January 29, 2010

Service Academy Rivalry Feeds the Passion

Click here to read Ken McMillan's story on the Inside College Hockey website.

This is always the biggest week on Army’s hockey schedule when the Black Knights get set to clash with Air Force in a crucial Atlantic Hockey series.

“It’s about two service academies getting together and competing against one another,” Army captain Eric Sefchik said. “We don’t have Navy to play against, so for this school this is as big as games get.”

“I am very excited. I’ve been waiting for it all week,” he added.

West Point’s Tate Rink was sold out long ago for the Friday-Saturday series. You will find a few more cadets in the stands, usually tucked up in the corners, and the Army pep band will blast the ear drums of the more than 2,000 fans who will squeeze in.

“I think everybody is interested to see the rivalry,” Sefchik said. “These are the ones where guys really want to shine.”

The rivalry means a lot to the cadets at both schools, but you won’t see the West Point campus consumed with fervor like you would during Army-Navy football week. That’s okay, says Sefchik, because there’s plenty of excitement to keep in check on each game night, starting with the intense locker rooms.

“They are just all-out battles, from physical play to sacrificing your body, taking a hit or blocking a shot,” said Sefchik, who recalls getting beaten up pretty badly with all the blocked shots he made last year in Colorado. “Everybody out there is collectively doing what they can do win that game. It’s good to see everybody elevating their games for these games. Big players play big in big games. You see what everybody has.”

Air Force is 12-9-5 overall, 12-5-5 in league play following a split with Holy Cross last weekend. Army is 8-12-4 and 7-8-3 in Atlantic Hockey following a weekend split with Connecticut.

Air Force swept Army, 5-1 and 3-2, last year in Colorado Springs. Army swept Air Force, 2-1 and 2-1, in 2008 at West Point.

“I think I have played within myself (in these games),” Sefchik said. “I wouldn’t say I played better (than usual) but I think I have done what I can do when my number is called to do something successful.”

The Army-Air Force rivalry stretches back to 1968-69. The teams played one another in College Hockey America in 1999-2000, and in Atlantic Hockey since 2002-03. As much as Sefchik tries to point out that these are four important points in the league standings, he knows there is much more meaning to these games - the players on the winning team receive a silver star for their jackets.

“These are some of the biggest games you will play in your career at Army because of the rivalry,” Sefchik said. “Like coach (Brian Riley) always tells us, he says these are the games you are going to remember. He always preaches, ‘Don’t have any regrets.’”

Sefchik said Air Force has raised the bar by winning the Atlantic Hockey playoff title the past three seasons and advancing to the NCAA Tournament.

“We’re trying to move our way up the ladder,” Sefchik said. “Yes, it’s Air Force but it’s another bump in the road that we have to get over in order to get where we want. We understand they are in first place, and it will take everything we have. As long as we play to our abilities, I think it will be a very, very competitive game.”