2018–19 Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey season
College ice hockey team season
The 2018–19 Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey season was the 51st season of play for the program and the 13th season in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Falcons represented the United States Air Force Academy and were coached by Frank Serratore , in his 22nd season.
Season
Coming off of two consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament , Air Force was attempting to live up to very lofty expectations, particularly for an Atlantic Hockey team. Unfortunately, the team got off to a poor start and began the season 1–4. The Falcons recovered afterwards and righted the ship with a five-game winning streak, placing them near the top of the conference standings. A sweep at the hands of American International in mid-November put them behind the 8-ball at least in terms of a league championship, but a good showing against Bemidji State and in the Ice Vegas Invitational gave the team hope for another NCAA appearance.
The second half of their season began similar to the first half and Air Force went through a stretch of five games without a win. They briefly bounced back against Robert Morris but then hovered around .500 for the remainder of the season. Entering the postseason, Air Force had no mathematic chance to make the 2019 NCAA tournament without winning their conference tournament . That glimmer of hope was quickly snuffed out when they were upset by Niagara in the quarterfinals.
After the season, Billy Christopoulos joined the select few graduates of the Air Force Academy to play professional hockey when he signed with the South Carolina Stingrays .[ 1]
Departures
Recruiting
Roster
No. S/P/C
Player
Class
Pos
Height
Weight
DoB
Hometown
Previous team
NHL rights
2
Tyler Jutting Freshman
D 6' 4" (1.93 m)
203 lb (92 kg)
1997-07-27
Mankato, Minnesota West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL —
3
Jake Levin Sophomore
D 6' 2" (1.88 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
1997-02-03
Mequon, Wisconsin Odessa Jackalopes (NAHL —
6
Alex Mehnert Sophomore
D 5' 11" (1.8 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
1997-06-15
Moorhead, Minnesota Omaha Lancers (USHL —
7
Matt Koch C Senior
D 6' 1" (1.85 m)
194 lb (88 kg)
1995-03-22
Hastings, Minnesota Wichita Falls Wildcats (NAHL —
8
Marshall Bowery Sophomore
F 5' 10" (1.78 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
1996-11-17
Rochester Hills, Michigan Topeka RoadRunners (NAHL —
9
Trevor Stone Junior
F 5' 9" (1.75 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
1996-06-03
Pleasant Plains, Illinois Springfield Jr. Blues (NAHL —
10
Keegan Mantaro Freshman
D 5' 9" (1.75 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
1998-12-03
Monument, Colorado Sioux City Musketeers (USHL —
11
Max Harper Sophomore
F 6' 3" (1.91 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
1996-09-29
Rochester Hills, Michigan Topeka RoadRunners (NAHL —
12
Matt Serratore C Senior
F 5' 9" (1.75 m)
165 lb (75 kg)
1994-06-21
Bemidji, Minnesota Penticton Vees (BCHL —
15
Evan Giesler C Senior
F 6' 0" (1.83 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
1994-02-19
Naperville, Illinois Bismarck Bobcats (BCHL —
16
Kyle Haak Senior
F 6' 0" (1.83 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
1994-08-06
Okemos, Michigan Aberdeen Wings (NAHL —
17
Joe Tyran Junior
D 6' 0" (1.83 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
1996-03-07
Chattaroy, Washington Bismarck Bobcats (NAHL —
18
Evan Feno Senior
F 5' 9" (1.75 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
1995-02-14
Morrison, Colorado Janesville Jets (NAHL —
20
Dan Bailey Senior
D 6' 1" (1.85 m)
174 lb (79 kg)
1996-03-21
St. Cloud, Minnesota Wenatchee Wild (NAHL —
21
Matt Pulver Junior
F 5' 11" (1.8 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
1997-06-05
Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin Aberdeen Wings (NAHL —
22
Pierce Pluemer Junior
F 6' 4" (1.93 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
1996-01-07
Phillips, Wisconsin Odessa Jackalopes (NAHL —
25
Carter Ekberg Freshman
F 6' 2" (1.88 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
1997-05-14
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Janesville Jets (NAHL —
26
Erich Jaeger Junior
F 6' 2" (1.88 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
1996-01-02
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Wichita Falls Wildcats (NAHL —
27
Jensen Zerban Freshman
F 5' 11" (1.8 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
1998-11-13
Elk River, Minnesota Jamestown Rebels (NAHL —
28
Brady Tomlak Junior
F 6' 2" (1.88 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
1996-05-14
Oakland, Michigan Springfield Jr. Blues (NAHL —
29
Shawn Knowlton Sophomore
F 5' 8" (1.73 m)
165 lb (75 kg)
1996-08-14
Slingerlands, New York Aberdeen Wings (NAHL —
30
Erik Anderson Sophomore
G 5' 11" (1.8 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
1996-06-10
Chanhassen, Minnesota Pikes Peak (RMJHL
—
31
Zach LaRocque Sophomore
G 6' 2" (1.88 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
1997-01-26
Arvada, Colorado Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL —
33
Alex Schilling Freshman
G 6' 1" (1.85 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
1997-12-23
Medina, Minnesota Austin Bruins (NAHL —
42
Walker Sommer Sophomore
F 5' 9" (1.75 m)
174 lb (79 kg)
1996-04-29
Avon, Ohio New Jersey Hitmen (USPHL —
44
Billy Christopoulos Senior
G 6' 2" (1.88 m)
194 lb (88 kg)
1994-02-01
Raleigh, North Carolina Alberni Valley Bulldogs (BCHL —
74
Zack Mirageas Sophomore
D 5' 9" (1.75 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
1997-07-15
Newburyport, Massachusetts Bloomington Thunder (USHL —
88
Kieran Durgan Freshman
F 6' 1" (1.85 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
1997-08-20
St. Johns, Michigan Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL —
Source:[ 2]
Standings
Conference record
Overall record
GP
W
L
T
PTS
GF
GA
GP
W
L
T
GF
GA
#16 American International †*
28
18
9
1
37 102
77
41
23
17
1
129
119
Bentley 28
15
9
4
34 94
75
37
17
15
5
113
98
Air Force 28
14
10
4
32 65
63
36
16
15
5
90
92
Sacred Heart 28
14
11
3
31 85
73
37
16
17
4
107
106
RIT 28
13
11
4
30 81
76
38
17
17
4
113
111
Niagara 28
11
12
5
27 94
96
41
17
19
5
127
140
Mercyhurst 28
11
13
4
26 88
94
38
13
20
5
113
134
Robert Morris 28
11
15
2
24 72
78
40
16
22
2
102
127
Holy Cross 28
10
14
4
24 81
89
36
10
21
5
91
112
Army 28
8
13
7
23 71
82
39
12
20
7
94
117
Canisius 28
8
16
4
20 77
107
37
12
20
5
103
133
Championship : March 23, 2019† indicates conference regular season champion indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy ) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll
Schedule and results
Date
Time
Opponent#
Rank#
Site
TV
Decision
Result
Attendance
Record
Exhibition
October 7
5:05 p.m.
vs. Alberta *
Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Christopoulos
T 2–2 OT
1,625
Regular season
October 12
7:05 p.m.
vs. #10 Denver *
Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Christopoulos
L 1–4 2,386
0–1–0
October 13
7:07 p.m.
vs. Colorado College *
Broadmoor World Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Battle for Pikes Peak )
Christopoulos
L 1–6 4,327
0–2–0
October 19
5:35 p.m.
at Canisius
LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York
Christopoulos
W 7–3 1,110
1–2–0 (1–0–0)
October 20
5:35 p.m.
at Canisius
LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York
Christopoulos
L 0–2 1,371
1–3–0 (1–1–0)
October 25
7:05 p.m.
vs. Niagara
Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Christopoulos
L 0–5 1,326
1–4–0 (1–2–0)
October 26
7:05 p.m.
vs. Niagara
Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Christopoulos
W 2–1 1,754
2–4–0 (2–2–0)
November 2
5:05 p.m.
at Army
Tate Rink • West Point, New York
Christopoulos
W 4–2 2,473
3–4–0 (3–2–0)
November 3
6:05 p.m.
at Army
Tate Rink • West Point, New York
Christopoulos
W 4–2 2,317
4–4–0 (4–2–0)
November 9
7:05 p.m.
vs. Bentley
Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
LaRocque
W 4–2 1,833
5–4–0 (5–2–0)
November 10
7:35 p.m.
vs. Bentley
Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
LaRocque
W 4–1 1,742
6–4–0 (6–2–0)
November 16
12:05 p.m.
vs. American International
MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts
LaRocque
L 0–5 117
6–5–0 (6–3–0)
November 17
11:05 a.m.
vs. American International
MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts
LaRocque
L 0–4 378
6–6–0 (6–4–0)
November 30
5:05 p.m.
at RIT
Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York
Christopoulos
W 3–1 2,851
7–6–0 (7–4–0)
December 1
5:05 p.m.
at RIT
Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York
Christopoulos
W 3–0 2,231
8–6–0 (8–4–0)
December 7
7:35 p.m.
vs. Mercyhurst
Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Christopoulos
W 2–0 1,607
9–6–0 (9–4–0)
December 8
5:05 p.m.
vs. Mercyhurst
Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Christopoulos
L 1–4 1,848
9–7–0 (9–5–0)
December 29
7:05 p.m.
vs. Bemidji State *
Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Christopoulos
T 3–3 OT
2,231
9–7–1
December 30
5:05 p.m.
vs. Bemidji State *
Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Christopoulos
W 6–3 2,261
10–7–1
Ice Vegas Invitational
January 4
9:35 p.m.
vs. St. Lawrence *
T-Mobile Arena • Paradise, Nevada (Ice Vegas semifinal)
Christopoulos
W 7–1 1,727
11–7–1
January 5
9:35 p.m.
vs. #17 Western Michigan *
T-Mobile Arena • Paradise, Nevada (Ice Vegas championship)
Christopoulos
L 1–4 1,807
11–8–1
January 11
7:05 p.m.
vs. Army
Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Christopoulos
T 2–2 OT
2,716
11–8–2 (9–5–1)
January 12
5:05 p.m.
vs. Army
Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Christopoulos
T 2–2 OT
2,528
11–8–3 (9–5–2)
January 19
12:05 p.m.
at Sacred Heart
Webster Bank Arena • Bridgeport, Connecticut
Christopoulos
L 1–3 356
11–9–3 (9–6–2)
January 20
2:05 p.m.
vs. Sacred Heart
Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut
Christopoulos
T 2–2 OT
203
11–9–4 (9–6–3)
January 25
7:05 p.m.
vs. Robert Morris
Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Christopoulos
W 3–1 1,902
12–9–4 (10–6–3)
January 26
5:05 p.m.
vs. Robert Morris
Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Christopoulos
W 3–1 1,942
13–9–4 (11–6–3)
February 1
5:05 p.m.
at Bentley
Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts
Christopoulos
L 3–4 OT
1,320
13–10–4 (11–7–3)
February 2
5:05 p.m.
at Bentley
Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts
Christopoulos
L 0–4 1,351
13–11–4 (11–8–3)
February 15
7:05 p.m.
vs. Canisius
Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Christopoulos
W 3–0 2,142
14–11–4 (12–8–3)
February 16
5:05 p.m.
vs. Canisius
Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Christopoulos
L 0–3 2,053
14–12–4 (12–9–3)
February 22
5:05 p.m.
at Mercyhurst
Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania
Christopoulos
T 3–3 OT
1,338
14–12–5 (12–9–4)
February 23
5:05 p.m.
at Mercyhurst
Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania
Christopoulos
W 4–2 1,222
15–12–5 (13–9–4)
March 1
7:05 p.m.
vs. Holy Cross
Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Christopoulos
L 1–2 OT
1,809
15–13–5 (13–10–4)
March 2
5:05 p.m.
vs. Holy Cross
Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado
Christopoulos
W 4–2 1,655
16–13–5 (14–10–4)
Atlantic Hockey tournament
March 15
7:05 p.m.
vs. Niagara *
Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals game 1)
Christopoulos
L 2–3 OT
1,474
16–14–5
March 7
7:05 p.m.
vs. Niagara *
Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals game 2)
Christopoulos
L 4–5 1,621
16–15–5
Air Force lost series 0–2
*Non-conference game. # Rankings from USCHO.com Poll . All times are in Mountain Time . [ 3]
Scoring statistics
Name
Position
Games
Goals
Assists
Points
PIM
Matt Koch D 35
4
21
27 20
Kyle Haak F 35
12
11
23 20
Evan Fero F 32
11
11
22 13
Evan Giesler F 36
7
13
20 18
Kieran Durgan F 36
12
6
18 8
Brady Tomlak C 34
8
10
18 52
Zack Mirageas D 35
1
16
17 51
Walker Sommer C 35
9
5
14 12
Jake Levin D 36
1
12
13 8
Alex Mehnert D 36
1
11
12 24
Trevor Stone C /LW 34
9
2
11 20
Matt Pulver F 36
5
4
9 20
Joe Tyran D 26
3
4
7 8
Erich Jaeger F 26
1
5
6 24
Dan Bailey D 36
2
3
5 28
Marshall Bowery F 30
2
2
4 8
Pierce Pluemer LW 23
1
2
3 10
Carter Ekberg D 27
0
3
3 8
Matt Serratore F 3
1
1
2 4
Max Harper F 14
0
2
2 0
Shawn Knowlton F 28
0
2
2 8
Keegan Mantaro D 32
0
1
1 10
Zach LaRocque G 5
0
0
0 0
Jensen Zerban F 7
0
0
0 2
Tyler Jutting D 10
0
0
0 0
Billy Christopoulos G 32
0
0
0 0
Bench
-
-
-
-
-
12
Total
90
147
237
388
Source:[ 4]
Goaltending statistics
Name
Games
Minutes
Wins
Losses
Ties
Goals against
Saves
Shut-outs
SV % GAA
Billy Christopoulos 32
1926
14
13
5
72
766
3
.914
2.24
Zach LaRocque 5
251
2
2
0
13
78
0
.857
3.10
Empty Net
-
19
-
-
-
7
-
-
-
-
Total
36
2197
16
15
5
92
844
3
.902
2.51
Rankings
Poll
Week
Pre
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26 (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
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
NR
NR
NR
USCHO did not release a poll in Week 25.[ 5]
Awards and honors
References
^ "Bailey Signs PTO With AHL's Charlotte Checkers" . South Carolina Stingrays . November 12, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2022 .^ "2018-19 Men's Ice Hockey Roster" . U.S. Air Force Academy Athletics. Retrieved October 3, 2024 .^ "Air Force Falcons (Men) 2018-2019 Schedule and Results" . College Hockey Stats . Retrieved December 5, 2019 .^ "Air Force Academy 2018-2019 Skater Stats" . Elite Prospects . Retrieved March 2, 2020 .^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll" . USCHO.com . Retrieved December 6, 2019 .{{cite news }}: CS1 maint: url-status (link )^ "Air Force's Kyle Haak Wins 2018-19 Senior CLASS Award® for Men's Hockey | Senior CLASS Award" . seniorclassaward.com . April 12, 2019. Retrieved October 3, 2024 .^ "Regular Season Awards Handed Out at End-of-Year Reception" . atlantichockeyonline.com . March 21, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019 .[dead link ^ "All-Conference Teams Announced" . atlantichockeyonline.com . March 14, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019 .[dead link
Playing venues Head coaches Seasons Conference affiliations Rivalries All-time leaders NCAA Tournament appearances Conference Tournament titles
