The Falcons have a bye week, but senior forward Tyler Rostenkowski was at game speed when he spoke to The Flight Path for our latest installment of One-Timers.

What is your favorite Halloween costume?

When I was a kid I went as Buzz Lightyear three years in a row.  I don’t know if I couldn’t get enough of it, but I’d like to think I crushed the costume. Last year I went as Ash Ketchum from Pokeman. My mom hand made my costume, shipped it out and it was pretty unbelievable. I’m tempted to go with him again with the Pokeman craze now.

What is the breakfast of champions?

A multiple-egg omelet with sausage, onions, mushrooms and cheese. I’m a big egg guy. I also like my waffles with peanut butter and syrup. Breakfast is my favorite meal. I could eat it for all three meals.

That’s why I ask everyone that, because it’s mine, too. Moving on to almost as important of matters. We have an election coming up, and which Falcon would get your vote to be President?

If there could be a campaign ticket with Dylan Abood and Kyle Haak I think that would get everybody’s vote. Two amazing guys who must never sleep because they always get so much done. They’re just extremely personable people that care so much about others. If there’s two people that could lead a nation it would be those two.

What did you do over the summer?

When you’re a senior you get more of a leadership role. First period I was working summer seminar logistics. Summer seminar is when they bring prospective cadets in to get a week’s taste of the academy through basic and what the academy has to offer through academics and athletics. I was getting them to the airport, getting food for them, behind the scenes making sure things worked for the group and that they had the opportunity.

Then I went home on leave and saw my family, my girlfriend and some close friends and just relaxed for three weeks.

Then I worked for basic training in the athletic department, running intramurals, making sure those things ran smoothly, and (supervised) some training. I also helped serving food. It was a great opportunity to improve your leadership. It takes a big group of people to run a huge program like basic training. You see the inner workings of that. It was interesting be on the opposite side of that and contribute to making it run smoothly.

What would you like to do next?

I’m putting in for financial management and contracting. I’m very grateful to be at the academy so I’m not too worried whatever job they give me. Outside of the academy I’d like to put my economics degree to work in finance and maybe run for political office when I’m older.

So you could have Dylan as your running mate?

Yes, then we’d win.

Are you particular about any of your gear?

I always go left to right, and I use an abnormal amount of clear tape, which the guys give me a bunch of crap for. I just do it in such a way that it’s not overly tight. Nothing too crazy, I don’t like to be too superstitious. I like to rest my sticks so the heel and the blade don’t touch the ground before they touch the ice.

Is there a team comedian?

Leds (Tyler Ledford) is pretty funny. He’s just very quick witted, not a knock-knock, ha-ha guy. His wit is pretty sharp.

Are you a music guy?

Not massively, but I do like it. Dave Matthews Band is my favorite artist. I’ve seen them in concert 10 times.

Did you have a favorite hockey player growing up?

When I first started out it was Brendan Shanahan. When I was in house league I was on the Red Wings, which is crazy being from Chicago now I absolutely hate the Red Wings. I was just a little kid and they gave me 14. I found out who was 14 on the Red Wings and became a fan of Brendan Shanahan. Just so happened he was extremely good. When I got older and went to Culver Military Academy, John-Michael Liles probably became my favorite player because he’s a Midwest guy. I got know him pretty well, I met his family, he went to Culver and he’s a college guy who’s playing professionally. He was always an awesome role model for me. Now that I’ve switched up positions I don’t know really know who it is.

Did you play sports other than hockey growing up?

I was a big football player. I also played baseball, volleyball, basketball, ran track and field so I was pretty much doing anything I could get my hands on. I had great friends playing all those sports. My freshman year of high school I played football and I tore my ACL and after that I gave up all my sports and just focused on hockey.

Is there one thing about Coach Serratore we don’t know but we should?

Frank’s a big salad eater. He loves his salads. You know he’s got good one-liners, but you probably have figured that out. He’s been around for a while and I can’t imagine he’s changed. He’s extremely fair. He’ll tell you how it is – you might not want to hear it, but he knows what he’s talking about. He sees the game for how pure of a sport it is. Obviously the game has changed a lot since he started coaching and he hasn’t missed a beat.

Look for more One-Timers soon!

@AFAFlightPath