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This weekend, the Purple Eagles hockey team closes out the 2016 calendar year with a pair of road games against the Air Force Falcons. After playing four games against each other the last two seasons, Niagara and Air Force square off at Cadet Ice Arena for the lone two matchups this season. Niagara has played more games against Air Force (64) than any other team in college hockey, leading the all-time series 33-26-5.
 
The Purple Eagles and Falcons will face off at 9:05 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 9, before concluding the season series Saturday, Dec. 10 at 7:05 p.m. Jeremy White has the play-by-play on 1340 AM WLVL for the two-game set, and both games will be live streamed on AtlanticHockey.tv.

After the series at Air Force, Niagara is off for three weeks before returning to action at Holy Cross on Friday, Jan. 6 at 7:05 p.m. The next chance to catch the Purple Eagles at Dwyer Arena is Friday Jan. 13 at 7:05 p.m. against the Bentley Falcons, the first of six home games in the month of January.
 
Dzakhov Heats Up
• Stanislav Dzakhov enters the Air Force series on a three-game goal scoring streak, the longest by a Purple Eagle this season.
• Most recently, Dzakhov tallied one goal and one assist against RIT on Dec. 3. He scored power-play goals for Niagara on Nov. 26 at AIC and Dec. 2 versus RIT.
• The junior from Vladikavkaz, Russia has career-highs with five goals and two power-play goals this year. Dzakhov also has four assists, giving him nine points in 12 games. His average of 0.75 points per game played leads the Purple Eagles.
• In eight conference games this season, Dzakhov has seven points (4+3) and a plus-2 rating.
 
Take One For The Team
• Entering the weekend, the Purple Eagles rank second in Atlantic Hockey with 14.56 blocked shots per game, trailing only Army.
• Vinny Muto ranks second in Atlantic Hockey with 33 blocked shots, while Tyler Hayes is tied for seventh with 27. Hayes leads all AHC freshmen and is tied for 11th nationally among rookies in the category.
• TJ Sarcona is tied for second among Atlantic Hockey forwards with 21 blocked shots, while Nick Farmer is tied for ninth with 13.
 
Scouting the Falcons (7-6-3, 4-3-1 Atlantic Hockey)
• Niagara takes on the Air Force Falcons in the only two games of the season between these programs on Friday and Saturday.
• Air Force has earned non-conference wins against Boston College, Arizona State, and Colorado College, in addition to tying Ohio State. The Falcons have been ranked as high as No. 18 in the USCHO.com poll this season.
• The Purple Eagles have played more games against Air Force (64) than any other team in college hockey. Niagara leads the all-time series with a record of 33-26-5.
• Air Force won all four games against Niagara last season. Jackson Teichroeb played in all four of those games (three starts) and recorded a 2.62 goals-against average and .910 save percentage.
• The Falcons played a two-game series at Holy Cross last weekend, earning a 2-2 tie on Dec. 2 before losing 3-2 on Dec. 3.
• Air Force opened the 2016-17 season with a 2-1 victory over then-No. 4 Boston College and a 3-3 tie against Ohio State in the Ice Breaker Tournament.
• Shane Starrett leads the Falcons in goal with a 7-3-2 record, a 2.84 goals-against average, and a .910 save percentage.
• Junior defenseman Phil Boje is Air Force's leading scorer with 14 points (5+9) in 16 games.
• Jordan Himley has a team-high eight goals for Air Force, and Evan Feno leads the Falcons with 10 assists.
 
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