Ramsey: CC will be looking to make amends vs. Falcons this season

Let me offer a warning to Air Force hockey coach Frank Serratore, his players and Falcon fans everywhere:

Colorado College is ready for Friday night’s crosstown clash.

Last season, CC’s Tigers all but slept through their meeting with the Falcons.

In a way, this nonchalance made sense. For 23 years, CC and its fans could count on one thing:

The Tigers were better than Air Force.

But in November 2008, at their alarmingly loud arena, the Falcons took that certainty and annihilated it, at least for one night. Air Force dominated CC, 4-1, and the score is deceptive.

The game wasn’t that close.

Don’t worry. Memories of the smack down live at CC.

“It stung last year,” CC coach Scott Owens said. “It stung in the community because we had not lost to them in forever. It stung our pride.”

Last season, Owens and his Tigers skated into Cadet Ice Arena with the nation’s No. 3 ranking and visions of a national title.

The Tigers never recovered from the surprise pounding and failed to travel to the NCAA Tournament in one of the most confusing seasons in CC history.

“It kind of contributed to derailing us last year,” Owens said.

Owens takes care to say all the right things. He’s been friends with Serratore for years, and he doesn’t want to see the Falcons skidding along at the bottom of college hockey.

“I don’t know if they need to be better than us all the time, but I think it’s healthy to have them strong, yes,” Owens said. “It’s good for hockey on the Front Range. It’s good for our schedule.”

Usually, Owens declines to dwell in the past. Last year was last year, and this year is this year.

Yet he is making an exception this week. He’s talking about the Air Force loss, talking about the importance of the rivalry.

He doesn’t, as you might expect, want to see a repeat Friday when Air Force invades World Arena.

So he preaches the importance of a victory as he seeks to force his team to take an ultra-serious look at the Falcons, even as CC’s Western Collegiate Hockey Association rivals loom in the near distance.

Forward Bill Sweatt endured last season’s loss, and he’s certainly listening.

Sweatt suffered last season during the final seconds while Air Force fans chanted, “AFA, AFA, AFA.” He endured the agony of knowing he had contributed to the end of an ancient CC tradition.

“It definitely wasn’t awesome,” Sweatt said. “It didn’t make anybody happy, and it affected us. It got our spirits down for the rest of the year.

“But this year is definitely a new year, and we’ll be in our home rink and we have a chance to prove that we can get back to being the No. 1 team in town.”

Neither team is burdened by great expectations. The Tigers were one of college hockey’s big surprises early in the season, but have struggled in recent weeks, winning only five of their past 15 games.

The Falcons were supposed to be mighty, but have baffled Serratore with their lack of intensity and defense. AFA has allowed 16 goals in its past four games and has surrendered four or more goals seven times.

These aren’t great teams, but this shows hints of becoming a great rivalry.

Last season, on a night that will long live in the hearts of AFA fans, the Falcons pounded the Tigers.

“We don’t want to see that repeated,” Sweatt said. “We want to start a new streak of CC always beating Air Force.”

This season?

Expect a vastly different level of effort from the former kings of Colorado Springs.