The preferred method at Cadet Arena is to give freshmen time to adjust to challenges of military and college life, to say nothing of physically maturing more for the rigors of college hockey.

Air Force won’t have that luxury this season because the numbers alone – just 16 returning skaters, including a few who have battled injuries – dictate the Falcons will need at least three of its incoming 12 freshmen, and probably more, in their lineup every night.

“Just with our numbers alone up front, there’s no question some will have to play. It’s not how we like to do it, but we’ll be forced to do it this year,” coach Frank Serratore said. “Because of attrition we’re not as deep in upperclassmen as we’d like to be on the forward lines.”

The Falcons have graduated the two winningest classes in program history the past two years, and with them went plenty of production. After seeing 37 percent of its goal scoring and 40 percent of its point production graduate in 2018, Air Force saw 51 percent of its goal scoring and 46 percent of its point production exit this past spring. Compounding that is the graduation of goaltender Billy Christopoulos, only the program’s MVP the past two seasons, and you get a picture just how important this class of newcomers is to the Falcons’ season.

The Classes of 2018 and ’19 saw 15 players graduate, and the corresponding success of the program was no accident. That’s something to keep in mind with this group of 12.

“The size of the class is a function of a couple of things,” Falcons assistant coach Joe Doyle said. “We won big when we were deep and older, that’s always in the back of our heads.”

The experience needs to built, but the depth of the group – and really the Falcons’ entire roster rivals anything the program has had in the past couple of decades, Serratore said.

“We have the best competitive depth we’ve ever had,” he said. “On paper we do have some freshmen with pretty good resumes. When it’s all said and done, it’s going to be an outstanding class because of competitive depth, resumes and the number of them.”

Finding the Falcons everywhere

The Falcons went all over North American – literally – for this class. Five players developed in the British Columbia Junior Hockey League, four came from the North American Hockey League, two honed their games in the USHL and another in the NCDC. The BCHL is a more high-scoring league, while the NAHL typically mirrors the college game in terms of its physicality and skill mix. The USHL is the top Tier 1 league in the United States, and the NCDC is an emerging league in the East.

In addition, the Falcons recruited three players who wore letters for league champions (NAHL, NCDC and USHL).

“Having that experience of leading a team deep into the postseason is an attribute that shouldn’t be undersold,” Doyle said.

It’s an older freshman group, meaning the maturing process should be further along. Eight of the 12 are 1998 birth years, meaning they’re already 21 or about to turn that. The other four are 1999s. And three of the 12 are from Colorado.

What follows is The Flight Path’s analysis of the class – by position – with input from Doyle.

Goaltender

The situation: Christopoulos’ graduation leaves a massive void for now. But … Air Force always develops a good goalie. Sometimes it happens sooner than others, but someone always emerges.

Austin Park – The Highlands Ranch native is rich in playoff experience – having played in 36 postseason games over the past two seasons for Wenatchee (BCHL). A 1998, he played three years of junior, finishing with a 2.92 goals-against average and a .878 in a high-scoring league.

“He’s a bit of a wild card,” Doyle said. “He can come in and compete for playing time. He’s always been on winning teams, but he’s a bit undersized (5-foot-11) for the position.”

The fit: He’s one of four goalies on the roster, and it would seem junior Zach LaRocque and sophomore Alex Schilling are the leaders in the clubhouse to start, but it will be an open competition so anything is possible.

Defenseman

The situation: The Falcons lost every-situation mainstays Matt Koch and Dan Bailey to graduation and freshman Tyler Jutting had a medical issue that ended his playing days. So there are only five returning defensemen, but all five are solid bets to play most nights if healthy. “Zack Mirageas, Alex Mehnert and Jake Levin are three bonafide, every-situation Division I defensemen,” Doyle said. “Keegan Mantaro really started to emerge late in the season, and we like Carter Ekberg‘s upside.” The latter two, however, battled injuries at times.

The freshman group brings offensive ability, leadership and the tantalizing prospect of continued improvement.

• Brandon Koch – Matt’s younger brother boasts similar characteristics – excellent vision and offensive instincts. The 1999 had 44 points in the NAHL two seasons ago and 38 (eight goals) in 58 games (10th in the BCHL for defensemen) for Wenatchee.
  

  Andrew Kruse

• Andrew Kruse – A 1998, Kruse wore an A last season, when he scored 41 points in 50 games for Minnesota and finished sixth in scoring among NAHL defensemen. He improved by leaps and bounds after having 11 points a year earlier. He also captained his high school team.
• Luke Rowe – The 1998 captained Boston to the NCDC title and finished third in the league in scoring by a defenseman with 37 points (11 goals) in 50 games. He added six more points in the playoffs. Another player who improved dramatically from his previous season’s numbers (17 and five).
• Dalton Weigel – The 1999 wore an A for NAHL champion Aberdeen and his 45 points were third among NAHL defensemen. He added seven goals. Yet another defenseman whose production spiked in his final junior season, improving from 16 points and four goals in 2017-18.

“If these four are what we think they are, we will have one of our deepest D cores, if not the deepest,” Doyle said. “All four are point producers, all four were top-pair defensemen. The question is who can defend at the Division I level. That will be a big factor in who plays. But all of them can help us offensively.”

The fit: Expect the Falcons to dress seven defensemen every night, so two or three of this group could see quite a few games. The top three D are set, and it would be a surprise if Mantaro doesn’t play a bigger role this season. Mehnert and Levin are a terrific pair, but I could see a scenario where a freshman plays with either Ekberg or Mantaro and the other plays with Mirageas.

Forwards

The situation: No position has been hit with more massive losses the past two seasons than this group. Three of the top four scorers who departed each year were senior forwards. Adding to that, Walker Sommer and his nine goals and 14 points transferred after his sophomore year and landed at Atlantic Hockey rival Niagara. “We wish Walker well, he’s a great kid,” Doyle said. “But at the same time, we like the group we have.”

The biggest hole appears to be at center where Tyler Ledford, Kyle Haak and Evan Feno all are gone from the past two teams. Replacing wings Evan Giesler and Matt Serratore – two more every-situation horses – also won’t be easy. And a handful of the returning players have battled injuries nearly their entire time at the Academy. So while there are 11 returning forwards, it’s possible there will be three openings up front right off the bat.

It’s also a position group crying for offense, and the seven freshmen in this group all provided that to varying degrees in junior. The separating factor, Doyle said, will come down to playing a 200-foot game. “They’ll have to earn our trust in the D zone,” he said.

• Blake Bride – The Broomfield native captained Sioux Falls to the USHL’s Clark Cup and had a productive season in the process (34 points, 16 goals, then seven points in 12 playoff games). The 1998 played three years of junior, rising a tier each year from III to ILuke, and produced a point per game in the EHL and NAHL.
• Keenan Lund – Another player who worked his way up the junior ranks from the Tier III NA3HL to the NAHL the past two seasons. The 1998 were an A for Minot had 49 points (18 goals) in 54 games. His career trend has been once he adjust to a level he produces.
  

  Luke Manning

• Luke Manning – The 1999 has spent the past two years in the USHL and is one of the better puck distributors in this group. Still, he had 10 goals.
• Bennett Norlin – The 1998 brings size (6-2) and goal-scoring ability – 22 last season for West Kelowna of the BCHL and 33 as a high school junior at Shattuck-St. Mary’s Prep.
• Ty Pochipinski – The Colorado Springs native has an interesting backstory. He scored on his first NCAA shot last fall for Colorado College, but ultimately he only played four games for the Tigers and went back to Penticton in the BCHL for the rest of the season. It’s unknown how much eligibility he will have and when he’ll be eligible to play for the Falcons (unlikely to start the season), but when he suits up, he’ll help them. He’s a strong puck distributor and had 38 points in 58 games in his last full season of junior.
• Willie Reim – A West Kelowna teammate of Norlin’s, the 1999 is even taller (6-3) and also has a nose for the net. He had 24 goals and 58 points in 57 games last season after 13 and 27 during his first season of junior.
• Mitch Walinski – The 1998 demonstrated excellent perseverance in junior, playing for two teams each of the past three seasons, ending up with Corpus Christi of the NAHL. In the face of that, the 6-1 1998 was remarkable consistent, scoring 14, 27 and 19 goals and putting up 21, 47 and 33 points.

The fit: This group has a bit of everything – some good goal-scoring potential, some size and most skate well to very well. By virtue of need at center, you’d think one of the distributors is playing regularly, and the overall need for offense should open up the door for a few of the goal scorers to find themselves with opportunities. The best case scenario is the Falcons have found a few more Kieran Durgan’s who can step in and score at least 10 goals and play on the power play.

“A lot of these guys bring a shoot-first mentality, and we need more of that,” Doyle said. “We’ve had a lot of unselfish players, but if a shot is there and you’re not taking it, that’s a selfish play. That ability to get the puck and turn and shoot it is an exciting attribute to have.”

©First Line Editorial 2019