Air Force (10-7-1) vs. St. Lawrence (3-12-1)
9:30 p.m. Friday at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
Radio / webcast: 1300 AM / link to BD Global Sports on schedule on GoAirForceFalcons.com
Series: St. Lawrence leads, 4-1, but the teams have not met since 1978
Overview
Air Force wraps up the non-conference portion of its schedule with two games at the home of Vegas Golden Knights. The Falcons are coming off a weekend in which they took three of four points from Bemidji State, while St. Lawrence has not had a game in four weeks. … This is a matchup in which Air Force has a distinct offensive advantage, scoring nearly a goal per game more than the Saints (2.50 to 1.69) and averaging over six shots per game more (28.1 to 21.9). … Four the Falcons’ top seven scorers are seniors – Evan Feno (12 points), Matt Koch (12 assists), Evan Giesler (11 points) and Kyle Haak (9 points). Feno’s eight goals lead the team, freshman Kieran Durgan has seven and Haak has six. … Carson Gicewicz leads the Saints with eight points, while senior Arthur Brey (.903, 3.85 GAA) gets a majority of the starts in net. … For more on this tournament as well as in-depth interview with the voice of the Falcons, Jay Ritchie, listen to our latest Falcon Hockey Podcast.
Three keys for Air Force
Keep it special – The Falcons have the nation’s fourth-best penalty kill (89.6 percent), while the Saints’ power play (14.5 percent) is the sixth worst in Division I. When Air Force has a man advantage (20.3 percent) they will face a PK that is successful 80.3 percent of the time.
Greek week – It’s time to do a brother a solid. At least three or four times per game, senior Billy Christopoulos (8-5-1, .912, 2.40 GAA) faces odd-man rushes or breakaways because of defensive breakdowns. More often than not, he makes the save, but as coach Frank Serratore said last weekend (again), the Falcons shouldn’t make him do that night after night.
Fire away – Senior Dan Bailey scored just the second goal by a Falcons defenseman this season in Sunday’s win against Bemidji State. Offense from the D is an Air Force hallmark, and more of it is needed.
©First Line Editorial 2017-19
