Denver at Air Force
7:05 p.m. Friday, at Cadet Arena
Radio/TV: AM 1300 (Colorado Springs), AM 1600 (Denver) / Atlantichockey.tv (subscription)
Series: Denver leads 37-4-1, but the past two games at Cadet Arena (in 2015 and 2016) went to overtime with the Falcons winning the 2015-16 season opener
Last meeting: The Pioneers routed the Falcons, 6-0, at Magness Arena on Dec. 30. Denver cashed in on three of its 11 power plays and outshot the Falcons 46-18.
Overview
Four teams have reached the elite eight of the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons and these are two of them. … The Falcons are coming off a 23-15-5 season, their school-record third 20-plus win season in a row. The Pioneers, who had five players leave school early to sign NHL contracts in the offseason, were 23-10-8. DU has gone to the NCAA Tournament 11 consecutive seasons. … This marks the debut of David Carle as Denver’s coach, while Falcons coach Frank Serratore is entering his 22nd season at the Academy. Serratore is tied for the seventh longest tenure at a Division I program. … Both teams are young – Denver has 20 underclassmen, while Air Force has 15. … Senior center Evan Feno has four career assists against DU, while fellow senior pivot Kyle Haak has two goals.
Three things to watch
Goaltending – This is an area where Air Force has a clear advantage. It could be argued strongly that senior Billy Christopoulos is one of the top goaltenders in Division I. He led D-I in minutes played (2,534) and was third in wins (23) while compiling a 2.06 goals-against average (11th in the nation) and a .922 save percentage (12th) in 2017-18. He appeared to be in midseason form in the Falcons’ 2-2 exhibition tie against the University of Alberta. … Denver sophomore Devin Cooley will get his first NCAA start Friday. He has been thrust into the starting job while freshman Filip Larsson, a 2016 Detroit Red Wings draft pick, recovers from a lower-body injury. Cooley had his moments in an exhibition against Alberta, moving well and tracking the puck well through traffic. Rebound control was a problem at times.
Falcons’ young D – The Falcons likely will ice four underclassmen on the blue line. Zack Mirageas played nearly every game last season and is a top-pair player, but fellow sophomores Jake Levin and Alex Mehnert have played just 36 games combined and will have to shoulder much more responsibility in all situations. … Does one (or more) of the freshmen D play, or will Air Force turn to senior Dan Bailey and junior Joe Tyran, who has been nicked up during preseason practices? Bailey and Tyran also could see time at forward.
New roles – The Falcons’ top six will look different than it did at the end of last season due to Feno’s return from injury and the graduations of three top scorers. Junior Trevor Stone and sophomore Marshall Bowery will get the first crack at right wing jobs previously held by Erik Baskin and Jordan Himley. Stone, who has a lethal shot, played with Haak in Sunday’s exhibition and will be joined by senior co-captain Matt Serratore. Bowery played with Feno and senior co-captain Evan Giesler.
2018-19 SEASON PREVIEW SERIES
Part 1: Breaking down Air Force’s schedule
Part 2: Air Force’s roster by the numbers
Part 3: Indispensable players for the Falcons
Part 4: Emerging players for the Falcons
©First Line Editorial 2017-18
