Air Force hosts Army, Feb. 14-15

THE GAMES
Game 1: Friday, Feb. 14, vs. Army, 7:05 pm MT, Cadet Ice Arena
Game 2: Saturday, Feb. 15, vs. Army, 5:05 pm MT, Cadet Ice Arena

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television: Both games on AltitudeTV
Stream:   Both games on FloHockey
Radio:   XtraSports 1300 AM; xtrasports1300.com
Live Stats StatBroadcast; Link is on AF hockey schedule

THE BREAKDOWN
Quick Facts:   Air Force                                                             Army
Record:              13-18-1, 10-12-0 AHA (T6th, 31 pts)                 12-16-1, 12-9-1 (5th, 37 pts)
Streak:                W 2 Unbeaten 2
Last Series: Two wins at Canisius Five points vs. SHU
Next Series: at RMU, Feb. 21-22 AIC, Feb. 21-22

THE COACHES
Head Coach:                 Frank Serratore                                             Brian Riley
School Record:             469-454-100 (28th yr)                               254-375-93 (21st yr)
Career Record:             518-546-109 (32nd yr)                              254-375-93 (21st yr)

THE SERIES
Overall:              AF Leads 53-29-9
Last Meeting: Army swept Air Force, 3-2 and 4-3 OT, Jan. 17-18, in West Point
Streak:                Army W 2

One Timers
* Air Force is coming off a pair of wins at Canisius, 5-3 and 3-2 in overtime. The Falcons won all four against the Golden Griffs this season
* Saturday night is senior night as the Falcons will honor the six members of the Class of 2025: Guy Blessing, Clayton Cosentino, Andrew DeCarlo, Mitchell Digby, Jasper Lester and Austin Schwartz
* Air Force has allowed two goals or less in 14 of the last 22 games
* The Falcons have scored two goals or less in 19 of the last 27 games
* Air Force had a season-high five goals in the 5-3 win at Canisius, Feb. 7
* AF is averaging just 3.19 penalties per game, the fewest in the league
* Air Force had a season-high 52 shots on goal on Feb. 8 at Canisius. The Falcons have had 30 or more shots in seven of the last eight games.
* AF is 7-8 in one-goal games this season
* In 21 conference games this season, Guy Blessing has allowed just 41 goals for a 1.97 GAA and a .924 saves percentage as the Falcons are 10-12-0 in league play. He ranks fourth in the league, in conference games only, in goals-against average and sixth in saves percentage. He is one of 10 goalies in the nation with three or more shutouts this season.
* Blessing leads the nation in minutes played with 1811
* Blessing became the 12th goalie in school history with 2,000 or more career saves and only the sixth in the conference era. He recorded his 2,000th in the first period against RIT, Feb. 1.
* Junior Chris Hedden's 10 goals are tied as the second most in the nation among all defensemen. He scored the game-tying goal in extra attacker situation at Canisius, Feb. 8
* Clayton Cosentino leads the nation with 417 faceoff wins. Cosentino's winning percentage of .556 is sixth in the conference, and the most by any player who has won more than 330 draws.
* Cosentino leads the team with 23 points (6-17-23). He has 96 career points in 140 games
* Austin Schwartz leads the nation in blocked shots by a forward with 49.

About the Black Knights
Army is 12-16-1 overall and 12-9-1 in the AHA (fifth place with 37 points). Army is 7-1-1 in their last nine games. The Black Knights took five points from first place Sacred Heart with a 2-2 overtime tie (Army shootout win) and a 5-3 win at home. Defenseman Max Gadowsky leads the team with 11 goals, 20 assists and 31 points. His 11 goals are the most in the nation by a defenseman. Freshman goalie J.J. Cataldo has started 22 of the 29 games this season and has a 2.25 GAA and a .926 saves percentage.

Series vs. Army
Air Force leads the all-time series vs. Army, 53-29-9. Earlier this season, Army swept Air Force, 3-2 and 4-3 overtime, Jan. 17-18, in West Point. Last season, Air Force swept Army in four games, taking five points in Colorado and winning all six at West Point. Air Force has won eight of the last 11. In the last 19 games, Air Force is 11-5-3 against Army. In Atlantic Hockey games (since 2006-07), Air Force leads the series, 28-14-7 (including playoffs). Since becoming the Falcons' coach in 1997, Serratore is 41-19-8 (66 percent) vs. the Black Knights (68 games). In games played at the Cadet Ice Arena, Air Force is 26-9-5 against the Black Knights. Air Force has won three straight over Army at Cadet Ice Arena.

Note: There has always been a discrepancy in the series records according to Army and Air Force. In 1969, AF's first season of varsity hockey, the Falcons and Black Knights played twice in St. Petersburg, Fla., and Army won by scores of 12-4 and 8-0. The games are reflected in Army's series record (31-53-9 vs. AF), but have not been counted by Air Force (53-29-9 vs. Army). According to Air Force records, the games were considered exhibition games and were not on the team's original schedule or final results that season.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Guy Blessing

Clayton Cosentino

Andrew DeCarlo

Mitchell Digby

Chris Hedden

Jasper Lester

Austin Schwartz

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