal series and advanced to the Final Four every year. AF is 36-14 all-time in the AH playoffs.
Quick Hitters
* Air Force's 1-0 overtime win over RIT, Feb. 26, clinched sixth place in the AHA
* It was the first overtime win by a score of 1-0 since beating Army in the 2018 quarterfinals
* The Falcons were picked ninth in the preseason poll and finished sixth (the +3 is the best improvement by any team in the league)
* Senior Alex Schilling made 22 saves in the overtime win on senior day. Schilling had a 1.44 GAA and a .932 saves percentage in the series
* Schilling made his 1500th career save on Feb. 26.
* Schilling recorded his third career shutout on Saturday night and his first since blanking RIT in 2020
* Sophomore Nate Horn scored the overtime game-winner, Feb. 26, his second OT GWG this season
* The Air Force penalty kill has killed 16 of the last 17
* Air Force has played 10 overtime games and is 5-2-3 in those games and has won two of the three shootouts
* With the lone goal on Saturday, Air Force is 11-1-2 when scoring the first goal of the game
* Sophomore Will Gavin leads the team with 14 goals and 24 points. He had an assist in game one against RIT and has a point in 10 of his last 13 games.
* Freshman Clayton Cosentino scored a goal in game one and has a goal in two of his last three games and a point in nine of his last 11.
* Air Force has earned at least one win against every team this season except first-place AIC and 10th-place Holy Cross.
Players Mentioned
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