2018–19 Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey season

2018–19 Air Force Falcons
men's ice hockey season
2018–19 Air Force Falcons; men's ice hockey season
Conference	3rd Atlantic Hockey
Home ice	Cadet Ice Arena
Rankings
USCHO.com	NR
USA Today	NR
Record
Overall	16–15–5
Conference	14–10–4
Home	9–7–3
Road	6–7–1
Neutral	1–1–1
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Frank Serratore
Assistant coaches	Andy Berg; Joe Doyle
Captain(s)	Matt Koch; Evan Giesler; Matt Serratore
	Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey seasons; « 2017–18 2019–20 »

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

Player	Position	Nationality	Cause
Dylan Abood	Defenseman	United States	Graduation (retired)
Erik Baskin	Forward	United States	Graduation (retired)
Phil Boje	Defenseman	United States	Graduation (retired)
Jordan Himley	Forward	United States	Graduation (retired)
Jonathan Kopacka	Defenseman	United States	Graduation (retired)
Ben Kucera	Forward	United States	Graduation (retired)
Tyler Ledford	Forward	United States	Graduation (retired)
Kyle Mackey	Defenseman	United States	Graduation (retired)
Isaac Theisen	Forward	United States	Left program
Will Ulrich	Goaltender	United States	Left program

Recruiting

Player	Position	Nationality	Age	Notes
Kieran Durgan	Forward	United States	21	St. Johns, MI
Carter Ekberg	Defenseman	United States	21	McMurray, PA
Tyler Jutting	Defenseman	United States	21	Mankato, MN
Keegan Mantaro	Defenseman	United States	20	Monument, CO
Alex Schilling	Goaltender	United States	21	Medina, MN
Jensen Zerban	Forward	United States	20	Elk River, MN

Roster

No.	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

2018–19 Atlantic Hockey Standings v t e
	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^#	Site	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. Source:^[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
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	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

Player	Award	Ref
Kyle Haak	Senior CLASS Award	^[6]
Billy Christopoulos	Atlantic Hockey Regular Season Goaltending Award	^[7]
Billy Christopoulos	Atlantic Hockey First Team	^[8]

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]}

[1] "Bailey Signs PTO With AHL's Charlotte Checkers". South Carolina Stingrays. November 12, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2022.

[2] "2018-19 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". U.S. Air Force Academy Athletics. Retrieved October 3, 2024.

[3] "Air Force Falcons (Men) 2018-2019 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved December 5, 2019.

[4] "Air Force Academy 2018-2019 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 2, 2020.

[5] "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved December 6, 2019.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

[6] "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.

[7] "Regular Season Awards Handed Out at End-of-Year Reception". atlantichockeyonline.com. March 21, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019.^{[dead link‍]}

[8] "All-Conference Teams Announced". atlantichockeyonline.com. March 14, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019.^{[dead link‍]}

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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 2024–25
Conference affiliations	Independent (1968–99) College Hockey America (1999–2006) Atlantic Hockey Association (2006–2024) Atlantic Hockey America (2024–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