United States Air Force Academy Falcons
4 seed vs. Yale, East Regional (Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard, Bridgeport, CT)
Atlantic Hockey Tournament Champions
Record: 28-11-2
Coach: Frank Serratore
Since joining the league in 2006, Air Force has dominated the Atlantic Hockey championship tournament. The Falcons won the conference's auto-bid to the NCAA tournament 2007-2009, and now have captured it again in 2011. The 2007 and 2008 teams were eliminated in the first round, but the 2009 team shut out Michigan 2-0 behind goals from Jacques Lamoreux and Derrick Burnett. Both are now seniors, and Lamoureux (24-20--44) leads the Falcon in goals and points, while Burnett (8-27--35) has been an assist machine.
The other major component of the Falcons' upset in '08 was goaltender Andrew Volkening. Volkening graduated following last season, and has been replaced by freshman Jason Torf (.908 SV%, 2.90 GAA). Statistically, Torf is a step back from Volkening as a junior and senior, but is already well ahead of the freshman Volkening who put a scare in Minnesota in 2007 before falling 3-2.
1 comment:
Marginally worth noting - Air Force beat Yale in November. Several caveats for the Elis (playing at altitude, started backup goalie, only their sixth game of the season), but it's something.
Post a Comment