Air Force Academy – Thirteen years after building a hockey team capable of competing in the NCAA Tournament, former University of Denver coach Frank Serratore will finally get a chance to stand behind the bench and coach in the exclusive environment.
Serratore, who is in his 10th season at Air Force, has led the Falcons to their first national tournament – coincidentally in a year that DU and Colorado College failed to make it.
The Falcons (19-15-5) became the first military academy team to make the NCAA field.
All of a sudden, after 13 years of living beneath the DU and CC shadows, Serratore has the state’s most capable team.
Which explains why Serratore, who was fired as DU’s coach in 1994 – less than a year before his successor guided the Pioneers to the 1995 NCAA Tournament – can’t sit still for 10 seconds without reaching to pick up the phone.
Since the Falcons pummeled Army 6-1 on Saturday to win the Atlantic Hockey Association playoff championship and received an automatic NCAA Tournament bid and No. 4 seed for this weekend’s West Regional at the Pepsi Center, Serratore has been bombarded by well-wishers.
Perhaps his biggest supporters are his successor at DU, George Gwozdecky, and fellow Colorado Springs resident and CC coach Scott Owens.
“George and Scott have been awesome, calling me at least three times apiece,” Serratore said. “George’s words were, ‘You’re carrying the flag for us now.”‘
Both DU and CC will be absent from the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in the past 12 years. Serratore wishes he had Colorado company.
“I absolutely get no satisfaction from us being there and DU and CC not making it,” he said. “What happened to me at Denver took place a long time ago, and I like seeing all the publicity Scott and the Tigers get here in the Springs.
“I’m just proud of what we’ve done.”
Serratore feels the same about his job at DU that was cut short four years into a five-year contract. In 1990 at age 32, Serratore inherited a team that finished 18-24 under Ralph Backstrom. Serratore produced just one winning season (19-17-2 in 1992-93) and was fired before his first recruiting class became seniors.
Gwozdecky and those seniors went 25-15-2 and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAAs.
“I was 32 and came from the junior leagues, and I always won and never faced adversity,” Serratore said. “You think you’re invincible and can come in and change anything. I had no idea what I was getting into, but after four years we had got the horses back in the stable that we needed to get to the NCAA Tournament.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see that through, but my colleagues, including George, were gracious enough to give us a lot of the credit. I believe that’s why I got another chance in college hockey.”
Serratore’s primary requirement at Air Force was to beat Army. But that wasn’t good enough. He led the program’s transition from a Division I independent playing a Division III schedule to joining a Division I league and playing all Division I opponents.
Now he has an AHA championship and the chance to upset No. 1 seed Minnesota (30-9-3).
“Not only is it a dream for us, it’s a dream for Coach,” Falcons junior forward Josh Print said of Serratore. “And he might not agree, but we think it’s even better that we’re the only team from Colorado that made it.”
Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
