Air Force (14-12-4, 12-9-3 AHC) at Mercyhurst (13-15-4, 11-10-3)

Friday and Saturday at 5:05 p.m. at Erie, Penn.

Radio / streaming: 1300 AM / atlantichockey.tv (subscription)

Series: Air Force leads 19-15-3; the teams split at Cadet Arena in early December

Overview

There are no small series at this time of the season, but this one is particularly big because the Falcons and the Lakers are two of six teams sitting within seven points of each other between second and seventh place in the Atlantic Hockey standings. The Falcons are tied for third, and the Lakers are two points back in sixth. The top five teams get a first-round playoff bye and the top four play host to a quarterfinal series on March 15-17. … Mercyhurst is 5-7-2 since the teams split a series in December, while Air Force is 5-5-4 in that span. … The Lakers are led by junior defenseman Joseph Duszak, who has 41 points (second in the nation) and 15 goals, and senior center Derek Barach (31, 12). Duszak created all sorts of problems for the Falcons in the Lakers’ victory at Cadet Arena, launching 10 shots and scoring twice. … Three goalies have played at least eight games for Mercyhurst, so it’s anyone’s guess who will get the call this weekend. … That isn’t an issue at Air Force, where senior Billy Christopoulos, who was selected Atlantic Hockey’s goalie of the week after he gave up just two goals in two games vs. Canisius, leads the league in save percentage (.920) and goals-against average (2.12).

Three keys for Air Force

1. Shake it off – Take away the late-game meltdown vs. Canisius, and the Falcons easily played one of their best series of the season. The players were as down after that game as I’ve seen many of them in three years, so putting that game in the rear-view mirror is a must.
2. Stay special – This is another matchup in which the Falcons have a demonstrable advantage, particularly with their penalty kill, which at 88.8 percent is second in the nation to No. 3 Minnesota Duluth.
3. Get on the board – It has been boom or bust for Air Force when it comes to offense. In the 11 games when they have scored one or fewer goals, including two shutouts in the past three games, they have just five total goals (.45 per game). They have 67 goals in the other 19 games (3.52), when they are 14-1-4.

MORE AFA HOCKEY: Why do the Falcons wear the numbers they do? They told The Flight Path this week

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