2019–20 Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey season

2019–20 Air Force Falcons
men's ice hockey season
2019–20 Air Force Falcons; men's ice hockey season
Conference	T–6th Atlantic Hockey
Home ice	Cadet Ice Arena
Rankings
USCHO.com	NR
USA Today	NR
Record
Overall	12–18–6
Conference	10–12–6–5
Home	9–8–2
Road	3–10–4
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Frank Serratore
Assistant coaches	Andy Berg; Joe Doyle
Captain(s)	Matt Pulver
	Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey seasons; « 2018–19 2020–21 »

The 2019–20 Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey season was the 52nd season of play for the program and the 14th season in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Falcons represented the United States Air Force Academy and were coached by Frank Serratore, in his 23rd season.

On March 12, 2020, Atlantic Hockey announced that the remainder of the conference tournament was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.^[1]^[2]

Departures[edit]

Player	Position	Nationality	Cause
Dan Bailey	Forward	United States	Graduation (Retired)
Billy Christopoulos	Goaltender	United States	Graduation (Signed with South Carolina Stingrays)
Evan Feno	Forward	United States	Graduation (Retired)
Evan Giesler	Forward	United States	Graduation (Retired)
Kyle Haak	Forward	United States	Graduation (Retired)
Tyler Jutting	Forward	United States	Left program
Matt Koch	Forward	United States	Graduation (Retired)
Matt Serratore	Forward	United States	Graduation (Retired)
Walker Sommer	Forward	United States	Transferred to Niagara

Recruiting[edit]

Player	Position	Nationality	Age	Notes
Blake Bride	Forward	United States	20	Louisville, CO
Brandon Koch	Forward	United States	20	Hastings, MN
Andrew Kruse	Defenseman	United States	20	Delano, MN
Keenan Lund	Forward	United States	21	Sartell, MN
Luke Manning	Forward	United States	20	Stillwater, MN
Bennett Norlin	Forward	United States	20	Farmington, MN
Austin Park	Goaltender	United States	21	Highlands Ranch, CO, red shirt
Ty Pochipinski	Forward	United States	21	Colorado Springs, CO, transfer from Colorado College
Willie Reim	Forward	United States	20	North Oaks, MN
Luke Rowe	Defenseman	United States	21	Succasunna, NJ
Dalton Weigel	Defenseman	United States	19	Bloomington, MN

Roster[edit]

As of August 16, 2019.^[3]

No.	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
2	Andrew Kruse	Freshman	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1998-12-06	Delano, Minnesota	Minnesota Magicians (NAHL)	—
3	Jake Levin	Junior	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1997-02-03	Mequon, Wisconsin	Odessa Jackalopes (NAHL)	—
4	Luke Rowe	Freshman	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1998-08-08	Succasunna, New Jersey	Boston Junior Bruins (NCDC)	—
6	Alex Mehnert	Junior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1997-06-15	Moorhead, Minnesota	Omaha Lancers (USHL)	—
8	Marshall Bowery	Junior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1996-11-17	Rochester Hills, Michigan	Topeka RoadRunners (NAHL)	—
9	Trevor Stone	Senior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1996-06-03	Pleasant Plains, Illinois	Springfield Jr. Blues (NAHL)	—
10	Keegan Mantaro	Sophomore	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1998-12-03	Monument, Colorado	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)	—
11	Max Harper	Junior	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1996-09-29	Rochester Hills, Michigan	Topeka RoadRunners (NAHL)	—
12	Blake Bride	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	1998-04-22	Broomfield, Colorado	Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)	—
13	Keenan Lund	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	1998-08-03	Sartell, Minnesota	Minot Minotauros (NAHL)	—
15	Bennett Norlin	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1998-10-26	Farmington, Minnesota	West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL)	—
17	Joe Tyran	Senior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1996-03-07	Chattaroy, Washington	Bismarck Bobcats (NAHL)	—
18	Ty Pochipinski	Sophomore	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1998-06-05	Colorado Springs, Colorado	Penticton Vees (BCHL)	—
19	Luke Manning	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1999-04-13	Stillwater, Minnesota	Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL)	—
20	Brandon Koch	Freshman	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1999-01-18	Hastings, Minnesota	Wenatchee Wild (BCHL)	—
21	Matt Pulver (C)	Senior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1997-06-05	Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin	Aberdeen Wings (NAHL)	—
22	Pierce Pluemer	Senior	F	6' 4" (1.93 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1996-01-07	Phillips, Wisconsin	Odessa Jackalopes (NAHL)	—
23	Willie Reim	Freshman	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1999-01-11	North Oaks, Minnesota	West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL)	—
25	Carter Ekberg	Sophomore	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1997-05-14	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Janesville Jets (NAHL)	—
26	Erich Jaeger	Senior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1996-01-02	Coeur d'Alene, Idaho	Wichita Falls Wildcats (NAHL)	—
27	Jensen Zerban	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1998-11-13	Elk River, Minnesota	Jamestown Rebels (NAHL)	—
28	Brady Tomlak	Senior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1996-05-14	Oakland, Michigan	Springfield Jr. Blues (NAHL)	—
29	Shawn Knowlton	Junior	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	1996-08-14	Slingerlands, New York	Aberdeen Wings (NAHL)	—
30	Erik Anderson	Junior	G	5' 11" (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1996-06-10	Chanhassen, Minnesota	Pikes Peak (RMJHL)	—
31	Zach LaRocque	Junior	G	6' 2" (1.88 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1997-01-26	Arvada, Colorado	Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL)	—
33	Alex Schilling	Sophomore	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1997-12-23	Medina, Minnesota	Austin Bruins (NAHL)	—
37	Mitch Walinski	Freshman	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	1998-07-10	Lincoln, Rhode Island	Corpus Christi IceRays (NAHL)	—
41	Austin Park	Freshman	G	5' 11" (1.8 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1998-06-05	Highlands Ranch, Colorado	Wenatchee Wild (BCHL)	—
47	Dalton Weigel	Freshman	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-12-30	Bloomington, Minnesota	Aberdeen Wings (NAHL)	—
74	Zack Mirageas	Junior	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1997-07-15	Newburyport, Massachusetts	Bloomington Thunder (USHL)	—
88	Kieran Durgan	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1997-08-20	St. Johns, Michigan	Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)	—

Standings[edit]

2019–20 Atlantic Hockey Standings v t e
	Conference record								Overall record
	GP	W	L	T	3/SW	PTS	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#20 American International	28	21	6	1	0	64	96	46	34	21	12	1	103	68
Sacred Heart	28	18	8	2	0	56	104	63	34	21	10	3	127	82
RIT	28	15	9	4	1	50	86	73	36	19	13	4	108	98
Army	28	14	11	3	3	48	70	64	33	17	13	3	82	76
Niagara	28	12	12	4	2	42	64	65	34	12	18	4	72	87
Air Force	28	10	12	6	5	41	60	67	34	10	18	6	70	95
Robert Morris	28	11	12	5	3	41	65	65	34	11	18	5	75	90
Bentley	28	13	13	2	0	41	75	80	34	15	16	3	83	94
Canisius	28	9	13	6	3	36	71	83	34	10	18	6	80	109
Holy Cross	28	9	16	3	2	32	67	83	34	10	19	5	80	99
Mercyhurst	28	3	23	2	0	11	49	118	34	5	27	2	64	141
Championship: March 20, 2020 † indicates conference regular season champion; * indicates conference tournament champion Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated March 1, 2020

Schedule and results[edit]

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Site	TV	Decision	Result	Attendance	Record
Exhibition
October 6	5:05 PM	vs. Trinity Western*	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado		LaRocque	W 8–0	1,506
Regular Season
October 11	5:10 PM	at #8 Notre Dame*	Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana	NBCSN	LaRocque	L 3–4	4,977	0–1–0
October 13	1:05 PM	vs. #8 Notre Dame*	Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana	NHL Network	LaRocque	L 1–6	3,506	0–2–0
October 18	7:05 PM	vs. Arizona State*	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado		LaRocque	L 0–3	2,028	0–3–0
October 19	7:05 PM	vs. Arizona State*	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado		LaRocque	L 2–5	1,966	0–4–0
October 24	7:05 PM	vs. RIT	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado		LaRocque	L 1–2	1,722	0–5–0 (0–1–0)
October 25	7:05 PM	vs. RIT	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado		LaRocque	L 0–1	1,736	0–6–0 (0–2–0)
November 1	4:05 PM	at Sacred Heart	Webster Bank Arena • Bridgeport, Connecticut		LaRocque	L 1–7	272	0–7–0 (0–3–0)
November 2	11:04 AM	at Sacred Heart	Webster Bank Arena • Bridgeport, Connecticut		Schilling	W 4–3	271	1–7–0 (1–3–0)
November 8	7:05 PM	vs. Bentley	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado		Schilling	W 4–2	1,921	2–7–0 (2–3–0)
November 9	7:05 PM	vs. Bentley	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado		Schilling	W 3–2	1,711	3–7–0 (3–3–0)
November 22	5:05 PM	at Robert Morris	Colonials Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania		Schilling	W 2–0	686	4–7–0 (4–3–0)
November 23	5:05 PM	at Robert Morris	Colonials Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania		Schilling	T 1–1 ^{3x3 OTW}	824	4–7–1 (4–3–1–1)
November 29	5:05 PM	at Niagara	Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York		Schilling	L 3–4 ^OT	639	4–8–1 (4–4–1–1)
November 30	5:05 PM	vs. Niagara	Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York		Schilling	T 1–1 ^{3x3 OTW}	200	4–8–2 (4–4–2–2)
December 6	7:05 PM	vs. Holy Cross	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado		Schilling	W 7–2	1,902	5–8–2 (5–4–2–2)
December 7	5:05 PM	vs. Holy Cross	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado		Schilling	T 3–3 ^SOW	1,608	5–8–3 (5–4–3–3)
January 3	7:05 PM	vs. American International	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado		Schilling	W 4–1	1,779	6–8–3 (6–4–3–3)
January 4	5:05 PM	vs. American International	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado		Schilling	L 1–5	1,704	6–9–3 (6–5–3–3)
January 10	5:05 PM	at Army	Tate Rink • West Point, New York		Schilling	T 3–3 ^SOL	2,658	6–9–4 (6–5–4–3)
January 11	5:05 PM	at Army	Tate Rink • West Point, New York		Schilling	L 2–5	2,668	6–10–4 (6–6–4–3)
January 17	7:05 PM	vs. Niagara	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado		Schilling	W 4–3	1,916	7–10–4 (7–6–4–3)
January 18	5:05 PM	vs. Niagara	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado		Schilling	W 2–1	1,912	8–10–4 (8–6–4–3)
January 24	5:05 PM	at Holy Cross	Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts		Schilling	L 1–3	900	8–11–4 (8–7–4–3)
January 25	5:05 PM	at Holy Cross	Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts		Schilling	L 1–2	844	8–12–4 (8–8–4–3)
January 31	7:05 PM	at #20 Sacred Heart	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado		Schilling	L 4–5 ^OT	1,759	8–13–4 (8–9–4–3)
February 1	5:05 PM	at #20 Sacred Heart	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado		Schilling	L 2–5	1,981	8–14–4 (8–10–4–3)
February 7	5:35 PM	at Canisius	LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York		Schilling	T 3–3 ^SOW	511	8–14–5 (8–10–5–4)
February 8	2:05 PM	at Canisius	LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York		Schilling	L 0–1	1,108	8–15–5 (8–11–5–4)
February 14	7:37 PM	at Colorado College*	Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Battle for Pikes Peak)		Schilling	L 2–6	4,355	8–16–5 (8–11–5–4)
February 17	5:05 PM	vs. Colorado College*	Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, Colorado		Schilling	L 2–4	7,178	8–17–5 (8–11–5–4)
February 21	7:05 PM	vs. Mercyhurst	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado		Schilling	T 1–1 ^{3x3 OTW}	1,713	8–17–6 (8–11–6–5)
February 22	5:05 PM	vs. Mercyhurst	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado		Schilling	W 2–1	1,931	9–17–6 (9–11–6–5)
February 28	5:05 PM	at RIT	Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York		Schilling	W 3–0	2,070	10–17–6 (10–11–6–5)
February 29	5:05 PM	at RIT	Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York		Schilling	L 3–5	3,348	10–18–6 (10–12–6–5)
Atlantic Hockey Tournament
March 6	7:05 PM	vs. Mercyhurst*	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Atlantic Hockey First Round game 1)		Schilling	W 3–1	1,208	11–18–6 (10–12–6–5)
March 7	7:05 PM	vs. Mercyhurst*	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Atlantic Hockey First Round game 2)		Schilling	W 5–1	1,191	12–18–6 (10–12–6–5)
Air Force Won Series 2–0
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Mountain Time.

^[4]

Scoring Statistics[edit]

Name	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	PIM
Brady Tomlak	F	35	9	17	26	37
Zachary Mirageas	D	36	3	20	23	41
Brandon Koch	D	35	6	13	19	12
Marshall Bowery	F	31	10	6	16	6
Trevor Stone	C/LW	36	4	12	16	27
Matt Pulver	F	34	7	8	15	14
Kieran Durgan	F	24	6	7	13	4
Jacob Levin	D	36	3	10	13	20
Max Harper	F	36	9	3	12	6
Luke Manning	C	35	8	4	12	12
Willie Reim	F	32	6	6	12	18
Alex Mehnert	D	36	1	11	12	34
Blake Bride	RW	33	4	3	7	10
Luke Rowe	D	22	2	5	7	27
Shawn Knowlton	F	24	1	6	7	2
Ty Pochipinski	F	36	1	6	7	10
Carter Ekberg	D	21	1	3	4	14
Andrew Kruse	D	18	1	2	3	10
Bennett Norlin	RW	14	1	1	2	2
Pierce Plummer	LW	30	1	1	2	10
Dalton Weigel	D	16	0	2	2	6
Alex Schilling	G	31	0	1	1	0
Joe Tyran	D	33	0	1	1	0
Erich Jager	F	8	0	0	0	4
Zach LaRocque	G	9	0	0	0	0
Keenan Lund	F	23	0	0	0	4
Total

^[5]

Goaltending statistics[edit]

Name	Games	Minutes	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals Against	Saves	Shut Outs	SV %	GAA
Alex Schilling	31	1734	12	11	6	69	646	2	.903	2.39
Zach LaRocque	9	433	0	7	0	25	139	0	.848	3.46
Empty Net	-	26	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-
Total	36	2194	12	18	6	102	785	2	.885	2.79

Rankings[edit]

Poll	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23 (Final)
USCHO.com	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR
USA Today	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR

^[6]

Awards and honors[edit]

Atlantic Hockey[edit]

Honor	Player	Position
Best Defensive Forward	Brady Tomlak	Forward	^[7]
All-Atlantic Hockey Third Team	Brandon Koch	Defenseman	^[8]
All-Atlantic Hockey Rookie Team	Brandon Koch	Defenseman	^[9]

References[edit]

^ "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships due to coronavirus concerns". NCAA.com. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
^ "Remainder of 2020 Atlantic Hockey Tournament Cancelled". atlantichockeyonline.com. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
^ "2019–20 Ice Hockey Roster". U.S. Air Force Academy Athletics. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
^ "Air Force Falcons (Men) 2019-2020 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
^ "Air Force Academy 2019-2020 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
^ "Atlantic Hockey Announces Major Award Winners for 2019-20 Season". atlantichockeyonline.com. March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
^ "Atlantic Hockey All-Conference Teams Announced". atlantichockeyonline.com. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
^ "Atlantic Hockey Announces 2019-20 All-Rookie Team". atlantichockeyonline.com. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.

[1] "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships due to coronavirus concerns". NCAA.com. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.

[2] "Remainder of 2020 Atlantic Hockey Tournament Cancelled". atlantichockeyonline.com. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.

[3] "2019–20 Ice Hockey Roster". U.S. Air Force Academy Athletics. Retrieved October 20, 2012.

[4] "Air Force Falcons (Men) 2019-2020 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved December 5, 2019.

[5] "Air Force Academy 2019-2020 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 2, 2020.

[6] "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved December 6, 2019.

[7] "Atlantic Hockey Announces Major Award Winners for 2019-20 Season". atlantichockeyonline.com. March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.

[8] "Atlantic Hockey All-Conference Teams Announced". atlantichockeyonline.com. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.

[9] "Atlantic Hockey Announces 2019-20 All-Rookie Team". atlantichockeyonline.com. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.

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v t e Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey
Playing venues	Cadet Ice Arena (1968–present)
Head coaches	Vic Heyliger (1968–74) John Matchefts (1974–85) Chuck Delich (1985–97) Frank Serratore (1997–present)
Seasons	1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
Conference affiliations	Independent (1968–99) College Hockey America (1999–2006) Atlantic Hockey (2006–present)
Rivalries	Army Black Knights Colorado College Tigers Battle for Pikes Peak
All-time leaders	Chuck Delich (279 Points) Chuck Delich (156 Goals) Andrew Volkening (69 Wins)
NCAA Tournament appearances	2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2017 2018
Conference Tournament titles	Atlantic Hockey: 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2017 2018
United States Air Force Academy Colorado Springs, CO