Weekend series preview: Air Force at Army

When: 5:35 p.m. Friday, 5:05 p.m. Saturday

Where: Tate Rink, West Point, N.Y.

TV: Friday’s game is on CBS Sports Network, and Saturday’s game isn’t being televised

Radio: The Sports Animal 1300 AM, play-by-play by Jay Ritchie, color by Dave Toller

The series: Air Force enjoys a 30-20-3 lead in the series that dates to 1976, with victories in three of the past four meetings. In games contested at sold-out Tate Rink, Army is 13-9-2 all-time, including a 5-0-1 record since Air Force last won in West Point in 2004.

Air Force update: The Falcons (10-7-4, 8-4-3 Atlantic Hockey Association) dropped into a third-place tie in the AHA, a point behind the Rochester Institute of Technology and three points in back of Mercyhurst, coming off a 2-2 draw and a 2-1 loss against Bentley last weekend at the academy. They’re 1-3-2 since the holiday break, and they’ve scored 10 goals over a five-game winless streak. … LW Kyle De Laurell leads the AHA with 27 points, including 14 goals, and he has multiple points in six of the past 10 games. The 16 assists by RW Cole Gunner are the second-most nationally among freshmen. D Tim Kirby has 16 points, and he has marked in eight of the past 11 games. RW John Kruse and D Scott Mathis have 15 points apiece, while C Chad Demers and LW Paul Weisgarber each have 12 points. In goal, Stephen Caple (10-4-4 with a 2.26 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage) probably will get the nod over Jason Torf (0-2 with a 3.15 GAA and a .873 save percentage) in the opener after they split starts last weekend. … Air Force is second in the AHA with 3.1 goals, and it’s allowing 2.62 goals and hitting at 17.5 percent on the power play and 81.5 percent on the penalty kill. The Falcons are 5-2-2 when winning the special-teams battle, and they’re 0-5 when losing. They’re giving up 25.6 shots, but they’ve been held to 25 or fewer shots in four of the past six games.

Army update: The Black Knights (2-13-6, 1-11-4) are 11th in the AHA, having been outscored 14-4 in back-to-back sweeps against Niagara and Canisius despite posting shot advantages in three of the four games. They’re 0-6-2 in West Point. … C Mike Hull and RW Andy Starczewski have 12 points apiece, and Starczewski leads Army with eight goals. D Marcel Alvarez and LW Danny Colvin each have nine points. In goal, Ryan Leets (2-8-3 with a 3.31 GAA and a .902 save percentage) and Rob Tadazak (0-5-3 with a 3.00 GAA and a .919 save percentage) have alternated starts most of the season. … The Black Knights have the country’s third-worst scoring offense at 1.62 goals, 10th-worst scoring defense at 3.24 goals and sixth-worst power play at 11.5 percent, and their penalty kill clicks at 81.5 percent. … Brian Riley is 96-135-42 in his eighth season.

Air Force coach Frank Serratore on Army: “It’s the Super Bowl. It’s everything to them. … Army has been struggling. They’re down toward the bottom of the league. They’re not having a great season. If they can beat Air Force, they’ve got a huge carrot.”

Contact Brian Gomez: 719-636-0256 or brian.gomez@gazette.com. Facebook: Brian Gomez. Twitter: @gazettehockey. Google+: Brian Gomez.