Air Force hosts hosts Sacred Heart, Feb. 9-10

THE GAMES
Game 31: Friday, Feb. 9, vs. Sacred Heart, 7:05 pm MT, Cadet Ice Arena
Game 32: . Saturday, Feb. 10, vs. Sacred Heart, 5:05 pm MT, Cadet Ice Arena

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television:................... Both games on Altitude
Stream: ....................... FloHockey
Radio:........................... XtraSports 1300 AM (Jay Ritchie, Dave Toller); xtrasports1300.com
Live Stats...................... StatBroadcast

THE BREAKDOWN
Quick Facts: ................ Air Force                                          Sacred Heart
Record: ........................ 14-15-1, 11-8-1 AHA                      13-14-2, 13-7-1 AHA
Streak: ......................... L 3                                                     W 2
Last Game/Series: ...... Swept at Holy Cross,6-3, 5-4         Sweep vs. AIC

THE SERIES
Overall: ........................ 29-20-7
Last Meeting: .............. Split last season at Sacred Heart
Streak:                           SHU W 1

One Timers
* With six games left in the regular season, Air Force plays four of them at home
* Air Force is in fourth-place in Atlantic Hockey with 32 points. After facing third-place Holy Cross (40 points) last week, the Falcons host second-place Sacred Heart (41 points) this weekend and then travel to first-place RIT (43 points), Feb. 16-17.
* Air Force is 6-4 in the last 10 conference games. In those 10 conference games, the Falcons are averaging 4.50 goals per game. The penalty kill is at 83 percent (40-of-48) and the power play is at 34 percent (17-of-50).
* Air Force has scored a power-play goal in six straight games and 10 of the last 11. The Falcons' 30 power-play goals this season lead the AHA and are fourth in the nation.
* Air Force leads the AHA and is seventh in the nation with a .542 faceoff winning percentage.
* Air Force's penalty kill (84.3) is sixth in the AHA and 14th in the nation.
* Air Force is tied for the national lead with seven short-handed goals. Air Force is 4-0 this season when scoring a shortie
* The Falcons are 14-6-0 when scoring three or more goals and 0-9-1 when scoring two or less.
* Air Force is 10-4-0 when scoring the first goal of the game and 4-11-1 when allowing it.
* Will Gavin leads the AHA and ranks seventh in the nation with 18 goals this season. His 18 goals are the most by a Falcon since Jordan Himley's 22 in 2016-17.
* Gavin's 11 PPG lead the AHA and are second in the nation. They are the most since Jacques Lamoureux had 13 in 2010-11
* Gavin and Chris Hedden are tied for second in the AHA with 32 points.
* Hedden's 32 points are the most by a Falcon defenseman since Greg Flynn had 42 in 2008-09
* Luke Rowe is third in the AHA in assists (22), tied for sixth in points (28)
* Clayton Cosentino won 21 faceoffs at Holy Cross and leads the nation with 463 faceoff wins.
* Austin Schwartz became the sixth active Falcon to play 100 career games.
* 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, 6th with 28).

Scouting the Pioneers
Sacred Heart is 13-14-2 overall and 13-7-1 in the AHA. The Pioneers have 42 for second place in the league. Last week, SHU snapped a three-game losing streak with a pair of wins at home over AIC (4-3 ot and 3-1). TJ Walsh leads the team with 13 goals and 24 points. Chase Clark has started 19 of the 29 games in goal and has a 3.03 GAA and a .898 saves percentage. Justin Robbins (2.66/.906) started both games against AIC and led the Pioneers to a pair of wins, stopping 62 of 66 in the series.

Series vs. Sacred Heart
Air Force and Sacred Heart have played 56 games and the Falcons hold a 29-20-7 lead in the series that began in 2000. The teams split a two-game series last season in Connecticut. SHU has won three straight, and seven of the last eight, at the Academy. Air Force has won just three of the last 15 games against the Pioneers (3-11-1) since 2018. In games played at the Academy, AF leads 14-8-2.

Air Force hosts hosts Sacred Heart, Feb. 9-10

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Clayton Cosentino

Will Gavin

Chris Hedden

Luke Rowe

Austin Schwartz

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