SFU set to take on Air Force in first-ever game vs. NCAA Div. I opponent

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The Simon Fraser University Men’s Ice Hockey team departs today for Wenatchee, WA, where they will meet their first-ever NCAA Division I opponent on Saturday night in a match-up vs. the Colorado Springs, CO-based Air Force Academy. Faceoff is set for 5:35 PM from the Town Toyota Centre.

Air Force are the defending champions of the Atlantic Hockey conference and have earned one of 16 available spots in the NCAA’s Postseason Tournament in four of the past five years. The Falcons’ finished the 2010/11 season with an overall record of 20-12-6, good for 18th in the season’s final USCHO/CBS national poll. Their season ended with a first-round NCAA Tournament loss in overtime to Yale, who were the tournament’s #1 overall seed.

The game represents a considerable step up in competition for SFU, who play in the seven-team B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League and enter the season looking to defend back-to-back league championships.

"We expect Air Force to be a fast, physical and talented group," says SFU head coach Mark Coletta. "Our players have been preparing with this game in mind since training camp began in late August, and we expect to deliver our A-game when the puck drops on Saturday."

"I’m sure a number of our players believe they have the ability to play at this level, and this will be an opportunity for members of our team to step up and perform."

The Clan squad that will hit the ice versus Air Force includes over a dozen new faces following a busy offseason. Recent additions Graeme Gordon (Vernon Vipers-BCHL), Jonathan Ceci (Estevan Bruins-SJHL) and Tyler Mah (Flin Flon Bombers-SJHL) will be looking to start their SFU careers on a high note, while returnees Chris Hoe (Salmon Arm SilverBacks-BCHL) and Ben Van Lare (Saskatoon Blades-WHL) will be expected to lead the way for their new teammates and help shoulder the load offensively.

"This game came about because a number of Wild players had gone on to play their collegiate hockey at Air Force and this was conceived as something of a homecoming game for those guys," says SFU general manager Jeff Dubois.

"When you factor that in with us going up against a well-known American opponent, it’s a safe bet that it’s going to feel like an intense road game environment for our guys and I expect that they’ll relish the challenge."