Flying High, Almost Under the Radar

In the first 38 years of Division I Air Force hockey the Falcons had never made the NCAA tournament. In the past two they have not only made it, but come within a heartbeat from a first-round victory over one of the top-two ranked teams in the country each time.

This year, although still a ways away from what will most likely be their third straight tournament appearance, the Falcons have accomplished something else. For the first time in program history they have cracked the top 10 in the national polls, and all three major national polls at that.

It is no longer a two horse and pony show in the world of college hockey in the great Centennial State. A third steed has joined the Front Range circus and they are doing everything they can to prove to the rest of the rocky mountain region, and the nation for that matter, just how much they belong.

For starters, last year the Falcons ended a 19-year drought against the then No. 4 ranked Denver Pioneers with a 5-2 win at Cadet Ice Arena. And for their encore presentation? They ended a 0-29-1 stretch against the cross-town Colorado College Tigers with a 4-1 home victory this past November.

The Tigers, who entered the game ranked No. 3 in the country, also became the highest ranked opponent Air Force had ever beaten.

The victory over Colorado College carried with it another level of significance for the Falcons as well. It was the 13th consecutive win for the skating cadets to open the season. To top that, the old record of eight straight to start a campaign was set all the way back in 1971 and was not entirely against Division I level competition.

“I feel like I am in Las Vegas right now and I am rolling sevens,” said Air Force head coach Frank Serratore during the streak.

Yet when heading into the holiday break at 14-2-0, you have the nation’s top scoring line in Jacques Lamoureux, Josh Frider and Brent Olson (65 combined points), the No. 1 scoring defenseman, Greg Flynn (22 points), the most effective power play unit in Division I and the nation’s No. 2 goaltender in goals against average, Andrew Volkening (1.36 GAA), you can’t chalk it all up to luck.

Call it what you will but these guys believe they can win every single night and for the first half of the season they pretty much have been. Numerous Air Force players commented during the streak that they knew they were going to eventually lose a game, as they finally did to Denver on Nov. 29, but every single one of them said they went into each game with the attitude that it did not have to be that particular night.

“One of the greatest things this team has going for it, is its depth,” Serratore said. “We can throw our fourth line out there against just about anybody’s first line and they are going to get the job done. We wear teams down. That’s what we do.”
Air Force, who entered the break at 11-1 in AHA play and just seven victories shy of matching the team record of 21 Division I wins in a season, has been absolutely frustrating teams with its four line depth so far. During a stretch of six games earlier this season, they had all four lines score in five of those. The only one it didn’t happen in was a 1-0 overtime win at Holy Cross, one of Volkening’s NCAA leading three shutouts.

“I can’t say that we’ve played a better team all year,” said Denver head coach George Gwozdecky, whose Pioneers also hold victories over the No. 1 ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame and former No. 1 Minnesota. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out they’ve got one of the best teams in the country. If they were in the WCHA they would be in the top-three in the country without a doubt.”

Not bad for a school that can’t recruit beyond U.S. borders, can only take students with extremely high grades and direction, and is limited to those that are willing to sacrifice their dreams of playing professional hockey to serve their country.

“We don’t get the NHL draft picks like the CCs and DUs get,” Serratore said. “We get good second-level players that come in and overachieve.”

It takes a special kind of individual to be a cadet. And right now the hockey team is full of them.
           
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Quote for a breakout:

“It’s fun to know that what we are doing is making history right now. We are breaking a lot of school records. It’s been incredible. It’s a fun ride and we are really enjoying it, but at the same time we are keeping our heads about it.” –Sophomore forward and Woodland Park native Sean Bertsch