COLORADO SPRINGS — It's a big week for college hockey in Colorado Springs.
"The city championship and the Pikes Peak Trophy, like it should mean something and if it doesn't mean something we should not be playing," explained Air Force hockey head coach Frank Serratore.
The Battle for the Pikes Pike Trophy will once again take center stage this weekend between Colorado College & Air Force.
The Pikes Peak Trophy, named in honor of the late John Matchefts, was jointly created in 2013 by Air Force and Colorado College and is awarded annually to the winner of the CC-Air Force game/series. Matchefts, who served stints as head coach for both Air Force (1974-85) and Colorado College (1966-71), is a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. Matchefts led Air Force to 151 wins, the second most in school history.
Since the Trophy’s inception in 2013, the Falcons have won it four times (2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017) and retained it once (2015). Colorado College has won it twice (2018 and 2019). Both teams did not play each other in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier in the season, the Tigers & Falcons faced-off in the exhibition game at the brand new Ed Robson Arena, in the first game every played at the new on-campus arena. Air Force senior goalie Alex Schilling made 29 saves to lead the Falcons to a 2-1 win.
Air Force is coming off a sweep at Lindenwood this past weekend in an exhibition series. It was a good bounce back win for the Falcons after being blown out by DU the weekend before.
"Do we want (the trophy) back? You're darn right we want it back," explained Serratore. "Last weekend playing that series in Lindenwood wasn't about Lindenwood. It was about us. It was about us getting better, and being better prepared for the series with Colorado College."
As for CC, there are coming off a weekend split in Boston. The Tigers defeated No. 10 Boston College, 5-3 on Friday night, for Kris Mayotte's first win as the Tigers head coach and the team’s first win of the season. On Saturday, CC lost a tough 1-0 game at No. 20 Northeastern.
"We believe we've grown a lot in the last month, but this is a great test because its the first time we get to play an opponent that we've already seen," explained Mayotte. "And so it's a good opportunity to kind of see where we are, and see how well we've studied over the last month."
The Falcons and Tigers meet at the Cadet Ice Arena Friday, Oct. 29, at 7:05 pm and at Robson Arena on Saturday, Oct. 30, at 6:05 pm.
