First-year expansion franchises rarely make headlines for anything outside of record-setting futility. The Las Vegas Golden Knights are the exception to beat all exceptions, but while the team has been the story of the NHL season, it’s been on the radar of Army officials for a bit longer. In late 2016, reports surfaced that team owner Bill Foley, a 1967 U.S. Military Academy graduate, had his heart set on “Black Knights” as the team nickname, echoing both his alma mater and a number of his other business interests. Foley told Army Times that the academy pushed back on the plan,…
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While the rest of the hockey world focused on the Sochi Olympics earlier this year, a group of NHL players who weren’t after medals were instead at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, staying sharp with the help of a special guest from the Special Forces. Michael Cathcart, who went by “Sgt. Mike” with his training partners from the Carolina Hurricanes, skated alongside the pros for 45 minutes at Cleland Ice Rink in February, led them in a team stretch, even notched a goal and an assist during the practice, according to a write-up on the team’s official website. “It was great…
Hockey. Homecoming. Holiday. Hartford. That about covers it. It’ll take more than season-crushing NHL lockout to spoil a family reunion. On Friday in Hartford, Conn., a joint puck-dropping operation prior to an American League Hockey game between the Connecticut Whale and the Providence Bruins featured a Navy father and his Air Force son, both home for the holidays and enjoying some minor-league ice time. Cmdr. Steve Wilkinson, a 30-plus-year Navy vet and skipper of the attack submarine Hartford, dropped the puck alongside Air Force 2nd Lt. Andrew Wilkinson, stationed with the 38th Cyberspace Command at Scott Air Force Base, Ill.,…
It was a first the Air Force Academy’s hockey won’t brag about: the first time this season it was shutout. The Falcons were held scoreless in their NCAA tournament game against Boston College last Saturday, falling 2-0. Chris Kreider, a first-round NHL Draft selection in 2009, scored both of BC’s goals. Considering who (the country’s top-ranked team) and where (in a Worcester, Mass., arena filled with BC fans), you shouldn’t be disappointed. It was only the third time in the past 10 games where BC managed to score just two goals. The Eagles are averaging 3.6 goals per game in…
Everyone’s focused on the March Madness this time of year, but let’s not forget there are other NCAA championships going on, too. One of those tournaments is pretty underrated: the NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey tournament. It’s typically filled with overtime games, a smattering of upsets (though not necessarily on par with its cousin on the hardwood) and thrilling play. Air Force is making its fifth NCAA tournament appearance this year, and the Falcons have drawn a tough road: They’ll face the tournament’s top overall seed, Boston College, at 4 p.m. EDT Saturday at the DCU Center in Worcester,…
Not the hardest of hardcore sports fans? Saw the Orange Bowl score cross the bottom of the screen this morning and wondered out loud, “Say, Clemson’s 3-point shooters must be terrible”? Don’t want to be caught off-guard in the new year? Here are five important military sports dates to circle on your brand-new desk calendar. 1. Jan. 14, rivalry renewal: The first Army-Navy game of the new year takes place on the hardwood, with the women’s hoops teams squaring off at noon in Annapolis, followed by the men’s teams at 2:30 p.m. (both games on CBS Sports Network). Patriot League…
Army Staff Sgt. Patrick Jacobson and his family were robbed earlier this month, just weeks before Christmas, reported the local ABC affiliate. Their home was ransacked, with computers, games systems, a TV and all the Christmas gifts gone. Also gone: The money Jacobson had saved to visit his sons in New York after selling his truck. Jacobson had hoped to see his sons before deploying in less than two months. “It’s just pure evil,” said Jacobson’s stepdaughter, Tatianna Young. [HTML1] After hearing the horrible news, Shane Willis, a former Carolina Hurricanes hockey player, decided to take action. Willis and the…
A former stalwart inside the crease for the Air Force Academy hockey team was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions last fall that saved the lives of 72 servicemen. Before Capt. Mike Polidor earned his wings and started flying F-15s, he started in goal for the Air Force Academy’s hockey team from 2001 to 2004. Polidor and pilot Capt. Aaron Dove helped coordinate strikes by 19 aircraft in October against insurgents attacking a U.S. outpost in Afghanistan. They are credited for saving 72 soldiers in a firefight that claimed the lives of eight soldiers from Fort Carson’s 4th…
[brightcove video=”70038411001″ /] Inspired by the 2010 Winter Olympics in Canada, deployed service members in Iraq and Afghanistan held their own athletic competitions. At COB Speicher in Iraq, U.S. Division North held a “biathlon” for 40 soldiers, one sailor and one airman. The event had them run 3.7 miles out to a firing range where they had to shoot for score and then the same distance back to the finish line at COB Speicher. They were scored by a combination of run-time and their shooting score. The event was won by: • Spc. Douglas Long (US), Male Winner, 2/25th AVN…
The Army had Joe DiMaggio and Pat Tillman, among others. The Navy: Roger Staubach, David Robinson, Bob Feller, and Yogi Berra, to name a few. Ted Williams served in the Marines. But the Air Force? Its top athletes apparently have been NFL players Chad Hennings and Bryce Fisher, who aren’t exactly household names. 2nd Lt. Greg Flynn, a 2009 Air Force Academy grad, is making a bid to change that. Flynn, an All-American hockey player last year, is pulling double duty as a contract manager at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., and a rookie defenseman for the Lowell Devils of…
