The numbers don’t lie. The only two service academies playing Division I hockey are virtually indistinguishable statistically this season.

Air Force and Army West Point are separated by one point in the Atlantic Hockey standings, and both are breathing down the necks of the teams in places second through fourth.

Further evidence of the heated rivals comparable seasons:

• Records: Air Force 9-11-2; Army 9-11-3
• Past 10 games: Both are 5-4-1
• Total goals: Air Force 61; Army 62
• Goals in the past 10 games: Air Force 34; Army 33
• Power-play efficiency: Air Force 19.4 percent; Army 18.3 percent

Man up

And both teams have been on fire on the power play of late.

The Falcons, who have won four in a row for the first time since November 2019, have converted 19.4 percent of their chances, while Army is at 18 percent. That’s remarkable given the teams’ starts with the man advantage.

The Black Knights scored just five PPGs in their first 13 games, but have gone 12-for-42 in their past 10 games (28.5 percent).

Air Force went just 4-for-42 (9.5 percent) in its first 10 games. Not coincidentally, the Falcons’ record was 3-6-1. Since then, the power play has gone 15 for 58 (25.9 percent) in the next 12 games.

But it’s really taken flight in the past six games, when Air Force is 10-for-32 (31.3 percent). Put another way, the Falcons have scored more than half of their season’s power-play goals this month.

If the Falcons finish above 20 percent, it would be just the fourth time they’ve done that since joining Atlantic Hockey in 2006. They clicked at 20.9 percent in 2018-19, 24 percent in 2010-11 and 20.2 in 2008-09. Volunteer assistant coach Jacques Lamoureux had a lot to do with the latter two numbers, scoring 13 PPGs in ’10-11 and a school-record and NCAA-leading 15 PPGs in ’08-09.

“There’s no single recipe (to the Falcons’ recent success),” said junior defenseman Brandon Koch, a fixture on the AFA power play and penalty kill. “We have two strong five-man units, a lot of cohesion. We’ve stuck to what we do best.”

Fire away

One visible difference has been more of a willingness to shoot, and those shots are coming from all directions.

Forward Nate Horn leads Air Force with five power-play tallies, and Willie Reim and Will Gavin have two apiece, but defensemen such as Mitchell Digby (three) and Luke Rowe (two) also have multiple strikes.

The resurgent power play will face a Black Knights team that is 13th nationally in penalty killing (86.7 percent). It’s a matchup of strength vs. strength. And the team that imposes its will on special teams should have a big say in the series outcome.

Koch said one emphasis point for the Falcons continues to be play in the defensive zone.

“We get more goals – both on the power play and at even strength – when we break pucks out cleanly,” he said. “There has been a big stress on the D zone.”

For head coach Frank Serratore the difference for his power play boils down to confidence.

“When you start to have more success you develop that confidence,” he said. “We don’t have a lot of experience, but we have had a lot of those guys in the same place a while. They’re all maturing. When (the staff) has to make a tweak, they understand.”

Another difference

This will be the first time Air Force has played host to Army since early in 2019. Only senior Alex Schilling, who was the third string goaltender at the time, was even on the team the last time the Black Knights invaded. And just seven of his teammates were on the roster when the Falcons visited West Point, N.Y. two years ago.

“To this point that is the coolest weekend I’ve been a part of here,” Koch said. “Their arena was super packed and loud.

“We know the games here are sellouts, and we’re excited to hear our fans get loud.”

And while the Falcons typically dress six or seven upperclassmen, the Black Knights’ top five scorers and eight of their top nine are upperclassmen. Another four or five juniors and seniors play regularly.

“They are a veteran team, a deep team,” Serratore said. “Remember, they have three players on the Hobey Baker Award watch list – (senior forward Colin) Bilek, (junior defenseman Anthony) Firriolo, and (sophomore goaltender Gavin) Abric. They will be a difficult test.”

Bilek has a team high 19 points, Firriolo has a team-best nine goals among his 16 points, and Abric has posted a .928 saves percentage and a 2.29 goals-against average.

The Falcons, meanwhile, counter with 10 scorers in double figures, topped by Gavin with 16 (10 goals), Reim and Koch with 15 and Brennan with 14. Reim and Koch are the only upperclassmen among the top 10.

“We’re finding our groove,” Koch said. “At the same time, any game against Army can go in any direction, so we have to stick to our game.”

©First Line Editorial 2022