Air Force hockey: 3 Things to Watch at UConn
Start off strong
Air Force (9-9-3, 7-5-3 Atlantic Hockey Association) has fallen behind far too often early. While that makes for a thrilling comeback against the likes of No. 1 Yale, it can also means losses to lesser-regarded teams in the Atlantic Hockey Association. To win consistently, the Falcons cannot afford to fall behind at Connecticut (7-12-3, 7-7-1 AHA) this Friday and Saturday.
“How many times do we have to get hit in the mouth before we punch back?” coach Frank Serratore asked. “One, two, three times? We need to be the ones to throw the first punch.”
Huskies freshman Cole Schneider (21 points, 14 assists) and sophomore Sean Ambrosie (18, nine goals) are both capable of taking over the game if the Falcons don’t come out ready.
Play hard the entire game
The difference between beating the best and the worst can often be decided by effort. For Air Force, the effort has not been evident at all times.
“We are a poster child for how homogenous college hockey is today,” Serratore said. “We have beaten the best (Yale) and lost to teams that are near the bottom. We need to play hard 60-65 minutes a night, 120-130 minutes a weekend, no matter how much it takes.”
Seize scoring chances
UConn may be good at home (4-2-1), but the Huskies are also allowing 3.95 goals, 53rd out of 58 Division I teams. The Falcons, sixth in the nation (3.62) in scoring, can seize control early with opportunistic scoring. Air Force is the least-penalized team in the nation, averaging just 8.6 minutes, so the Falcons can avoid using their poor penalty kill on the road.
