You’ve got to hand it to this group of Air Force Falcons. Actually, their hands are so good they can handle the puck anywhere, anytime with no problems.

Part 4 of AFAFlightPath.com.com’s exclusive player survey reveals which Falcons players are the stickhandling and passing wizards and which goalies have the best glove hands.

Players were polled anonymously in early December. The survey included 25 questions that covered a range of skills. Nearly 80 percent of the players on the Air Force roster responded.

Part 1 examined skating

Part 2 dealt with strength, checking and toughness

Part 3 revealed the shooting stars

What changed from previous years? Satisfy your curiosity by reading our 2018-19 season and 2017-18 season surveys.

Now on to part 4 of our exclusive Air Force hockey player survey:

Question 11: Which player is the best overall stickhandler?

• Matt Pulver – 5 votes (23 percent)
• Shawn Knowlton – 4 (18 percent)
• Brady Tomlak – 3 (14 percent)
• Kieran Durgan, Luke Manning – 2
• Marshall Bowery, Carter Ekberg, Keegan Mantaro, Alex Mehnert, Zach Mirageas, Trevor Stone – 1

Analysis: This offers a clue as to the Falcons’ overall increasing level of skill. We saw it in the shooting and skating categories as well. Every class is represented, as are forwards and defensemen.

Question 12: Which player is the best passer in traffic?

• Brady Tomlak – 8 (36 percent)
• Shawn Knowlton – 3 (14 percent)
• Carter Ekberg, Alex Mehnert, Trevor Stone – 2
• Kieran Durgan, Erich Jaeger, Jake Levin, Matt Pulver – 1

Analysis: This is the only category in this group of questions with a clear-cut leader, and as good as Tomlak is at this year-in, year-out, his game has grown here this season. He is on track to far surpass his career bests in points (18 – he has 13 in 16 games already) and assists (13 – has 8 so far). He’s already tied his career high with five goals.

Question 13: Which player executes the best break-out passes?

• Alex Mehnert – 7 (32 percent)
• Jake Levin – 5 (23 percent)
• Zach Mirageas – 4 (18 percent)
• Carter Ekberg, Matt Pulver – 2
• Andrew Kruse, Keegan Mantaro – 1

Analysis: This is a huge factor in any Falcons success. This also is a strength of the veteran defenders, and it speaks to their decision-making with the puck. When Air Force is successful, it limits teams to short stays in the Falcons zone and pushes the action back up the ice.

Question 14: Which goaltender has the best glove hand?

• Alex Schilling – 10 (45 percent)
• Erik Anderson – 8 (36 percent)
• Zach LaRocque – 4 (18 percent)

Analysis: This shouldn’t be a surprise because Goalie Nation always is a highly competitive group for the Falcons. And how about Anderson? The junior nearly topped the category based on his body of work in practices over two and a half seasons.

Next: The eyes have it

©First Line Editorial 2019