How about some good news about Air Force hockey after the abrupt ending to the 2019-20 NCAA season?
Air Force freshman defenseman Brandon Koch captured a pair of Atlantic Hockey Association postseason honors.
Koch was selected third-team all-conference and also was picked for the all-rookie team.
The younger brother of former Falcons captain Matt led all conference freshmen defensemen in scoring with 18 points (13) assists in 28 conference games, and it wasn’t even close. Koch had seven more points than any other newcomer on an AHA blue line. His point total was the fifth most among AHA freshmen, and his four power-play goals led all AHA defensemen and his five goals were second.
Koch really caught fire in the second half, and especially down the stretch.
He didn’t score until the Falcons’ ninth game, then after another four-game drought, he had points in four games in a row. He had 14 points in the Falcons’ 20 games since the calendar flipped to 2020. That included a career-high three points on Jan. 17 vs. Niagara, and two points vs. Sacred Heart on Jan. 31 and at RIT on Feb. 29. He had five points in Air Force’s final four regular-season games the the Falcons moved up to sixth place.
Air Force swept its first-round AHA series against Mercyhurst and was in Rochester, N.Y., last Thursday when the NCAA pulled the plug on the rest of the hockey season due to the further impact of the coronavirus.
It is expected AHA will release the names of its individual award winners soon.
AFAFlightPath.com votes for the team and individual honors. I picked Koch and Luke Manning for the all-rookie team, junior defenseman Zach Mirageas for all-conference and senior center Brady Tomlak for the defensive forward award.
©First Line Editorial 2020
