USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – After splitting the opening series at home, Sun Devil Hockey (1-1-0) enters enemy territory at No. 19 Air Force on Oct. 13-14 at Cadet Ice Arena.
The meeting becomes the second in as many years between the two programs, with the Sun Devils (1-1-0) making their first-ever trip to the Air Force Academy. In 2016-17, ASU defeated the Falcons (1-0-1) in game two at Gila River Arena, becoming the program's first win over a ranked opponent.
"They're really good and didn't lose much," said head coach Greg Powers. "They return all of their top-10 scorers from last year and were a goal away from advancing to the Frozen Four. They lost their starting goaltender, but the one they return is very good, big and moves well. He was the kid, ironically, that was in net when we beat them last year.
"Frank Serratore is Frank Serratore; he'll have his guys ready. I think if we commit to working like we did on Friday, we have a chance to go up there and get a win…maybe two. We'll have our work cut out for us, it'll be a great test."
When the Sun Devils clashed with Air Force in 2016, the meeting set up similarly with the Falcons ranked No. 18 in the country and a 1-0-1 record as well. Game one favored the visitors, with Air Force escaping with a 4-3 victory. The next night, the Sun Devils came out firing with two early goals in the first period, and rolling to a 5-2 upset behind Dylan Hollman's three-point (1G-2A) night.
The captain and his assistants – Louie Rowe and Anthony Croston – hadn't been paired up at that point last season, but the Falcons will get a good look at them this weekend. The trio combined for two goals and nine assists against UMass last weekend, and finished 2016-17 with 17 goals and 26 assists in 17 games.
While coach Powers mentioned a sweep against UMass last weekend was within reach, he expects to learn a lot about this young team this week on the road following a loss.
"We get to see how our young guys bounce back from a loss that we felt like we let slip away," said Powers. "Hopefully they're going to be hungry. It wasn't anything X's and O's or systems -- we'll continue to polish up what we need -- but for the most part we need everybody going. We had a handful of guys that didn't want to commit to paying the price."
Special teams was a case of Jekyll & Hyde, as the penalty kill was on point, killing all nine of the Minutemen's power-play opportunities. On the other hand, ASU capitalized on just one of their 12 power-play chances.
Puck drop for both nights is set for 7:05 p.m. MT/6:05 p.m. AZ time.
The meeting becomes the second in as many years between the two programs, with the Sun Devils (1-1-0) making their first-ever trip to the Air Force Academy. In 2016-17, ASU defeated the Falcons (1-0-1) in game two at Gila River Arena, becoming the program's first win over a ranked opponent.
"They're really good and didn't lose much," said head coach Greg Powers. "They return all of their top-10 scorers from last year and were a goal away from advancing to the Frozen Four. They lost their starting goaltender, but the one they return is very good, big and moves well. He was the kid, ironically, that was in net when we beat them last year.
"Frank Serratore is Frank Serratore; he'll have his guys ready. I think if we commit to working like we did on Friday, we have a chance to go up there and get a win…maybe two. We'll have our work cut out for us, it'll be a great test."
When the Sun Devils clashed with Air Force in 2016, the meeting set up similarly with the Falcons ranked No. 18 in the country and a 1-0-1 record as well. Game one favored the visitors, with Air Force escaping with a 4-3 victory. The next night, the Sun Devils came out firing with two early goals in the first period, and rolling to a 5-2 upset behind Dylan Hollman's three-point (1G-2A) night.
The captain and his assistants – Louie Rowe and Anthony Croston – hadn't been paired up at that point last season, but the Falcons will get a good look at them this weekend. The trio combined for two goals and nine assists against UMass last weekend, and finished 2016-17 with 17 goals and 26 assists in 17 games.
While coach Powers mentioned a sweep against UMass last weekend was within reach, he expects to learn a lot about this young team this week on the road following a loss.
"We get to see how our young guys bounce back from a loss that we felt like we let slip away," said Powers. "Hopefully they're going to be hungry. It wasn't anything X's and O's or systems -- we'll continue to polish up what we need -- but for the most part we need everybody going. We had a handful of guys that didn't want to commit to paying the price."
Special teams was a case of Jekyll & Hyde, as the penalty kill was on point, killing all nine of the Minutemen's power-play opportunities. On the other hand, ASU capitalized on just one of their 12 power-play chances.
Puck drop for both nights is set for 7:05 p.m. MT/6:05 p.m. AZ time.