Falcon Stadium has emptied out, so what’s next for Air Force’s hockey team?
Four very important Atlantic Hockey Conference games, starting with a pair at home vs. Mercyhurst this Friday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (5 p.m.). The hope is these won’t be the final games at Cadet Arena this season.
“We need to get some traction over these next four games,” Falcons coach Frank Serratore said after Monday night’s Faceoff at Falcon Stadium. “Our goal right now is to have home ice in the first round (of the AHC playoffs). We can control that right now. We control our own destiny right now.”
The Falcons sit tied for seventh, two points from sixth, three from fifth but just one up on ninth-place Holy Cross, which as a tie-breaker on AFA by virtue of its 2-1-1 head-to-head record.
The top five teams in Atlantic Hockey get a first-round playoff bye. Places six through eighth host a first-round series. The next two weekends offer the Falcons a chance to build momentum toward the postseason.
“We can’t expect to just flip a switch,” Serratore said. “Eventually your efforts have to translate on the scoreboard, and it needs to happen in a hurry.”
Two correctable areas: Score first and score more.
Sounds relatively easy, but …
“We need to find a way to get the first goal,” Serratore said. The key for us to beat CC (last) weekend would have been to get a lead and make them chase us a little bit. Hopefully we can do that these next four games.”
Falcons captain Matt Pulver likened giving up the first goal of the game to taking a gut punch. The team has shown great resiliency in battling back, but with a depleted – and young – roster that makes it more difficult.
As for score more, it’s telling that of the nine Falcons who dressed for this past weekend’s series against Colorado College that have double figures in points, four of them are defensemen. Blue liners had both goals and half of the team’s six points Monday, so their contribution has to continue. There have been chances up front, but not the finishes on a consistent basis.
In the past nine games the Falcons have exceeded two goals just three times, and that seems to be the magic number for points, not just for Air Force, but across college hockey.
If there is a silver lining, there is only one team that has scored fewer goals in Atlantic Hockey competition this season than Air Force. And that happens to be this weekend’s foe.
The difference is the Falcons have allowed 50 fewer goals in conference play than the Lakers, a testament to their team defense and the play of sophomore Alex Schilling in goal. They will need every bit of that and then some.
“(We have to) eliminate more mistakes from our game,” Serratore said. “We have to find a way make our efforts translate into wins. If we can do that and host a first-round series, we’re going to go in with momentum.
“In order for us to get home ice, we’re going to have to win a couple of games.”
©First Line Editorial 2020
