Air Force hockey team has become elite

Coach Frank Serratore said it best Saturday after Air Force’s loss to Colorado College.

It’s easy to get to the point where your team is losing close games to the big dogs of college hockey.

Air Force had been there for several years. That dubious honor peaked during the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament. The Falcons had the Minnesota Golden Gophers reeling — and the college hockey world smiling — through 2½ periods of the opening game of the tournament.

The Falcons held a 3-1 lead with a little more than 8 minutes remaining. Then the Gophers scored three goals in a span of 3:36 to win.

That was a chance at victory. A chance at an upset that would’ve shocked college hockey. More than anything, it was an opportunity to earn real respect and not just the obligatory “attaboy” pat on the back.

Air Force isn’t supposed to be able to compete with hockey’s elite. The Falcons are slower, smaller and not as skilled as the stereotype goes. In some minds, that label cemented itself with the loss to Minnesota. Others thought the Falcons were on the verge of breaking through.

The others were right.

Although Friday’s victory over the University of Denver was huge for Serratore and the Falcons program, it didn’t come as a magnanimous shock to Pioneers coach George Gwozdecky.

“It just continues their winning ways this year,” Gwozdecky said. “We knew they were a better team than they were last year. There’s not much else to say. We got beat badly. They were a far better team than we were.”

Understand, Gwozdecky was still fuming from the loss.

After all, it’s still a smack to the pride to lose to the Falcons, even when they are sitting near the top of the Atlantic Hockey Association. But Gwozdecky was right in mentioning “their winning ways.” The Falcons have played the big boys and broken through.

A lesson learned from last year’s tournament loss contributed to Friday’s win.

Serratore loves to attack, to push the pace, to constantly be on the offensive. He said it’s been his style for a long time. Against the Gophers, the Falcons built a two-goal lead then played not to lose. They had yet to experience the feeling of leading a national power. So, Serratore’s words, whatever they might have been, fell on deaf ears.

That didn’t happen Friday. This time experience buttressed Serratore’s words.

“You’re never prepared to have a 4-0 lead over the No. 4 team in the country,” Serratore said. “All of a sudden, the players, subconsciously, start playing defensively, start playing to protect the lead, and only bad things can happen when you do that.

“... I went into the locker room after the second period when Denver had just scored and they were all talking about the things they needed to do in the defensive zone. I said, ‘Guys, screw that. We know what to do in the defensive zone. But I got a better idea. Let’s play in the offensive zone, and we won’t have to worry about it.’”

The Falcons non-conference schedule featured games against CC, DU, Minnesota, Quinnipiac and Boston College, and they were 3-2-1 in those games. Air Force made it to the postseason last year but didn’t beat a ranked opponent.

“The gap has narrowed,” Tigers coach Scott Owens said. “And we’re a good team, but the gap has narrowed. I wouldn’t want to play these guys in a best-of-seven series where it goes back and forth.”

One victory over DU since 1980 and nary a win over the Tigers in their past 25 tries doesn’t put the Falcons on equal footing with the Pioneers and Tigers. But beating DU, combined with the play against the other ranked teams, allows the Falcons to shop from the same shelves in the same shoe store.

“When I first came here, the coaches at Denver and the coaches at Colorado College had a great respect for the Air Force Academy,” Serratore said. “But they didn’t have a great respect for our hockey team. You have to earn that respect.

“It means a lot to me that these guys now have a respect for what we are and what we’re all about.”