Air Force will travel to Niagara Falls, New York, for a two-game Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) series against Niagara University on February 6 and 7. Both games are scheduled for 6:05 p.m. ET at Dwyer Arena.
The games will not be televised but can be streamed on FloHockey. Radio coverage is available on XtraSports 1300 AM and online at xtrasports1300.com. Live statistics will be provided through SideArm Stats.
Air Force enters the series with a record of 13-11-2 overall and 9-8-1 in AHA play, while Niagara holds an 8-16-1 overall record and is 5-11-1 in conference games. Air Force has won its last three games, including a sweep of Sacred Heart by scores of 5-2 and 2-0. Niagara split its most recent series with Canisius.
Frank Serratore leads Air Force as head coach in his 29th season at the school, holding a record of 485-468-104. Jason Lammers coaches Niagara in his ninth year with a school record of 140-170-30.
Niagara leads the all-time series between the teams, holding a record of 44 wins, 38 losses, and eight ties since their first meeting in 1996. Since joining the AHA as rivals in the 2010–11 season, Air Force has a lead in that segment of the rivalry with a record of 27 wins, 17 losses, and five ties. Of their last nineteen meetings, sixteen have been decided by one goal or ended in a tie; seven went to overtime.
Air Force’s performance has improved after starting the season with one win, four losses, and one tie since October 31; they have gone on to post twelve wins, seven losses, and one tie over their last twenty games. The team’s top line—sophomores Will Dawson (left wing), Nick Sajevic (center), and Sam Stitz (right wing)—has contributed significantly by being present for twenty-eight out of fifty-seven even-strength goals this season.
The Falcons are notably successful when scoring three or more goals (11 wins, two losses, one tie), scoring first (nine wins), or leading/tied after the first period (nine wins). Their eighty-two goals across twenty-six games have come from twenty different players; only two skaters who played this season do not have at least one point.
Defenseman Chris Hedden ranks second nationally among defensemen with eleven goals and fourth with twenty-three points; he is also a five-time AHA Defenseman of the Week selection and is on the ballot for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. Center Nick Sajevic leads both Air Force in points (twenty-seven) and assists (twenty-one), leading the conference in assists as well as ranking eleventh nationally in that category. He also ranks highly for faceoff winning percentage (.576) within both conference and national standings.
Sam Stitz stands second on Air Force’s roster for both goals scored (ten) and total points (twenty-six). Will Dawson is tied for tenth place league-wide with thirteen assists this season.
Goaltender Dominik Wasik has started Air Force’s last twenty-one games; he currently ranks fifth among AHA goaltenders with a goals-against average of 2.45 and sixth for save percentage (.910). Following their victories over Sacred Heart last week, Wasik was named AHA Goalie of the Week while Cole Christian earned AHA Rookie of the Week honors.
Air Force leads all AHA teams this season in scoring offense—averaging just over three goals per game—and shots per game at more than thirty-one per contest.
Niagara comes into this weekend’s matchups sitting ninth place in conference standings with seventeen points after splitting its recent series against Canisius College—winning once away before losing an overtime game at home. Declan McDonnell and Maxim Muranov share team leadership roles offensively with eight goals each across seventeen points apiece so far this year. Three different goaltenders have started over recent weeks; junior Mitchell Day has made starts across their past three contests posting one win without loss alongside strong save statistics.
Reflecting on previous encounters between these programs: “Last season,” notes official information from Air Force athletics staffers about recent meetings between these squads at USAFA territory,“the teams split a two-game series at [the] Academy with NU winning [in] overtime…[and] AF winning game two.”
