Air Force (11-9-4, 9-6-3 AHC) vs. Robert Morris (9-14-1, 8-9-1 AHC)

Friday, 7:05 p.m. and Saturday, 5:05 p.m. at Cadet Arena

Radio / webcast: 1300 AM and TuneIn / atlantichockey.tv (suscription)

Series: Air Force leads, 18-15-3

Last meeting: The Falcons defeated RMU, 5-1, in the AHC championship game

Overview

Just four points separate these teams in the Atlantic Hockey standings, but the Falcons are tied for second and the Colonials are tied for sixth. So obviously this is a matchup with big playoff positioning implications. … The Falcons have points in six of eight games since Christmas, but only two of those were victories and they’re 0-2-3 in their past five. The Colonials have gone 1-5 in the new year and have lost seven of nine. Before that they won four of five, so something has to give. … RMU’s scoring is tilted toward forwards, led by senior Alex Tonge (22 points, 11 goals), junior Luke Lynch (19 points) and sophomore Nick Prkusic (14 points). The one exception to that is senior defenseman Eric Israel (17 points), who also is plus-2 on a team that’s been outscored by 17 goals. Four freshman defenseman have played at least 15 games. … Junior goalie Francis Marotte is 9-13-1 with a .900 and 3.15 numbers. … His counterpart, AFA’s Billy Christopoulos, has not allowed more than two goals in a game in the new year (Western Michigan had two empty-net goals against the Falcons and Sacred Heart one). Overall, he is 9-7-4 with 2.21 and .921 numbers. … Seniors dominate the Falcons’ scoring list, led by defenseman Matt Koch (19 points), center Evan Feno (17), Kyle Haak (15) and Evan Giesler (14). Freshman Kieran Durgan (14) is the outlier in the top 5, and he, Feno and Haak each have nine goals. Sophomore defenseman Zack Mirageas has 12 points. … The Falcons have gained points in eight of 11 home games.

MORE: The coaches’ connection spans 30 years 

Three keys for Air Force

Help a brother out – The Falcons again showed a propensity for chasing the scoreboard last weekend against Sacred Heart. It would help them – and Christopoulos – if they could build an early lead, particularly against a goalie as good as Marotte. Colonials coach Derek Schooley called the goaltenders the two best in AHC this week.

Exploit the D and special teams – One number that stands out about the Colonials is their goals allowed per game (3.42, 50th in D-I). Air Force’s attack mentality has remained solid, but it needs to generate more quality chances and cash in on them. … The Falcons also have significant statistical edges on the power play (22.1 percent to 15.9) and penalty kill (89.8 to 82.6). Win that battle and they’ll very likely win the war.

Depth scoring – The four forwards among the Falcons’ top five scorers and juniors Trevor Stone (9 points, 7 goals) and Matt Pulver (4 goals) comprise the top two lines most nights and have 44 of the team’s 60 goals. It would help immensely for more offense to emerge – some candidates include center Brady Tomlak and sophomore wings Walker Sommer, Marshall Bowery and Max Harper. Tomlak and Sommer also have four goals and have had their moments.

©First Line Editorial 2017-19