Air Force Academy

This Week: Air Force (7-5-2, 3-3 CHA) returns to the East Coast to face American International (1-7-1, 1-5-1 AH) in a two-game non-conference series. The Falcons and Yellow Jackets play Friday and Saturday, Dec. 10-11, at the Olympia Ice Center (2,200) in Springfield, Mass. The faceoff is at 7:05 p.m. EST each night.

The Rankings: Neither team is ranked.

Radio/Internet/Television: No radio or television this week. The next Air Force radio broadcast is Jan. 1 vs. the national champion Denver Pioneers in the first round of the Denver Cup.

The Coaches: Air Force coach Frank Serratore is in his eighth season with the Falcons. Serratore has a 112-139-17 record at AFA and a 161-230-26 record in his 12th year.
AIC coach Gary Wright is in his 20th season with the Yellow Jackets. He has a 228-322-35 career and school record.

Scouting the Opponents: American International College (AIC) is a member of the Atlantic Hockey Association. The Yellow Jackets are 1-7-1 overall and 1-5-1 in the AHA for last place. The team's only win was a 2-0 home victory over Army, Nov. 12. The Yellow Jackets were swept last weekend at Bentley (2-5) and home vs. Mercyhurst (2-3 in overtime). The team has scored just 13 goals in nine games. Junior forward Andy Walbert leads the team with four goals. Frank Novello has played every minute in the net and has a .927 saves percentage and a 2.87 goals against average.

Series Notes: Air Force and AIC will be playing for the seventh and eighth times in school history. The Falcons have never lost, winning all six meetings. AFA beat AIC, 6-3, at the Merrimack Tournament in 1980. The Falcons swept the series in 2000 with a pair of 4-2 victories at Air Force. AFA also swept the series in 2003 by identical 5-1 scores at the Cadet Ice Arena. Earlier this season at the Q Cup, Air Force beat AIC, 4-0, in the consolation game, Oct. 16.

Streak Ends: Air Force's five-game winning streak ended Dec. 4 with a 3-2 loss to Wayne State. The five-game Division I winning streak is the longest in school history. It is the longest against all teams since a six-game winning streak (including two Division III victories) in 1997. The school record winning streak is 10 games set in 1975.

Road Win Streak Still Active: Air Force's four-game road winning streak is on the line this week at AIC. The Falcons swept Robert Morris, Nov. 19-20, and then won both games at the Rensselaer Tournament, Nov. 26-27. The four-game road winning streak ties the school record set several times. It also ties the Division I road winning streak set in 2001 when the Falcons swept at Army and won both games at the UConn Tournament.