Air Force held its first winter sports press conference of the year, and here are some highlights from each of the three coaches that met with the media:

MEN’S BASKETBALL

The longer guard Michael Lyons has a walking boot on his injured left foot, the more coach Jeff Reynolds seems to be accepting that his star player will be out a long time.

“We’d like to have him back as soon as possible, but I don’t see that coming anytime soon,” Reynolds said.

When asked if Lyons could miss the Mountain West opener on Jan. 14, Reynolds said he wasn’t sure and he is still being evaluated day to day.

Losing Lyons’ offense isn’t ideal, and Reynolds said it also affects the way opponents play the Falcons. Without having to focus on Lyons, everyone else gets more defensive attention. The team has started Kamryn Williams, Chris Carter and Shawn Hempsey one game each in Lyons’ absence, and the Falcons will continue to pick Lyons’ replacement in the lineup based on matchups.

“I think our team is a little out of sync, because we’re still trying to find who we are without Mike,” Reynolds said.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Air Force women’s basketball plays North Dakota at Clune Arena on Thursday, and to this point, injuries and personnel issues have made for a frustrating season.

Trying to build off last season’s momentum, when Andrea Williams was in her first season coaching the Falcons, Air Force has started 4-9 this year. Point guard Megan Muniz decided to quit the team before the season, and then injuries started piling up. Forward Dymond James, a preseason all-conference pick, is out with an ankle injury. So is point guard Cherae Medina (knee) and forward Katie Hilbig (heel/foot). All three hope to return by the second week of conference play later this month, Williams said, but in the meantime the roster is pretty thin, especially at point guard, where the Falcons are looking for answers.

“It’s just frustrating because we thought we’d be able to be better than where we are right now, record-wise,” Williams said.

HOCKEY

Frank Serratore thinks his team is going to be OK. Not because of how they beat Colorado College last week, but based on how they reacted after getting blown out 7-1 by Denver the next night.

“Our guys were embarrassed, they were mad,” Serratore said. “I tried to comfort them and said ‘Don’t let tonight take away from what you accomplished last night.’ They were despondent. They wanted nothing to do with it. And I love that.

“They were way more disappointed on Saturday than they were happy on Friday. I left energized. After getting whomped 7-1 I went out and celebrated New Year’s Eve because I love the way they responded.”

Air Force had a 27-day layoff before the weekend against CC and Denver, so Serratore said he wasn’t too surprised by the loss to Denver. He also knows that January will be spent figuring out some things, as usual, as the team tries to peak in February and March. One issue is figuring out the goaltending situation.

Stephen Caple has played well this season, and Jason Torf, a proven goalie who is back from a groin injury. Serratore said he wants to figure out in January if one of those two goalies separates himself, or if both will earn the right for regular playing time down the stretch.

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