On Friday, Air Force skates into the second half of its 2023-24 hockey season with an 8-11-1 record. The Falcons play two games at Bentley in a series crucial to their Atlantic Hockey hopes.
Bentley took four of six league points in a series in early December, and it behooves Air Force to return in kind (at least) this weekend and upgrade its 5-4-1 league mark.
There were several pluses and minuses to note when assessing Air Force’s first half. How the Falcons continue the highlights and fix the lowlights will go a long way toward determining their end-of-season outcome.
Plus: Air Force’s Special Teams Are Special
Air Force has the nation’s 15th-ranked PK, which will only grow in importance as the season progresses and special teams potentially decide more games.
These strengths are important because …
Minus: Offense Remains a Struggle for the Falcons
Only 32 of Air Force’s 50 goals have come at even strength. That is 1.6 per game. This is a massive “needs improvement” area for the Falcons.
AFA’s 2.5 goals per game are down from last season’s 2.6 and rank 47th in Division I. The Falcons also generate three fewer shots per game from a season ago (from 32.3 to 29.4).
Plus: Defense Drives Offense
Sophomore Chris Hedden is enjoying a breakout season with 19 points (second in AHA) and top-pair partner Luke Rowe has 16. The duo has driven the scoring (29 assists combined) many nights.
Behind them, freshman Owen Baumgartner, Sam Brennan and Mitchell Digbay all can and will score.
Minus: Defense Drives Offense
Beyond wing Will Gavin (10 goals, 17 points) and center Clayton Cosentino (14 points, six goals), Air Force has not had a lot of consistent scoring up front.
Speedy wings Parker Brown, Holt Oliphant and Austin Schwartz contribute but if there is one area the Falcons need more hands on deck its scoring from forwards.
Plus: Air Force Has Been Great in Overtime
The Falcons are 4-1-1 in overtime and won their only shootout. They get stronger as games grow longer.
“Overtime is a big one,” junior goalie Guy Blessing said. “It’s easy to let the pressure of the moment get to you. Our 3-on-3 does well. I haven’t taken a lot of chances. We show a lot of discipline.”
However, going to OT has cost them points in some instances in AHA games.
Minus: Slow Starts Again Hurt Falcons
When Air Force scores first, it often wins. It’s 5-2 in such instances, but 3-9-1 when opponents score first. And there have been more than a few nights foes score first, second and sometimes third.
“Clawing our way back, at the same point it’s a dagger to go down 3-4 goals,” Blessing said when discussing areas for improvement. “We’ve been fortunate to get a few points. We have a big emphasis on not letting mistakes compound. Having two or three in a quick span where you’re significantly hurting your team’s chances.”
Second-Half Outlook Is Bright
Several signs are pointing up for Air Force in the second half. These include:
- Blessing’s play of late has gotten stronger. He had a 2.33 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage in December. Unfortunately, the Falcons scored just four goals in four games.
- Several freshmen contributed in the first half, and given a break to recharge, it would not surprise to see a few of them play bigger roles.
- This is a veteran team. The juniors and seniors remember what it was like to reach the AHA finals. They’re strongly motivated to go on a patented Air Force second-half run. Winning the conference tournament won’t be easy, especially if the Falcons don’t stop giving away a point here and there with overtimes, but they have the raw materials to make a run.
©First Line Editorial 2024