Air Force travels to Desert Hockey Classic, Jan. 2-3,

THE GAMES
Game 1: vs. Michigan Tech, Friday, Jan. 2, 3:05 pm MT, Mullett Arena, Tempe, Ariz.
Game 2: vs. Arizona State/Alaska-Anchorage, Saturday, Jan. 3, 3:05/7:05 pm MT, Tempe, Ariz.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television:       None
Stream: Friday: none; Saturday: only if AF plays ASU (NCHC.tv)
Radio:             XtraSports 1300 AM / xtrasports1300.com;
Live Stats:       StatBroadcast

THE BREAKDOWN
Quick Facts: Air Force Michigan Tech
Record:             9-7-2, 6-5-1 AHA 11-7-2, 7-3-2 CCHA
Streak:              L 1 L 1
Last Series:     Split Robert Morris (Dec. 5-6)            Split at Great Lakes Invitational, Dec. 28-29

THE COACHES
Head Coach: Frank Serratore Bill Muckalt
School Record:           481-464-104 (29th yr)              19-29-4 (2nd yr.)
Career Record:            530-556-113 (33rd yr)              19-29-4 (2nd yr.)

THE SERIES
Overall:             N/A
Last Meeting: N/A
Streak:              N/A

One Timers
* AF is 8-3-1 in the last 12 games (since Oct. 31) after a 1-4-1 start following the RIT series (Oct. 24-25)
* Air Force's top line of all sophomores, LW Will Dawson, C Nick Sajevic and RW Sam Stitz has been on the ice for 19 of the team's 38 even-strength goals this season.
* Air Force is ... 8-2-1 when scoring three or more goals; 6-1-2 when scoring first; 7-1-1 when tied or leading after the first period; 8-3-2 when tied or win special teams
* AF defensemen have scored 15 of the last 33 goals over the last nine games
* Air Force killed 13 straight opponent power plays from the third period of game two at Army until RMU scored a PPG in the second period of game two on Dec. 6.
* Since Oct. 31, the penalty kill is at 90.0 and the power-play is at 19.0
* Air Force had nine wins before the holiday break. Last season, Air Force also won nine before the break, tying as the most since the 2008-09 team won 14.
* Over the last six games, the top line has 22 points (7-15-22), the second line has 13 points (6-7-13) and the top six defensemen have combined for 24 points (8-16-24).
* Chris Hedden's nine goals this season are the second most by a defenseman in the nation.
* Nick Sajevic had three points (1-2-3) vs. Robert Morris. He leads the AHA is assists (18) and points (21). He is tied for fourth in the nation in assists and 14th in points.
* Sajevic has a current six-game point streak and has 11 points (1-10-11) in those six games
* Sajevic is second in the AHA in faceoff winning percentage (.599) and is third in faceoff wins (187). He is 16th in the nation in wins and sixth in percentage (among those with more than 300 draws).
* Dominik Wasik has started the last 13 games. He is fifth in the AHA in GAA (2.41) and saves percentage (916) both top 30 in the nation. His first career win was a shutout over Brown, 2-0, on Oct. 31. He has an 8-4-1 in those 13 starts.
* Air Force is second in the AHA in scoring offense (3.11) and shots per game (29.94), third in penalty kill (85.2), blocked shots per game (14.3) and faceoff winning percentage (.515).

The Desert Hockey Classic Field
In the first round of the Desert Hockey Classic Field, Air Force will face Michigan Tech (11-7-2) at 3:05 pm MT and Arizona State (9-10-1) will host Alaska-Anchorage (3-11-0) at 7:05 pm MT. Arizona State and Michigan Tech are receiving votes in the USCHO.com national poll.
This is Air Force's second time competing in the Desert Hockey Classic. In 2023, Air Force fell to No. 6 Boston University (5-1, Jan. 6) and Arizona State (2-0, Jan. 7). Air Force is 0-2 in Mullett Arena, but the Falcons have won the Tempe area with a 4-3 win over ASU, Oct. 14, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz.

Scouting Michigan Tech
Michigan Tech, a member of the CCHA, is 11-7-2 overall this season. The Huskies opened the season with a split at No. 8 Minnesota. The Falcons and Huskies have both played St. Thomas. Air Force split with STU while Michigan Tech lost and tied. Last weekend, Michigan Tech was the runner-up at the annual Great Lakes Invitational, Dec. 28-29, in Grand Rapids, Mich. The Huskies defeated Miami, 5-2, in the opening game, but fell to third-ranked Michigan State, 4-1, in the GLI championship game. Senior Stiven Sardarian leads the team, and ranks second in the nation, with 29 points in 20 games. He leads the team in both goals (9) and assists (20). Three other Huskies each have 14 points. Junior Owen Bartoszkiewicz has started 19 of the 20 games in goal and has a 2.26 GAA and a .919 saves percentage with an 11-6-2 record and one shutout. He is 20th in the nation in saves percentage.

Series vs. Michigan Tech
Air Force and Michigan Tech will meet for the first time in the history of the programs.

Air Force travels to Desert Hockey Classic, Jan. 2-3,

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Will Dawson

Chris Hedden

Nick Sajevic

Sam Stitz

Dominik Wasik

Footer