Boston College puts end to AFA hockey team’s season
March 28th, 2012 | After Action Air Force Hockey | Posted by Sean Smyth
Air Force senior defenseman Scott Mathis shoves Boston College’s Steven Whitney to the ice during last week’s NCAA tournament game. Top-ranked BC won the game, 2-0. Mathis is one of four seniors who’s leaving the Air Force squad via graduation. (Winslow Townson / The Associated Press)
It was a first the Air Force Academy’s hockey won’t brag about: the first time this season it was shutout. The Falcons were held scoreless in their NCAA tournament game against Boston College last Saturday, falling 2-0. Chris Kreider, a first-round NHL Draft selection in 2009, scored both of BC’s goals.
Considering who (the country’s top-ranked team) and where (in a Worcester, Mass., arena filled with BC fans), you shouldn’t be disappointed. It was only the third time in the past 10 games where BC managed to score just two goals. The Eagles are averaging 3.6 goals per game in that stretch.
Air Force coach Frank Serratore wasn’t hanging his head afterward. “That is a heck of hockey team in Boston College, and in my opinion they beat a heck of a hockey team.”
BC coach Jerry York said the Falcons were “a hard, tough out.”
Air Force finished its season at 21-11-7. It was the fifth time the Falcons managed to reach the NCAA tournament.
They’ll return four of their five top scorers from this year’s team and lose just four seniors – albeit some key players – so another tournament run isn’t out of the question.
Click here to read more about the Falcons’ future prospects.
A different Dance for Air Force hockey team
March 20th, 2012 | After Action Air Force Hockey | Posted by Sean Smyth
Everyone’s focused on the March Madness this time of year, but let’s not forget there are other NCAA championships going on, too.
Air Force senior forward Paul Weisgarber (10), shown scoring a goal against Army in January 2011, is one of the Falcons' top players. (Mike Kaplan / Air Force photo)
One of those tournaments is pretty underrated: the NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey tournament. It’s typically filled with overtime games, a smattering of upsets (though not necessarily on par with its cousin on the hardwood) and thrilling play.
Air Force is making its fifth NCAA tournament appearance this year, and the Falcons have drawn a tough road: They’ll face the tournament’s top overall seed, Boston College, at 4 p.m. EDT Saturday at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass., an hour or so west of BC’s campus.
The Denver Post notes that the Falcons (21-10-7) are 0-3 this season against teams that made the 16-team NCAA field, losing narrowly to North Dakota and Michigan State before being routed by Denver University.
Air Force earned its bid by winning the Atlantic Hockey championship, no small feat for a school located about 2,000 miles away from its closest conference foe. The Falcons beat Rochester Institute of Technology last weekend in Rochester, N.Y., for the right to enter the NCAA tourney.
You can read more about the postseason-bound Falcons here.
Mark your calendars: Military sports 2012
January 5th, 2012 | Air Force Army Army-Navy game Basketball Football Hockey Navy | Posted by Kevin Lilley
From hoops to Olympics to football, the new year means a new sports calendar. (AP photo by Bebeto Matthews)
Not the hardest of hardcore sports fans? Saw the Orange Bowl score cross the bottom of the screen this morning and wondered out loud, “Say, Clemson’s 3-point shooters must be terrible”? Don’t want to be caught off-guard in the new year? Here are five important military sports dates to circle on your brand-new desk calendar.
1. Jan. 14, rivalry renewal: The first Army-Navy game of the new year takes place on the hardwood, with the women’s hoops teams squaring off at noon in Annapolis, followed by the men’s teams at 2:30 p.m. (both games on CBS Sports Network). Patriot League play for all four teams begins Saturday, when Army visits Bucknell and Navy travels to Lehigh. There have been few bright spots on the court for either school this year — of the four hoops teams, the Navy women hold the best record at 7-7. Bonus rivalry game: The Army ice hockey team hosts Air Force on Jan. 20 and 21, with the first game airing on CBS Sports Network at 7:30 p.m. Army is 2-9-6 entering Friday’s game against Canisius, while Air Force (10-5-2) is coming off its fourth Atlantic Hockey Association championship in five years.
2. July 27, the world is watching: Military athletes will abound at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The Defense Department tracked 15 athletes with military affiliations in Beijing in 2008, including Army gold medalists Sgts. Walton “Glenn” Eller III (double trap) and Vincent Hancock (skeet). Shooters will get the first crack at the medal stand in London; the air rifle and air pistol finals take place the day after the opening ceremony.
3. Sept. 1, Irish eyes: From London to Dublin, as the Navy Midshipmen open the 2012 football season with the road game to end all road games — a 3,300-plus-mile trek to take on Notre Dame. A few more details are here.
4. Nov. 9, back to the (steel) beach: Nothing official from the folks at Quicken Loans, but the second edition of the Carrier Classic will be played on this date and will include the Connecticut Huskies — according to UConn, at least. Arizona is the likely opponent. Last November, North Carolina downed Michigan State 67-55 in the first-ever classic.
5. Dec. 8, brotherly love: Army-Navy football returns to Philadelphia, with the Black Knights attempting to end Navy’s 10-game win streak. The Mids are a perfect 7-0 against Army at Lincoln Financial Field, but the Black Knights’ last win did come in Philly — a 26-17, on Dec. 1, 2011, at the since-demolished Veterans Stadium. It will be the 83rd Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia, which will also host the 2013, 2015 and 2017 games; M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore is scheduled to host in 2014 and 2016. Mark your calendars accordingly.
NHL alumni saves Christmas for Army family
December 21st, 2011 | Army Hockey | Posted by Blair Tomlinson
Army Staff Sgt. Patrick Jacobson and his family were robbed earlier this month, just weeks before Christmas, reported the local ABC affiliate. Their home was ransacked, with computers, games systems, a TV and all the Christmas gifts gone.
Also gone: The money Jacobson had saved to visit his sons in New York after selling his truck. Jacobson had hoped to see his sons before deploying in less than two months.
“It’s just pure evil,” said Jacobson’s stepdaughter, Tatianna Young.
After hearing the horrible news, Shane Willis, a former Carolina Hurricanes hockey player, decided to take action. Willis and the Canes mascot, Stormy, will visit the Jacobsons on Dec. 22 to deliver holiday presents. Willis also got an assist from members of the Carolina Hurricanes Alumni Association, who helped purchase the gifts.
Former Air Force goalie earns Distinguished Flying Cross
April 23rd, 2010 | Air Force Hockey | Posted by Mike Hoffman
(Air Force photo)
A former stalwart inside the crease for the Air Force Academy hockey team was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions last fall that saved the lives of 72 servicemen.
Before Capt. Mike Polidor earned his wings and started flying F-15s, he started in goal for the Air Force Academy’s hockey team from 2001 to 2004.
Polidor and pilot Capt. Aaron Dove helped coordinate strikes by 19 aircraft in October against insurgents attacking a U.S. outpost in Afghanistan. They are credited for saving 72 soldiers in a firefight that claimed the lives of eight soldiers from Fort Carson’s 4th Brigade Combat Team.
Click on this link for a write up of the battle.
Winter Games in the sandbox
March 4th, 2010 | Afghanistan Army Hockey Iraq | Posted by Alan Lessig
Inspired by the 2010 Winter Olympics in Canada, deployed service members in Iraq and Afghanistan held their own athletic competitions. At COB Speicher in Iraq, U.S. Division North held a “biathlon” for 40 soldiers, one sailor and one airman. The event had them run 3.7 miles out to a firing range where they had to shoot for score and then the same distance back to the finish line at COB Speicher. They were scored by a combination of run-time and their shooting score. The event was won by:
• Spc. Douglas Long (US), Male Winner, 2/25th AVN Bn., 25th ID CAB
• 1st Lt. Valerie Aquino (US), Female Winner, 209th ASB, 25th ID CAB
At Kandahar Air Base, it was more of a team effort as the USA (Army) took on Canada (Army) in a hockey final rematch. There wasn’t any ice, but there was plenty of sand for them to slide around on.
Airman has NHL dreams
January 27th, 2010 | Air Force Hockey | Posted by Tom Spoth
2nd Lt. Greg Flynn in Paul Tsongas Arena in Lowell, Mass., home of the Lowell Devils minor league hockey team. (Courtesy photo/Andrew Ramsey)
The Army had Joe DiMaggio and Pat Tillman, among others.
The Navy: Roger Staubach, David Robinson, Bob Feller, and Yogi Berra, to name a few.
Ted Williams served in the Marines.
But the Air Force? Its top athletes apparently have been NFL players Chad Hennings and Bryce Fisher, who aren’t exactly household names.
2nd Lt. Greg Flynn, a 2009 Air Force Academy grad, is making a bid to change that. Flynn, an All-American hockey player last year, is pulling double duty as a contract manager at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., and a rookie defenseman for the Lowell Devils of the American Hockey League.
Picture of the weekend: Decapitation strike
January 10th, 2010 | Air Force Hockey | Posted by Phil Creed
Air Force forward Matt Fairchild checks Connecticut defenseman Brad Cooper in the first period of the teams' 2-2 tie Saturday at Cadet Ice Arena. (Kevin Kreck / The Gazette via AP)