We've got a bracket buster baby!

We’ve got a college hockey bracket buster ladies and gentlemen! For those who can’t seem to take their eyes off their men’s basketball tournament bracket, there is another NCAA tourney going on, and there is at least one local connection. Andrew Volkening, a former goalie in the Alaska Avalanche Junior A hockey franchise, led Air Force to an upset over top-seeded Michigan Friday afternoon. Volkening, who played for the Wasilla-based North American Hockey League team that was than known as the Wasilla Spirit, stopped 43 shots during a 2-0 victory over the Wolverines.

It was Volkening’s third straight shutout and fourth of the season. The one-time Wasilla resident has not allowed a goal in a mind-boggling 218 minutes of play.

During the 2005-06 season — the franchise’s inaugural year — Volkening set team records with 20 wins, a 3.06 goals against average and .915 saves percentage. He’s also the first of three ex-Avalanche goalies to head to the Division I level. Adam Kraus (Boston University) and Dusan Sidor (UAA) are the other two.

The Volkening-led Falcons will face Vermont on Saturday in a game televised on ESPNU at 2:30 p.m. AST.

We know Volkenings’ biggest fan in Wasilla — Alaska Avalanche director of special events Darlene Marks, Volkening’s host mother during his time in Wasilla — will be watching.

— Jeremiah Bartz