Alaska (2-4) at Air Force (3-4-1)
Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 5 p.m. at Cadet Arena
TV / Streaming / Radio: Altitude2 (Saturday) / Flohockey.tv (both nights) / AM 1300
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
The Falcons are a different team at home (2-2-1), particularly defensively. They’ve allowed 18 goals in three road games (6 per game), including eight at Colorado College last Friday, and the same amount in five home games (3.6). Given that both teams allow more than four goals per game overall (AFA – 4.5 and Alaska – 4.2), there could be some fireworks this weekend. …
The power play has played a big role in super charging Air Force’s offense. Eight of its 18 goals have come with the man advantage. Fortunately for the Falcons, the Seawolves’ power play has struggled to get going, connecting at just 16.7 percent. Discipline is a big key for both teams because both have struggled on the penalty kill. Alaska has one of the worst PKs in D-I, just 64.5 percent. Surprisingly, the Falcons have not been a lot better, successful just 71.4 percent of the time. We’ll address one reason for that below. …
Wings Will Gavin (10 points, 5 goals) and Willie Reim (9, 4) power Air Force’s offense up front, while Atlantic Hockey Defenseman of the Week Brandon Koch has eight points and three goals. Koch played one of his best games of his college career in Saturday’s 6-3 victory against CC. The Falcons lost two defensemen to injury during the game – Luke Rowe and Luke Robinson – meaning Koch, senior Andrew Kruse (himself just back from injury), sophomore Mitchell Digby and freshmen Chris Heddon and Brett Oberle had to carry the mail. Rowe and Robinson will be game-time decisions. Junior Sam Brennan, another top-four defenseman, continues to be out, as is sophomore Drake Usher. The transitions on D have been one contributor to a lack of PK consistency. …
Welcome back to college hockey, Seawolves! After a two-season hiatus, Alaska is back, having stocked its team with 13 Division I transfers and 12 freshmen. Alaska has splits against Western Michigan and Northern Michigan, and it was swept by Colorado College by a cumulative 10-3 on Nov. 7-8. Sophomore forward Maximilion Helgeson and grad transfer defenseman Derek Hamelin (who played four seasons at Canisius) lead the Seawolves in points with six apiece. Alaska has gone with a timeshare in net with grad transfer Nolan Kent (Northern Michigan) posting better numbers (1-2, 2.76 aaa, .917 saves percentage) than senior Joey Lamoreaux (1-2, 5.84, .816). The latter spent three seasons at St. Cloud State but rarely played. …
The teams have not played in Colorado since 1989, which also was the most recent time the Falcons have defeated the Seawolves.
©First Line Editorial 2022
