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Falcons host Army in battle of Atlantic Hockey top four teams
Jan. 16, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format
This Week: Air Force (11-8-5, 8-3-5 AHA) returns home to host a two-game conference series with service academy rival Army (10-8-3, 10-5-3 AHA). The Falcons and Black Knights play Friday-Saturday, Jan. 19-20, at the Cadet Ice Arena. Friday's game will begin at 7:05 while Saturday's faceoff is at 6:05. Radio/ Internet: Both games can be heard on the internet at www.GoAirForceFalcons.com. The Friday game can also be heard in Colorado Springs on ESPN 1300 AM The Sports Animal. Jay Ritchie, in his 10th season of Air Force hockey and 19th season of Falcon athletics, will do the play-by-play. Dave Toller will do the color. The pregame show begins 20 minutes prior to faceoff. Television: Saturday's Air Force-Army game will be televised nationally on CSTV. Jason Knapp will do the play-by-play while Troy Ward will do the color. The game will be the first nationally-televised Air Force hockey game since CSTV did the Air Force-Army game in 2005. CSTV is available on Adelphia Cable on channel 170, DirecTV channel 610 and Dish Network channel 152. Fans can also purchase the game on the internet at CSTV.com for $14.95. What's on the Line: The Air Force-Army series is always a battle for service academy supremacy with much pride on the line. That is still true this season, however, now that the teams are conference rivals as well, much more is on the line. Not only are the two teams in the same conference, they are just two points apart in the conference standings. Army is in third place in Atlantic Hockey with 23 points while Air Force is fourth with 21 points. AFA and Army were both in the same conference (CHA) in 1999-00 and AFA won both games at Army. Those were the only two games AFA and Army have ever played as conference opponents. Scouting the Opponents: Army is 10-8-3 overall and 10-5-3 in the Atlantic Hockey Association and in third place. The Black Knights are playing their best hockey right now as they are 4-2 in their last six games. Army swept Mercyhurst last week by scores of 6-3 and 2-1. Prior to that, Army split on the road at Canisius and with first-place RIT at home, Dec. 29-30. Junior forward Luke Flicek leads the team in scoring with 10 goals and 23 points. Sophomore Tim Manthey is one of the top scoring defenseman in the league with 13 assists and 23 points. Sophomore Josh Kassel is another in the long line of good goaltenders for the Black Knights. He has a 2.50 goals-against average and a .911 saves percentage this season. He ranks second in the AHA and 26th in the nation in both categories. Series Record: Army and Air Force have played 40 times and the Falcons hold a 23-15-2 lead in the series that began in 1976. AFA holds a 12-4-2 advantage in the games played in Colorado. Air Force dominated the series from 1997-2001 with a 10-1-1 record in that span. However, since then, the series has been very even. Since 2003, Army has won five of the eight games, including a sweep at Cadet Ice Arena in 2003. AFA swept Army at home in 2005 while Army swept the series at West Point last season by scores of 3-0 and 4-3 in overtime. Just three of the 40 games have gone into overtime (ties in 1990 and 1997 and the Army win in 2005). Eleven games have been decided by one goal and six by two goals. Complete series results are on page seven of this release. Note: There has always been a discrepancy in the series records according to Army and Air Force. In 1969, AFA'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 (23-17-2 vs. AFA), but have not been counted by Air Force (23-15-2 vs. Army). According to Air Force records, the games were considered exhibition games and were not on the team's original schedule that season. Last Meeting: Army swept the series last season in West Point by scores of 3-0 and 4-3 in overtime. In the first game, Army goaltender Brad Roberts stopped all 26 Falcon shots. Army's Seth Beamer scored once in the first period then scored an empty-net, power-play goal in the final minutes. AFA out-shot Army, 26-19. In the second game, Army scored twice early in the third period for a 3-0 lead. However, a penalty shot by Matt Bader with 10 minutes remaining changed the momentum. Eric Ehn and Mike Phillipich scored to tie the game at 3-3 with less than four minutes remaining. However, in overtime, Chris Migliaro scored the game-winner 90 seconds into the extra period. The Coaches: Air Force coach Frank Serratore (Bemidji State, 1982) is in his 10th season at Air Force and his 14th as a collegiate head coach. He has a 141-181-24 record at AFA and an overall mark of 190-273-33. Army coach Brian Riley is in his third season as head coach. He has a school and overall record of 29-47-13. Hobey Candidate?; Junior center Eric Ehn, the nation's leader in points with 43 in 24 games, is in the top 10 on the CSTV.com Hobey Baker watch list. The Hobey is given annually to nation's top collegiate hockey player. Ehn first appeared on the list on Jan. 3 and was No. 10. He moved up to seventh on the list on Jan. 10. Fans can also vote for the Hobey by going to the official web-site at HobeyBaker.com. Ehn Leading the Nation: Junior center Eric Ehn is leading the nation in points (43) and points per game (1.79). He is third in the nation in goals scored (19) and goals per game (0.79). Ehn led the nation in goals from Oct. 21-Dec. 8. He moved into the national lead in points on Nov. 20 and held that spot until Dec. 3.He has led the nation in points since Dec. 8. Ehn has scored in 20 of the 24 games this season and has 11 multiple-point games and six multiple-goal games. Among the Best in the Nation: Several Falcons rank among the national leaders in various categories. Along with Ehn's points and goals rankings (above), he is also third in assists per game (1.00) and tied for 13th in power-play goals (7). Andrew Ramsey is tied for 15th in the nation in game-winning goals (3), is 27th in points per game (1.29) and 28th in goals per game (0.57). Mike Phillipich is 31st in the nation in points per game (1.22) and 25th in assists per game (0.78). The Falcon offense ranks 17th at 3.25 goals per game while the defense is 028h at 2.83 goals allowed per game. The Air Force power play ranks 29th (16.9) while the penalty kill is 56th (77.0). Who Is That Guy: Air Force has three recruited goaltenders on the roster, but it is walk-on Ben Worker who is making the headlines recently. Worker came to the Falcons straight out of high school (one of just two Falcons without junior hockey experience) in Thief River Falls, Minn. After not playing for two seasons, he played seven minutes last season in the 9-2 win over Union College. Because of his work ethic and the Falcons' goaltending problems this season, Worker has started two of the last three games and has a 1-0-1 record. His first career start came at Mercyhurst, Jan. 6 and he stopped 18 of 19 shots he faced. He stopped a short-handed breakaway in the 3-1 victory. His second start came at Holy Cross, Jan. 13 and he stopped a career-best 28 shots while allowing two goals in a 2-2 overtime tie. In overtime, he stopped a penalty shot to preserve the tie. In his two games this season, Worker has played 125 minutes and has a 1.44 goals-against average and a .939 saves percentage. He hasn't played enough minutes to qualify for national stats, but if he did, his GAA would lead the nation and his saves percentage would be third in the country. Winning on the Dot: Air Force has been solid on the faceoff dot this season. The Falcons have won 57 percent of their faceoffs this season. Junior Eric Ehn has won 65 percent of his faceoffs (357-196). Just twice this season has he lost more draws than he has won. Streaking: The Falcons were just 1-3 in the first two weeks of the season, but are now 8-3-5 in the last 16 games. All three losses have come on the road, with one of them at 10th-ranked Denver. Since the loss to Denver, AFA is 4-1-4 in the last nine games dating back to Nov. 24. Six of those nine games have been on the road. Unbeaten Streak: AFA's current four-game unbeaten streak is tied as the fourth longest in the nation. Clarkson has the nation's longest unbeaten streak at nine games. Boston University and Ohio State each have five-game streaks. Road Warriors: AFA has played six straight road games dating back to a home game against Sacred Heart, Dec. 1-2 at Cadet Ice Arena. The Falcons were 3-1-2 on the road swing with all six games coming in conference play. AFA has been solid on the road this season with a 5-6-2 record. The Falcons could make a run at the school record for road wins of nine that was set in 2004-05. That season, the Falcons were 9-10-3. Hitting the Century Mark: Junior center Eric Ehn became the first Falcon since 2003 to join the 100-point club. His assist on Jan. 13 at Holy Cross was his 100th career point. Ehn had 22 points as a freshman, 35 as a sophomore and has 43 this season. The last Falcon to reach 100 career points was 2003 graduate Andy Berg who had 142 points in 140 games. Chuck Delich holds the career record with 279 points in 109 games. Ehn is the 38th player in AFA history to have 100 career points. Nearing the Century: Senior left winger Andrew Ramsey is closing in on 100 career points. Ramsey missed both games at Holy Cross with an injury and has 91 career points in 122 games. Ramsey had 17 points as a freshman, 25 as a sophomore, 23 as a junior and 26 this season. Special Teams Decide Games: When Air Force wins the battle of the special teams, the Falcons are 8-0-4 this season. However, when the Falcons lose the special teams, AFA is just 2-8-3. On the season, Air Force is a -5 in special teams. AFA is a +2 in power play goals, but has allowed eight short-handed goals this season and is -7 in short-handed goals. Last Week: Air Force and Holy Cross skated to back-to-back 2-2 overtime ties in an Atlantic Hockey Association series in Worcester, Mass.
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