Mercyhurst (7-9-2, 4-6-2 AHC) at Air Force (8-9-3, 3-7-2 AHC)

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

Radio/TV: AM 1300 and goairforcefalcons.com / atlantichockey.tv (subscription)

Series: Air Force leads, 17-13-3, and swept both games last season. The Falcons have won six of the past eight meetings, but the Lakers actually have an 8-5-1 record at Cadet Arena, which they’re visiting for the first time since 2014.

Overview

If the Falcons are going to make a run toward the top of Atlantic Hockey, it has to start this weekend against an opponent that has struggled as much as it has in conference play. Air Force looked as good as it has all season in beating Colorado College, 6-3, before falling to then No. 2 Denver, 6-0, in a game in which the Falcons had to kill off eight more penalties than DU, 11-3. In spite of that, the Falcons had stretches when they were able to generate some chances.

Air Force update

The Falcons’ seniors stepped up in a big way against CC, with Tyler Ledford getting a career-high five points, Erik Baskin netting his first career hat trick, Jordan Himley getting a point for the seventh time in nine games and defenseman Phil Boje playing an outstanding two-way game (10 blocks, giving him an NCAA-best 53, plus two assists). That is the group that has to lead any Falcons’ resurgence. … Himley (14 points, six goals) leads a tightly bunched group of scorers, and he seemed recharged playing with center Kyle Haak and fellow junior Matt Serratore (11 points, seven goals). … Ledford has 12 points and is tied with Boje for the team lead with 10 assists. Baskin’s team-high nine goals are three off his career high, and fellow top-line winger Evan Giesler has 13 points (five goals). … The Falcons’ penalty kill had been going good before it had to kill off 11 penalties vs. DU (eight successfully). It’s still 25 for its past 30 tries (83.3 percent). The power play went 2 for 5 vs. CC before a 0 for 3 vs. DU. … Junior Billy Christopoulos (8-9-3, .899 save percentage, 2.83 goals-against average) has started every game and played well against two high-octane offenses last week. When he was pulled on Saturday, he’d already stopped 30 shots midway through the second period of Denver’s offensive onslaught. One emerging question is will freshman Zack LaRocque, who has looked solid twice in relief, get a start at some point?

Mercyhurst update

The Lakers have not played since mid-December because a winter storm forced the postponement of their home series vs. RIT last weekend. … Mercyhurst features a strong, balanced offensive attack (3.11 goals per game, 19th in Division I) and a very good power play (24.1 percent, 10th). The problem for the Lakers has been they allow a lot of goals (3.4 per game) and a lot of shots (more than 34), and their penalty kill is 50th out of 60 D-I teams (77.6 percent). … Senior Jonathan Charbonneau, junior Taylor Best and junior co-captain Derek Barach lead the Lakers with 16 points apiece. Senior co-captain Jack Riley has 14 points. Two defensemen, senior Zach Todd and Joseph Duszak have 13 points each. Charbonneau’s eight goals – five on the power play – and the seven each from Barach and Riley lead the team. … Senior Brandon Widung carries the mail in net, with a 6-8-2 record, .907 save percentage and a 3.21 goals-against average.

How it could go down

Because Mercyhurst’s offense is so strong, it’s rarely out of a game, so the Falcons can ill afford to take their foot off the gas if they get a lead. Conversely, if they fall behind, Mercyhurst has shown it will give up leads. Air Force has 16 conference games left and sits 12 points out of first place and nine points out of a first-round bye for the AHC postseason. With four tough trips coming up in the next two months, the Falcons need to string together some three- and four-point weekends – especially at home – to move up.

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