Air Force begins its Atlantic Hockey Conference schedule Thursday night with the first of two home games against RIT.
The Falcons are coming off a season in which they finished third in the league and earned a first-round bye in the playoffs. However, sixth-seeded Niagara swept them in two quarterfinal games at Cadet Arena.
How will the Falcons, who lost half of their scoring and graduated the league’s top goaltender in Billy Christopoulos, fare in 2019-20? Stay tuned.
What follows is a capsule look at each team followed by AFAFlightPath.com’s predicted order of finish.
Air Force
2018-19 records: 16-15-5 (14-10-4 AHC, third place)
Key losses: G Billy Christopoulos (14-13-5, 2.24 GAA, .914 sp), D Matt Koch (25 points), C Kyle Haak (23 points), C Evan Feno (22 points), F Evan Giesler (20 points)
Key returners: So. F Kieran Durgan (18 points, 12 goals), Jr. D Jake Levin (13 points), Jr. D Alex Mehnert (12 points), Jr. D Zach Mirageas (17 points), Sr. F Matt Pulver (9 points, captain), Sr. F Trevor Stone (9 goals), Sr. C Brady Tomlak (18 points, 8 goals)
The rundown: The Falcons lost a ton of scoring, starting with their top four point-getters, and a stud goaltender, aside from that everything is fine at the Academy. Goals were hard to come by last season, and that has been the case thus far as well. The top three D are strong, and that should help starting goalie Zach LaRocque, a junior. The Falcons usually excel at special teams and defense so they’ll be competitive.
American International
2018-19 record: 23-17-1 (18-9-1, first)
Key losses: F Shawn McBride (23 points) and D Ryan Polin (36 games)
Key returners: Jr. Blake Christensen (47 points, 16 goals), Jr. F Kyle Stephan (27 points), So. F Tobias Fladeby (26 points, 18 goals), Jr. G Zackarias Skog (20-14-0, 2.86 GAA, .899 sp)
The rundown: AIC led the league in total goals (129) and virtually all of the goal scorers return, as do six players who scored 21 or more points. Last season, the Yellow Jackets took Air Force’s cue and knocked off St. Cloud State in the NCAA Tournament before running into a surging Denver team. Coach Eric Lang has a program built to win now and going forward.
Army West Point
2018-19 record: 12-20-7 (8-13-7, 10th)
Key losses: D Dalton MacAfee (35 points), F Trevor Fidler (13)
Key returners: Sr. F Zach Evancho (29 points), Sr. D Alex Wilkinson (29 points), Sr. F Dominic Franco (22 points, 14 goals)
The rundown: From this view, MacAfee was one of the top two or three defensemen in the league last season, so his loss is a big one. The Black Knights were decimated by injuries last season, including forward Michael Wilson, so I think they’re primed for a bounce back. The early returns for this senior-laden squad have been good, with wins against Union, Connecticut and Robert Morris in the first four games. One question would be goaltending, which was up and down last season, due in part to injuries.
Bentley
2018-19 record: 17-15-5 (15-9-4, second)
Key losses: F Drew Callin (35 points), D Tanner Jago (28 points), D Alexey Solovyev (13 points).
Key returners: Jr. F Luke Santerno (36 points), Sr. F Jonathan Desbiens (31 points, 15 goals), Sr. G Aiden Pelino (16-15-4, 2.54 GAA, .906 sp)
The rundown: The Falcons went from a tire fire to one of the best teams in the league in the second half thanks to a 10-0-2 streak in January and February. They lose their No. 2 and 4 scorers, but also bring back four upperclassmen who scored 20 or more points. They also were excellent defensively. They were swept on opening weekend by Robert Morris but then beat New Hampshire of Hockey East.
Canisius
2018-19 record: 12-20-5 (8-16-4, 11th)
Key losses: F Dylan McLaughlin (40 points), D Jimmy Mazza (24 points), D Cameron Heath (23 points), D Ian Edmonson (11 points)
Key returners: Jr. F Austin Alger (28 points, 12 goals), Sr. F Nick Hutchison (26 points, 13 goals), Sr. F Matt Hoover (21 points)
The rundown: The Golden Griffins face a tall order replacing McLaughlin and half of their defense. Canisius allowed the third most goals last season with the veteran D. They’re very young this season, so expect some growing pains.
Holy Cross
2018-19 record: 10-21-5 (10-14-4, ninth)
Key losses: F Mitch Collett (22 points), D Johnny Coughlin (21 points), D Spencer Trapp (19 points), F Michael Laffin (18 points)
Key returners: So. F Anthony Vincent (21 points), Sr. F Neil Robinson (16 points)
The rundown: The Crusaders lost four of their top five scorers and five of the top seven from a team that struggled to score as it was. Sound familiar? Still, this is usually a very defensively responsible team that hangs around in a lot of games.
Mercyhurst
2018-19 record: 13-20-5 (11-13-4, seventh)
Key losses: D Joseph Duszak (47 points), C Derek Barach (37 points), F Josh Lammon (30 points), F Matthew Whittaker (25 points)
Key returners: So. F Dalton Hunter (24 points), So. F Steven Ipri (23 points)
The rundown: This is the one AHC program that lost even more scoring than Air Force did, including their top four scorers. Duszak was one of the best players in all of D-I, not just AHC, so it’s no wonder Toronto jumped at the chance to sign him. Barach was another every-situation stud. The Lakers had a good group of younger players a season ago, so they will have to lean on them this season. They went with a goalie timeshare last season and allowed the second most goals in the league.
Niagara
2018-19 record: 17-19-5 (11-12-5, sixth)
Key loss: F Johnny Curran (20 points) – the only scorer in their top 10 missing
Key returners: So. F Ludwig Stenlund (42 points, 23 goals), Sr. D Noah Delmas (40 points, 15 goals), Jr. F Eric Cooley (27 points), Jr. F Justin Kendall (26 points), Jr. G Brian Wilson (15-14-5, 2.76 GAA, .910 sp).
The rundown: Scoring wasn’t a problem for the Purple Eagles, but defending was at times as they gave up the most goals in the league. Niagara threw a scare into Minnesota last weekend and has the offense to hang with most teams. There was a huge drop-off statistically in the games Wilson didn’t start in net.
RIT
2018-19 record: 17-17-4 (13-11-4, fifth)
Key losses: F Abbott Girduckis (36 points), F Erik Brown (29 points, 18 goals), F Gabe Valenzuela (20 points)
Key returners: Sr. D Adam Brubacher (31 points), Jr. F Jake Hamacher (30 points, 14 goals), Jr. G Logan Drackett (14-16-4, 2.59 GAA, .911 sp)
The rundown: The Tigers lost some heavy artillery up front, but Brubacher is one of the league’s top blue liners and Drackett is one of its best returning goalies. Already 3-1, RIT’s only loss was to top-10 Ohio State. They have some pieces to make things interesting atop the conference, and they’re typically one of the more physical teams in the league.
Robert Morris
2018-19 record: 16-22-2 (11-15-2, eighth)
Key losses: G Francis Marotte (16-21-2, 2.85 GAA, .908 – grad transfer to Clarkson), F Alex Tonge (39 points, 19 goals), F Michael Lourie (26 points), D Eric Isreal (22 points)
Key returners: Sr. F Luke Lynch (31 points, 10 goals), Jr. F Nick Prkusic (23 points), Sr. F Daniel Mantenuto (23 points)
The rundown: An interesting goalie give and take here. Marotte’s departure hurt, but senior transfer Justin Kapelmaster (Ferris State) has been lights so far this season. The Colonials seem to have balanced scoring, but do they have a enough of it?
Sacred Heart
2018-19 record: 16-17-4 (14-11-3, fourth)
Key losses: D Mike Lee (19), D Liam Clare (17 points)
Key returners: So. F Austin Magera (27 points, 14 goals), Sr. F Jason Cotton (23 points), Jr. F Marc Johnstone (22 points), So. G Josh Benson (13-7-2, 2.54 GAA, .898 sp)
The rundown: Benson was probably the best freshman goalie in the league last season, and the Pioneers have a bevy of scoring back – nine of their top 10 from a season ago. They were stingy in AHC play and look to be a program on the upswing.
Fearless predictions
Why fearless? Well, if we’ve learned anything in covering Air Force and the league in the past four seasons it’s that one should expect the unexpected. I’m pretty confident in AIC repeating, somewhat sure of Niagara’s spot, but after that I think the next four or five spots are up for grabs. And there is always a surprise team or two. Who they are is the $64,000 question.
- AIC – As good as the Yellow Jackets were last season, they have the potential to be even better because of how much they return and the experience of winning an NCAA Tournament game.
- Niagara – Preventing goals is the key to the Purple Eagles’ season because they have the offensive pieces to do some damage.
- Sacred Heart – Very good balance and a lot of depth. If they get good goaltending, watch out.
- RIT – Solid from the back out, which is never a bad thing. Like Air Force, the Tigers have a winning tradition.
- Army West Point – If they’re healthy, they’re going to be in it. A physically punishing team to play against.
- Bentley – If the second-half version of Bentley plays a full season, especially on defense, it could finish higher than this.
- Air Force – The Falcons need great goaltending and some timely goals to move up. The cupboard is not as empty as some seem to think.
- Robert Morris – Never an easy out, it seems as though the Colonials have a lot to replace.
- Mercyhurst – The Lakers lost a ton of offense and have to sort out issues on the back half.
- Holy Cross – If they score more, the Crusaders could outpace this prediction.
- Canisius – Huge losses from a team that already struggled a season ago.
©First Line Editorial 2019
