No excuses, it’s Army week.
Air Force travels to West Point, N.Y., for a weekend series against its biggest rival, the Black Knights, and one that carries some early season implications for the Atlantic Hockey Conference race.
The Falcons (2-4, 2-2 AHC) have been uneven thus far this season. Opening weekend was a bit of a dud, but they bounced back to play very well at Canisius before splitting at home against Niagara in a series that summarized what has been a Jekyll and Hyde start to the season. Meanwhile, the Black Knights (4-2-1, 3-0-1 AHC) have taken seven of eight possible points in league play so far and swept at Mercyhurst last weekend.
“Even the guys who haven’t been there before know how big of a series this is and how big our rivalry is with them,” Falcons senior co-captain Evan Giesler said. “I don’t think much has to be said.”
One question mark for the Falcons is their overall health. They could be missing as many as six veterans this weekend. Senior co-captain Matt Serratore has missed three games while in concussion protocol. Senior defenseman and fellow co-captain Matt Koch did not play the second game against Niagara because of an undisclosed injury. Coach Frank Serratore indicated at his press conference Tuesday that neither might be available Friday.
In addition, senior center Kyle Haak has an upper body injury that is expected to keep him out most of this month. And senior center Evan Feno is suspended for Friday’s game for an unpenalized hit in this past Friday’s 2-1 win against Niagara. Sophomore forward Max Harper (abdominal surgery) is expected to miss the first semester and junior center Erich Jaeger (upper body) is out indefinitely.
“We had a similar situation last year when they came in here and we had a banged up lineup,” Giesler said. “That’s not an excuse we want to make. We have an entire roster filled with guys we think can help contribute.”
And a quarter of that roster – the six freshmen as well as sophomore forward Shawn Knowlton, who was out all of last season after preseason shoulder surgery – has yet to take in a trip to West Point.
“I’m excited for all of these young guys who haven’t experienced it yet,” Giesler said.
The Falcons’ win against Niagara illustrated how any Air Force team, young or otherwise, has to play in order to be successful, senior defenseman Dan Bailey said.
“Our overall grit and attention to detail” made the difference, Bailey said. “It felt more like the Air Force hockey we should play and are capable of playing every night.”
When they play like that, the Falcons can accomplish the type of things they did during their previous visit to Tate Rink, when they took two of three games to win an AHC quarterfinal series in March. It was a triumph that launched them to a second consecutive AHC playoff title and a second consecutive appearance in the NCAA elite eight.
“To be able to come together at that point, sort of the pinnacle of the season, and the nature of that series – one-goal games, two-goal games. To go to that third game on Sunday, it was just pure battle, everyone’s tired. It was really rewarding,” Bailey said.
But as his coach cautioned this week, “Last season is dead and buried. We’ve got a long way to go before we scare anybody. But I like this group.”
Still, the Falcons know they’re in for a long journey, again complicated by injuries. The journey resumes Friday deep in enemy territory.
Bailey and Giesler tackled the Army series and discussed what went right against Niagara in our latest Falcon Hockey Podcast.
©First Line Editorial 2017-18
