Air Force will host Army for a two-game Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) series at the Cadet Ice Arena on February 20 and 21. The games, scheduled for Friday at 7:05 pm MT and Saturday at 5:05 pm MT, will be streamed live on FloHockey and broadcast on XtraSports 1300 AM.
Air Force enters the weekend with a record of 15-12-3 overall and 11-9-2 in AHA play. The team is currently unbeaten in its last two games, having recently secured four points against Mercyhurst. Army holds an overall record of 11-14-5 and is 6-13-3 in conference play, coming off two consecutive losses.
Frank Serratore, Air Force’s head coach now in his 29th season with the program, has led the Falcons to a historical advantage over Army. “AF leads 55-30-10,” according to team statistics. In their most recent meeting in November at West Point, Air Force swept Army with victories of 6-3 and a 3-2 overtime win.
The Falcons have found success this season from a sophomore line featuring Will Dawson, Nick Sajevic, and Sam Stitz. Together they have contributed a combined total of 79 points across all games played so far. Twenty-one different players have scored goals for Air Force this season.
Chris Hedden has emerged as one of the top defensemen nationally with eleven goals—tied for third among all defensemen—and twenty-nine points—tied for second among his peers. He has received five AHA Defenseman of the Week honors and is listed on the ballot for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award.
Nick Sajevic leads the AHA in assists with twenty-two and ranks fourth both in faceoff wins (294) and winning percentage (.561). Sajevic, Hedden, and Stitz are each tied for third place in league scoring with twenty-nine points apiece through thirty games.
Goaltender Dominik Wasik has started twenty-five consecutive games for Air Force. He currently stands seventh in goals-against average (2.52) and eighth in save percentage (.905) within the conference.
Offensively, Air Force leads Atlantic Hockey with an average of just over three goals per game (3.13) and averages thirty-two-and-a-half shots per contest. The team has registered thirty or more shots in thirteen of its last fourteen outings.
Army’s lineup features Barron Woodring as its leading scorer with sixteen assists and twenty-two points; he also tops the league with three hundred fifty-seven faceoff wins. Ben Ivey is tied for sixth place in league goal scoring with eleven tallies while goaltender J.J. Cataldo ranks fourth among conference netminders with a goals-against average of 2.14 and save percentage of .921 after starting twenty-seven out of thirty games this season.
Historically, Air Force holds an edge over Army both overall (55-30-10) and since joining Atlantic Hockey (30-17-8). Under Coach Serratore’s leadership since 1997, Air Force has won sixty-six percent of its matchups against Army.
