Former DU Coach Leads Air Force Against Gophers
From: Pioneer Press
BY BRUCE BROTHERS
Frank Serratore faces a tall order.
"Obviously, we've got a huge amount of respect for a team like Minnesota," said Serratore, the Air Force Academy coach whose team will play the Gophers in the first round of the NCAA men's hockey tournament Saturday in Denver. "If we don't, we'd better watch out; we're going to get hit by a train."
Serratore, a native of Coleraine, Minn., who grew up playing against Gophers coach Don Lucia when Lucia was a high school player at nearby Grand Rapids, spent a busy day Sunday answering congratulatory phone calls after his Falcons defeated Army 6-1 to win the Atlantic Hockey Association tournament and earn their first NCAA berth.
"I'm happy for Frank; he's a really, really good friend of mine," Lucia said.
Later, Lucia was one of those calling to congratulate his old buddy on coaching a team into the NCAA tournament for the first time.
"You dream about getting it done," said Serratore, who formerly coached at Denver University, with the minor league Minnesota (later Manitoba) Moose and in the U.S. Hockey League, and hetook over the Air Force program 10 years ago. "Professionally, that's something you want to have happen in your career, even though you're at a place where there's some distinct disadvantages in recruiting. You want to get done what people say couldn't be done.
"It's pretty special."
Serratore, whose brother Tom coaches the men's program at Bemidji State, admitted the Falcons will be big underdogs against Minnesota, "but we like our team. We're a difficult team to play against. We skate pretty hard, and we're hard-working."
Air Force played WCHA teams Colorado College and Denver, losing both games 2-1 but outshooting both teams, and lost 2-0 to NCAA qualifier and top-ranked Notre Dame but also had more shots on goal.
"We'd like to think if we can go out and play our best game, we can have the same kind of game we did against those teams," Serratore said of his matchup against the Gophers.
The Falcons are led by Hobey Baker Award top-10 finalist Eric Ehn, a 5-foot-9 sophomore forward from Michigan who had 24 goals and 38 assists for 62 points in his first 37 games. He added three points as Air Force defeated Sacred Heart and Army over the weekend.
"He's a clever, crafty guy who sees the ice, a slippery type guy," Serratore said. "You don't want to overcoach him; he's very creative. A rink-rat type guy, a mid-70s Iron Ranger kind of guy."
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