Air Force's Volkening finds new focus while facing fewer goals

Air Force goaltender Andrew Volkening remembers a time when he stayed busy on the ice.

"Coming to this team was actually a little difficult for me," the sophomore said. "I was used to seeing so many shots every game on other teams I've played for, so this was definitely a change. ... But the big challenge for me was learning to stay focused on my end even if I wasn't seeing shots."

The Falcons have allowed 24.1 shots per game, third lowest in the nation, leaving their goaltender with a lot of down time.

"When I'm back there and the action is all down at the other end, I talk to myself constantly just to keep my focus," he said. "You can't let yourself sit back there and zone out."

Heading into Saturday's NCAA Tournament Northeast Regional game against top-seeded Miami (Ohio) in Worcester, Mass., Volkening and his teammates will stay with their routine - before and during the game.

"I'm just going to keep my headphones in and try not to get too caught up in thinking," Volkening said. "What we've been doing has worked for us so far this season, and I think it's going to be important for us to just maintain and play our game."

Air Force spent much of last season searching for consistency between the pipes and tried four goalies by the end of January.
Volkening eventually emerged as the No. 1 guy and earned the start in the Atlantic Hockey Association Tournament title game against Army.

"It's good to know where you stand and just to have one less thing to worry about," he said.

Volkening has continued to improve, posting a 1.79 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage in games since Dec. 29.

On track to set school records for single-season save percentage and goals-against average, Volkening has become the key to the defense - which has taken on a bigger role since Eric Ehn was injured Jan. 19.

"I told myself that if we weren't going to be scoring as much, I couldn't allow so many," Volkening said. "I knew I had to be better every single night, especially when things got tight at the end of the season."

The Falcons have 10 road victories and are familiar with the difficulties of playing away from home, especially in the East.
"This is almost like a conference trip for us," Volkening said. "We're definitely a little more excited, but this shouldn't be anything that we haven't seen before."

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