Air Force travels to Holy Cross, Feb. 2-3

Team Notes
* The Falcons have won six of the last eight, going 6-2 in the month of January
* AF has scored five or more goals in five of the last seven games. In the eight AHA games in January, Air Force scored 40 goals (5.0 per game).
* The Falcons are 14-5-0 when scoring three or more goals and 0-8-1 when scoring two or less.
* Air Force is 10-3-0 when scoring the first goal of the game and 4-10-1 when allowing it.
* Air Force leads the AHA and is fourth in the nation with a .549 faceoff winning percentage.
* Air Force is only team in the nation with two defensemen in the top 10 in the nation for points by a defenseman (Hedden, 3rd with 32 and Rowe, 5th with 28).
* AF has three AHA sweeps this season (Army x2, Bentley). The three sweeps are the most since the Falcons had four in the 2018-19 season.
* Air Force has won four straight conference road games for the first time in five years. The Falcons swept Bentley (Jan. 5-6) and the swept Army (Jan. 19-20). The 207-18 team, that won the AHA Tournament and went to the NCAAs, won five straight AHA road games and had a seven-game AHA road unbeaten streak.
* Air Force was in ninth place on Jan. 4 with 14 points in 10 games. In eight games in the month of January, the Falcons earned 18 points and jumped to third place on Jan. 27. After the loss to Canisius on Jan. 27, Air Force currently sits in fourth place with 32 points.
* Air Force's 6-2-0 run is the best eight-game stretch since the 2017-18 team went 6-1-1 late in the season. That team went 8-1-1 before the loss to Minnesota-Duluth in the NCAA Regional.
* Air Force has two players with 30 or more points for the first time since 2016-17 as Chris Hedden has 32 points and Will Gavin has 30. Luke Rowe is right behind them with 28 points. The 2016-17 team had three 30-point scorers in Jordan Himley (37), Kyle Haak (33) and Phil Boje (30).
* Since joining Atlantic Hockey for the 2006-07 season, the Falcons have had a winning record after January 1, in 12 of the 16 non-COVID seasons. This season, Air Force is 6-2-0 since Jan. 1. In the eight seasons from 2011-2018, the Falcons won 67 percent of their games in the second half of the season and won four AHA tournament titles.
* Air Force ranks in the top 20 in the nation in both power play and penalty kill. The power play leads the AHA and is 17th in the nation at 23.1 percent (28-121). The penalty kill is fourth in the AHA and 11th in the nation at 84.5 percent (98-116).
* The Falcons' 28 power-play goals this season lead the AHA and are fifth in the nation. Air Force has scored a power-play goal in eight of the last nine games.
* In the last eight AHA games, the power play is at 36.8 percent (14-of-38).
* Air Force is tied for the national lead with seven short-handed goals. Air Force is 4-0 this season when scoring a shortie.

Individual Notes
* Will Gavin's 17 goals this season lead the AHA and are the most by a Falcon since Jordan Himley's 22 in 2016-17
* Gavin is just the third Falcon to have two hat tricks in a season since Air Force joined a conference in 1999-00 (Jacques Lamoureux, 2008-09 and Andy Berg (2002-03). Gavin is the only player in the conference era with three career hat tricks.
* Chris Hedden's 32 points this season are the most by any player in the AHA. They are the most by a Falcon defenseman since Greg Flynn had 42 in 2008-09
* Luke Rowe had two points in the Canisius series and is second in the AHA in assists (22), tied for fourth in points (28)
* Clayton Cosentino won 35 faceoffs vs. Canisius and leads the nation with 442 faceoff wins.
* Will Gavin's 11 power-play goals lead the nation and are the most by a Falcon since Jacques Lamoureux had 13 in 2010-11. They tie as the fifth most by a Falcon since joining a conference (1999-2000).
* Austin Schwartz's three short-handed goals are tied for second in the nation. They are tied as the third most since the Falcons joined a conference (1999-200) and tie as the most since Ben Carey had five in 2015-16.

Scouting the Crusaders
Holy Cross is 14-11-4 overall this season and 9-9-3 in the AHA. The Crusaders are in third place in the AHA with 34 points, one spot and two points ahead of Air Force. The Crusaders swept a two-game series at Mercyhurst last week (5-2 and 5-3). Holy Cross has won three straight. Liam McLinskey leads the team with 20 assists and 30 points. Jack Ricketts leads the team with 16 goals and is second with 28 points. Junior Thomas Gale has started 17 games in goal, including the last 11. He has a .921 saves percentage and a 2.27 GAA.

Series vs. Holy Cross
Air Force and Holy Cross have played 59 times and Air Force holds a 24-21-14 lead in the series that began in 1993. As Atlantic Hockey rivals, the teams have played 44 times and Holy Cross leads the AHA series, 17-16-11. Holy Cross has won eight straight over Air Force. In the last 16 games, Holy Cross holds a 11-2-3 advantage since 2016. Air Force's last win in the series was a 7-2 victory, Dec. 6, 2019 at the Cadet Ice Arena. In 26 games played in Worcester, the Crusaders lead the series 11-7-10. Air Force has won just one of the last 15 games in Worcester (since 2009), 1-9-7. Air Force's last win in Worcester, Mass., was a 4-2 victory, Feb. 13, 2016.

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Players Mentioned

Clayton Cosentino

Will Gavin

Chris Hedden

Luke Rowe

Austin Schwartz

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