Air Force Academy

This Week: Air Force (13-16-3, 5-12-1 CHA) plays its final home series of the season, Friday-Saturday, March 4-5 vs. the league-leading Bemidji State Beavers (19-12-1, 14-4 CHA). The faceoff is at 7:05 p.m. MST each night at Cadet Ice Arena.

Radio/Internet: Both games will be broadcast in Colorado Springs on The Sports Animal AM 1300 (KKML) and also at www.AirForceSports.com. For more information on radio broadcasts, please see page two of this release.

Television: No television.

Falcons on ESPN Radio: Friday's game against Bemidji State will be broadcast on KLZ ESPN Radio 560 AM in Denver. It is the second game in the last two weeks carried on ESPN Radio as the game against Wayne State on Feb. 26 was also on. The KLZ signal covers parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

The Coaches: Air Force coach Frank Serratore (Bemidji State, 1982) is in his eighth season with the Falcons. Serratore has a 118-150-18 record at AFA and a 167-241-27 record in his 12th year. Bemidji State coach Tom Serratore (Bemidji State, 1987) is in his fourth year as a collegiate head coach. He has a record of 65-57-17 and led the Beavers to the CHA regular season title last season. He was the CHA coach of the year in 2003-04.
The Rankings: Neither team is ranked.

Scouting the Opponents: Bemidji State (Bemidji, Minn.) is in first place in the CHA, just one point ahead of Alabama-Huntsville. The Beavers were swept last week by Minnesota-Duluth, 4-1 and 5-2. BSU has lost three of the last four. However, prior to the UMD series, BSU was 11-3-1 during a 14-game span. Senior center Andrew Murray leads the team with 37 points. Linemates Brendan Cook (17-17-34) and Luke Erickson (9-25-34) are also among the league's top scorers. Layne Sedevie and Matt Climie have split time in the net.

Keep it in the Family: Frank and Tom Serratore are one of just three combinations in any Division I sport where family members coach against each other in the same sport in the same conference. Florida State¹s Bobby Bowden and his son Tommy, head football coach at Clemson, coach against each other in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Brothers Joseph (Columbia) and James Jones (Yale) coach men's basketball in the Ivy League. Since becoming BSU¹s head coach for the 2001-02 season, the younger Serratore has led the Beavers to a 12-0-1 record against his older brother, Frank, and the Falcons.

Series Notes: Bemidji State has dominated the series against Air Force, winning 17 of the 24 meetings. The Beavers hold a 17-5-2 lead in the series that began in 1997. Air Force won the first two games in the series in 1997, when the Beavers were a Division II program. BSU has a 10-game winning streak and a 13-game unbeaten streak against the Falcons. BSU is 5-4-0 vs. the Falcons at the Cadet Ice Arena. AFA's last win was a 5-4 overtime decision in Minnesota. The last win in Colorado was a 3-0 victory in a four-point CHA game, Dec. 3, 2000. Last season at the Academy, BSU won by scores of 7-4 and 9-1. In 2003, BSU swept Air Force at the Academy with back-to-back shutouts, 5-0 and 2-0.

Senior Night: Saturday night will be the final home game for five Falcon seniors. Team captain Steve Mead, along with Ross Miller, Seth Pelletier, Josh Priewe and Ryan Wiggins will play their final home game Saturday. The group has led Air Force to 53 wins in four years, including a 16-16-2 mark as freshmen in 2001-02. Mead has played in 127 career games and has 49 career points (6-43-49). Miller has played in 75 career games and has 11 points (4-7-11). Pelletier has 99 games and 38 points (13-25-38). Priewe, who has missed the last 10 games with a fractured rib, has played 94 games with 15 points (3-12-15). Wiggins has 56 points (25-31-56) in 127 career games.

Last Week: Wayne State took three of four points from Air Force, Feb. 26-27, at Compuware Arena in Plymouth, Mich. The Warriors won the first game, 5-1. The two teams skated to a 3-3 overtime tie in game two.