Air Force is set to participate in the Desert Hockey Classic on January 2 and 3 at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona. The Falcons will open the tournament against Michigan Tech on Friday, with a potential matchup against either Arizona State or Alaska-Anchorage on Saturday.
The first game against Michigan Tech is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. Mountain Time. If Air Force faces Arizona State in the second game, it will be streamed on NCHC.tv; otherwise, there will be no video stream. Both games will be broadcast on XtraSports 1300 AM and xtrasports1300.com, with live statistics available via StatBroadcast.
Air Force enters the tournament with a record of 9-7-2 overall and 6-5-1 in Atlantic Hockey Association play. The team has shown improvement after a slow start, posting an 8-3-1 record over its last twelve games since October 31. The Falcons’ top line—sophomores Will Dawson, Nick Sajevic, and Sam Stitz—has contributed significantly by being present for half of the team’s even-strength goals this season.
Defensively, Air Force’s blue-liners have scored nearly half of the team’s goals over the past nine games. The team’s penalty kill has been effective since late October, reaching a rate of 90 percent during that span and maintaining an overall season mark of 85.2 percent. Special teams performance has also included a power-play success rate of 19 percent.
Nick Sajevic leads both the team and Atlantic Hockey Association in assists (18) and points (21), ranking among national leaders in these categories as well as faceoff wins and percentage. Goaltender Dominik Wasik has started thirteen consecutive games, holding a goals-against average of 2.41 and a save percentage of .916—both within the top thirty nationally.
This year marks Air Force’s second appearance at the Desert Hockey Classic; last season they were defeated by Boston University and Arizona State at Mullett Arena. Historically, Air Force is winless at Mullett Arena but did record a victory over Arizona State in nearby Glendale in 2016.
Michigan Tech comes into the tournament with an overall record of 11-7-2 and competes in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). The Huskies recently finished as runners-up at the Great Lakes Invitational after defeating Miami but losing to Michigan State. Senior Stiven Sardarian leads Michigan Tech with nine goals and twenty assists for twenty-nine points through twenty games, placing him second nationally in scoring.
This meeting between Air Force and Michigan Tech will be their first ever encounter.
