Weekend series preview: RIT at Air Force

When: 8:12 p.m. Friday, 7:05 p.m. Saturday

Where: Cadet Ice Arena (2,470 capacity)

TV: CBS Sports Network will televise Friday’s game, and Saturday’s game isn’t on TV

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

If you go: Reserved tickets remain for Friday, and they’re also available at www.goairforcefalcons.com or by calling 719-472-1895. Adults are $9, and children 15 and under are $5. All reserved seats are sold out for Saturday, with standing room-only tickets – $5 on fan appreciation night – going on sale at the Cadet Ice Arena box office at 6 p.m.

The series: Air Force and RIT are deadlocked 14-14-3 in a series that dates to 1990, including 10-10-2 as Atlantic Hockey Association foes. RIT defeated Air Force 3-1 in Rochester, N.Y., in November, and the Falcons have won three straight against the Tigers in Colorado Springs. Last year, Air Force beat RIT 1-0 in the AHA championship game in Rochester for an NCAA Tournament berth. Eleven of the 31 games between the teams have gone into overtime, and 17 of the past 26 have been ties or decided by one goal.

Air Force update: The Falcons (12-7-6, 10-4-5 AHA) are tied for third place in the AHA with Niagara, one point behind Mercyhurst and two points in back of RIT. They’re 3-3-4 since the holiday break, but they’re unbeaten in the past four games, coming off a win and a tie against both Canisius and Army. They’re 6-2-2 at the academy, where they’ve sold out six of 10 games and 41 of the past 56, and they’re 5-13-2 in national TV games since 2004. … LW Kyle De Laurell leads Air Force with 29 points, including 14 goals, and RW Cole Gunner has a team-high 18 assists. RW John Kruse has a point in 11 of the past 15 games, while C Chad Demers and D Tim Kirby each have a point in three of the past four outings. D Scott Mathis recorded a goal and an assist Sunday against Canisius after being held to two points in his previous five games. In goal, Stephen Caple (11-4-5 with a 2.18 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage) and Jason Torf (1-2-1 with a 2.47 GAA and a .884 save percentage) have alternated starts the past three weekends, with Caple getting the nod on Fridays and Torf playing on Saturdays. … D Alex Halloran might return after missing the past 13 games because of a torn medial collateral ligament in his knee. … The Falcons have scored 22 times in the past 10 games in watching their average dip to 3.04 goals, and they’re allowing 2.44 goals. Their power play clicks at 17.2 percent, and they convert at 81.9 percent on the penalty kill. When Air Force wins the special-teams battle, it’s 6-2-2, and when it loses, it’s 0-5-1. … The Falcons are averaging 32.9 shots, and they’ve had 30-plus shots 15 times. They’re giving up 24.9 shots, and they’ve held their opponents to 23 or fewer shots in the past six games.

RIT update: The Tigers (15-8-3, 12-4-3) have outscored their opponents 24-4 during a six-game unbeaten streak that includes back-to-back sweeps of Sacred Heart and Bentley and a win and a tie against Mercyhurst. They’re 10-3-1 in the past 14 games, having allowed two goals or less 12 times, with two of those defeats last month at Wisconsin. … RW Michael Colavecchia paces RIT with 22 points, including 11 goals, and C Cameron Burt has a team-high 15 assists. D Chris Haltigin has nine points during a six-game point streak. In goal, Shane Madolora (13-4-2) is third nationally with a 1.78 GAA and a .937 save percentage, and his six shutouts are tied for the most in the country. … The Tigers average 2.73 goals, and they’re at 17.4 percent on the power play, however, they’re second nationally in scoring defense at two goals, and they own the country’s ninth-best penalty kill at 85.4 percent. … Wayne Wilson is 250-122-36 in his 13th season at RIT.

Air Force coach Frank Serratore on RIT: “They’ve got really good depth from top to bottom, and their best player may very well be their goaltender. And that’s a tough combination. … It’s safe to say that we’re going to have to be on our game.”

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