2020–21 Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey season

2020–21 Air Force Falcons
men's ice hockey season
2020–21 Air Force Falcons; men's ice hockey season
Conference	Atlantic Hockey
Home ice	Cadet Ice Arena
Rankings
USCHO.com	NR
USA Today	NR
Record
Overall	3–10–1
Conference	3–10–1–2–1–0
Home	2–2–0
Road	1–7–1
Neutral	0–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Frank Serratore
Assistant coaches	Andy Berg; Joe Doyle
Captain(s)	Jake Levin; Zack Mirageas
Alternate captain(s)	Shawn Knowlton; Alex Mehnert
	Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey seasons; « 2019–20 2021–22 »

The 2020–21 Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey season was the 53rd season of play for the program and the 15th season in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Falcons represented the United States Air Force Academy and were coached by Frank Serratore, in his 24th season.

The start of the college hockey season was delayed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. As a result, Air Force's first scheduled game was in late-November as opposed to early-October, which was the norm.

Season

As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the entire college ice hockey season was delayed. Because the NCAA had previously announced that all winter sports athletes would retain whatever eligibility they possessed through at least the following year, none of Air Force's players would lose a season of play.^[1] However, the NCAA also approved a change in its transfer regulations that would allow players to transfer and play immediately rather than having to sit out a season, as the rules previously required.^[2]

Air Force was consistently ranked as one of the worst teams for most of the season. The Falcon's went winless in their first 10 matches and their offense was particularly weak, averaging less than 2 goals per game in those matches. Near the end of the season Air Force's offense finally was able to cobble together a collection of goals that gave the team a three-game winning streak. They entered the Atlantic Hockey Tournament hoping to continue their run, unfortunately, Bentley ended the Falcons' year with a 3–7 loss.

Luke Rowe sat out the season.

Departures

Player	Position	Nationality	Cause
Kieran Durgan	Forward	United States	Left program
Carter Ekberg	Defenseman	United States	Transferred to Long Island
Erich Jaeger	Forward	United States	Graduation
Keegan Mantaro	Forward	United States	Left program
Luke Manning	Forward	United States	Transferred to St. Thomas
Pierce Pluemer	Forward	United States	Graduation
Matt Pulver	Forward	United States	Graduation
Trevor Stone	Forward	United States	Graduation
Brady Tomlak	Forward	United States	Graduation (Signed with Wheeling Nailers)
Joe Tyran	Defenseman	United States	Graduation
Jensen Zerban	Forward	United States	Left program

Recruiting

Player	Position	Nationality	Age	Notes
Brian Adams	Forward	United States	20	San Ramon, CA
Maiszon Balboa	Goaltender	United States	20	Colorado Springs, CO
Sam Brennan	Defenseman	United States	20	Brighton, MA
Parker Brown	Forward	United States	20	Hanahan, SC
Thomas Daskas	Forward	United States	21	Rochester Hills, MN
Billy Duma	Forward	United States	22	Plymouth, MN; had already completed two years of classes
Will Gavin	Forward	United States	20	Durham, CT
Nate Horn	Forward	United States	21	Elk River, MN
Noah Kim	Defenseman	United States	20	Fullerton, CA
Jacob Marti	Forward	United States	21	Highlands Ranch, CO
Luke Robinson	Defenseman	United States	21	Dublin, CA

Roster

As of August 31, 2020.^[3]

No.	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
2	Andrew Kruse	Sophomore	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1998-12-06	Delano, Minnesota	Minnesota Magicians (NAHL)	—
3	Jake Levin (C)	Senior	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1997-02-03	Mequon, Wisconsin	Odessa (NAHL)	—
4	Luke Rowe	Sophomore	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1998-08-08	Succasunna, New Jersey	Boston Jr. Bruins (NCDC)	—
6	Alex Mehnert (A)	Senior	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1997-06-15	Moorhead, Minnesota	Omaha (USHL)	—
7	Brian Adams	Freshman	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1999-12-07	San Ramon, California	Wenatchee (BCHL)	—
8	Marshall Bowery	Senior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1996-11-17	Rochester Hills, Michigan	Topeka (NAHL)	—
10	Billy Duma	Junior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1997-11-17	Wayzata, Minnesota	Amarillo (NAHL)	—
11	Max Harper	Senior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1996-09-29	Rochester Hills, Michigan	Topeka (NAHL)	—
12	Blake Bride	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1998-04-22	Broomfield, Colorado	Sioux Falls (USHL)	—
13	Keenan Lund	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1998-08-03	Sartell, Minnesota	Minot (NAHL)	—
14	Jacob Marti	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-06-10	Highlands Ranch, Colorado	Bismarck (NAHL)	—
15	Bennett Norlin	Sophomore	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1998-10-26	Farmington, Minnesota	West Kelowna (BCHL)	—
16	Sam Brennan	Freshman	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	2000-01-16	Brighton, Michigan	Lone Star (NAHL)	—
17	Parker Brown	Freshman	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	1999-09-08	Hanahan, South Carolina	Fairbanks (NAHL)	—
18	Ty Pochipinski	Junior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1998-06-05	Colorado Springs, Colorado	Penticton (BCHL)	—
19	Luke Manning	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1999-04-13	Stillwater, Minnesota	Des Moines (USHL)	—
20	Brandon Koch	Sophomore	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-01-18	Hastings, Minnesota	Wenatchee (BCHL)	—
23	Willie Reim	Sophomore	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1999-01-11	North Oaks, Minnesota	West Kelowna (BCHL)	—
24	Nate Horn	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	1999-03-02	Elk River, Minnesota	Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)	—
26	Noah Kim	Freshman	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2000-05-09	Fullerton, California	Okotoks (AJHL)	—
27	Luke Robinson	Freshman	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	2000-02-16	Nashville, Tennessee	Dubuque (USHL)	—
29	Shawn Knowlton (A)	Senior	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	1996-08-14	Slingerlands, New York	Aberdeen (NAHL)	—
30	Erik Anderson	Senior	G	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1996-06-10	Chanhassen, Minnesota	Pikes Peak (RMJHL)	—
31	Zach LaRocque	Senior	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1997-01-26	Arvada, Colorado	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	—
33	Alex Schilling	Junior	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1997-12-23	Medina, Minnesota	Austin (NAHL)	—
34	Thomas Daskas	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1999-09-03	Rochester, Michigan	Lone Star (NAHL)	—
37	Will Gavin	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-10-21	Durham, Connecticut	Northern (NCDC)	—
41	Austin Park	Sophomore	G	5' 11" (1.8 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1998-06-05	Highlands Ranch, Colorado	Wenatchee (BCHL)	—
47	Dalton Weigel	Sophomore	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1999-12-30	Bloomington, Minnesota	Aberdeen (NAHL)	—
51	Maiszon Balboa	Freshman	G	6' 2" (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2000-04-18	Colorado Springs, Colorado	Shreveport (NAHL)	—
74	Zack Mirageas (C)	Senior	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1997-07-15	Newburyport, Massachusetts	Bloomington (USHL)	—

Standings

2020–21 Atlantic Hockey Standings v t e
	Conference record											Overall record
	GP	W	L	T	OW	OL	SW	PTS	PT%	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#15 American International †*	12	11	1	0	1	0	0	32	.889	47	18	19	15	4	0	67	40
Army	15	10	4	1	3	1	1	30	.667	42	33	22	15	6	1	71	48
Robert Morris	15	10	5	0	2	1	0	29	.644	58	48	24	15	9	0	85	69
Canisius	13	8	5	0	1	1	0	24	.615	42	34	17	11	6	0	59	46
RIT	13	7	5	1	0	0	1	23	.590	43	40	20	9	9	2	68	70
Sacred Heart	13	6	6	1	1	2	0	20	.513	35	38	18	6	10	2	43	59
Mercyhurst	16	7	8	1	1	1	1	23	.479	54	50	21	8	12	1	64	67
Bentley	15	4	11	0	1	5	0	16	.356	35	48	16	5	11	0	42	51
Niagara	15	3	9	3	0	2	1	15	.333	39	53	22	7	12	3	57	70
Air Force	13	3	9	1	2	1	0	9	.231	32	49	14	3	10	1	35	56
Holy Cross	12	3	9	0	2	0	0	7	.194	22	38	16	4	12	0	30	52
Championship: March 20, 2021 † 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
Regular Season
November 27	1:00 PM	at American International	MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts	Schilling	L 1–3	0	0–1–0 (0–1–0)
November 28	1:00 PM	at American International	MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts	Schilling	L 1–2	0	0–2–0 (0–2–0)
December 4	7:05 PM	vs. Robert Morris	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	Schilling	L 1–4	0	0–3–0 (0–3–0)
December 5	4:05 PM	vs. Robert Morris	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	Schilling	L 2–4	0	0–4–0 (0–4–0)
December 12	5:05 PM	vs. USNTDP*	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Exhibition)	LaRocque	T 4–4 ^SOL	0
December 13	5:05 PM	vs. USNTDP*	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Exhibition)	Schilling	L 1–3	0
January 3	3:00 PM	at Niagara	Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York	Schilling	L 2–7	0	0–5–0 (0–5–0)
January 4	3:05 PM	at Niagara	Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York	LaRocque	T 1–1 ^SOL	0	0–5–1 (0–5–1)
January 4	3:05 PM	vs. Sacred Heart	Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York	LaRocque	L 3–4 ^OT	0	0–6–1 (0–6–1)
January 8	3:00 PM	at Mercyhurst	Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania	LaRocque	L 2–5	0	0–7–1 (0–7–1)
January 9	1:00 PM	at Mercyhurst	Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania	Schilling	L 3–6	0	0–8–1 (0–8–1)
January 31	3:05 PM	at Bentley	Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts	Schilling	L 3–6	0	0–9–1 (0–9–1)
February 1	1:05 PM	at Bentley	Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts	Schilling	W 4–3 ^OT	0	1–9–1 (1–9–1)
February 19	7:05 PM	vs. Canisius	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	Schilling	W 4–3 ^OT	100	2–9–1 (2–9–1)
February 20	5:00 PM	vs. Canisius	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	LaRocque	W 5–1	100	3–9–1 (3–9–1)
Atlantic Hockey Tournament
March 9	3:05 PM	at Bentley*	Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts (First Round)	LaRocque	L 3–7	0	3–10–1
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Mountain Time.

^[4]

Scoring statistics

Name	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	PIM
Willie Reim	F	14	6	6	12	10
Brandon Koch	D	14	3	6	9	6
Will Gavin	F	14	3	5	8	2
Shawn Knowlton	F	10	4	3	7	19
Max Harper	F	14	4	3	7	0
Nate Horn	F	14	3	4	7	2
Thomas Daskas	F	14	3	4	7	12
Jacob Levin	D	12	2	5	7	6
Blake Bride	RW	14	2	3	5	12
Bennett Norlin	F	13	0	5	5	0
Brian Adams	F	12	1	3	4	8
Ty Pochipinski	F	14	2	1	3	6
Luke Robinson	D	14	0	3	3	8
Zack Mirageas	D	13	1	1	2	38
Keenan Lund	F	4	0	2	2	0
Marshall Bowery	F	14	0	2	2	12
Jake Marti	F	11	1	0	1	18
Alex Mehnert	D	14	0	1	1	4
Dalton Weigel	D	14	0	1	1	0
Erik Anderson	G	1	0	0	0	0
Noah Kim	D	2	0	0	0	0
Billy Duma	F	2	0	0	0	2
Andrew Kruse	D	5	0	0	0	0
Zack LaRocque	G	8	0	0	0	0
Alex Schilling	G	10	0	0	0	2
Sam Brennan	D	13	0	0	0	2
Bench	D	14	0	0	0	2
Total			35	58	93	171

^[5]

Goaltending statistics

Name	Games	Minutes	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals Against	Saves	Shut Outs	SV %	GAA
Erik Anderson	1	2:47	0	0	0	0	1	0	1.000	0.00
Zach LaRocque	8	380	1	3	1	18	153	0	.895	2.84
Alex Schilling	10	458	2	7	0	33	183	0	.847	4.32
Empty Net	-	13	-	-	-	5	-	-	-	-
Total	14	855	3	10	1	56	337	0	.858	3.93

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 (Final)
USCHO.com	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

USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.^[6]

Awards and honors

Player	Award	Ref
Zach LaRocque	Atlantic Hockey Second Team	^[7]

References

^ "NCAA approves blanket waiver for 2020 fall sports athletes to retain year of eligibility". CBS Sports. August 21, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
^ "DI Council grants waiver to allow transfer student-athletes to compete immediately". NCAA. December 16, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
^ "2020–21 Ice Hockey Roster". U.S. Air Force Academy Athletics. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
^ "Air Force Falcons (Men) 2020-2021 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
^ "Air Force Academy 2020-2021 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
^ "Atlantic Hockey Announces All-Conference and All-Rookie Winners". Atlantic Hockey. March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.

[1] "NCAA approves blanket waiver for 2020 fall sports athletes to retain year of eligibility". CBS Sports. August 21, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.

[2] "DI Council grants waiver to allow transfer student-athletes to compete immediately". NCAA. December 16, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.

[3] "2020–21 Ice Hockey Roster". U.S. Air Force Academy Athletics. Retrieved October 20, 2012.

[4] "Air Force Falcons (Men) 2020-2021 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved December 5, 2019.

[5] "Air Force Academy 2020-2021 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 2, 2020.

[6] "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.

[AHA2-7] "Atlantic Hockey Announces All-Conference and All-Rookie Winners". Atlantic Hockey. March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.

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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