A 3-10-1 record. Eighteen underclassmen. Ninth out of 10 teams in the Atlantic Hockey preseason poll.
It doesn’t sound as if much is expected of the Air Force hockey team outside of the locker room. Inside, it’s a different story.
“We have to come to the rink each day with the attitude we are an underdog,” said senior goaltender Alex Schilling, who was selected one of the Falcons’ co-captains by his teammates this fall. “We’re going to do just fine. We know other teams have players who got a fifth year of eligibility, but we can’t worry about that. We can only control what we can control.”
Despite graduating eight seniors, including its top three defensemen, Air Force’s cupboard isn’t bare. Many of last year’s freshmen played big roles out of necessity, and this season’s freshman class offers the prospect of a number of solid contributors right off the bat.
“These are definitely guys who are going to bring minutes to our lineup,” Schilling said. “They proved themselves in junior and they came in ready to work.”
MORE PREVIEWS
Speaking of juniors, the Falcons also have a substantial group of those, led by top returning scorers Willie Reim and Brandon Koch, who will be counted on to be the backbone of this team.
“Our junior class has a good amount of experience,” co-captain Luke Rowe added. “It’s not just the four players wearing a letter (Reim and Blake Bride wear A’s), anyone can keep anyone accountable.”
Rowe, who used a turn back and did not play last season, is technically a sophomore even though he came to the Academy with the current junior class in the fall of 2019. He said the group is aware of outside expectations, but those don’t reflect the ones inside the program.
“We have a young team, but no one looks at that as an excuse,” he said. “We have a prove-it attitude. We are going in with a chip on our shoulder for sure.”
The team’s chemistry has made an impression on both captains, both the depth of it and how quickly it has occurred.
“After everything people went through last year this has been a refreshing start to this year,” Schilling said. “There is a unique vibe I haven’t seen in my time here. One, we hope it’s a normal season. Two, we want to prove people wrong. But the reality is we won three games last season.”
Yes, the 3-10-1 record is a sore spot. To some degree, the 10 cancelled games, eight of which were supposed to be at the Academy, are as well. But the Falcons finished strong, winning their final three regular-season games before a postseason loss to Bentley.
Even that will only go so far, Rowe said.
“Our group can check all of the boxes,” he said. “But we have to be accountable.
“By that I mean our promptness – are you early, do you have a sense of urgency? Do you have pride in the uniform you’re wearing? Do you have the willingness to sacrifice, will you take a bomb from the point or take a hit to get the puck out? And where is your overall buy-in? We stress our grit, our style of play, our study habits, our sleep, our diet.
“We have the skill to be better, much better, but it comes down to being accountable to one another.”
If that happens, the Falcons could be one of the surprise times of Atlantic Hockey and perhaps the NCAA.
Past three NCAA berths
- 2018: Reached West Regional final
- 2017: Reached East Regional final
- 2012: Northeast Regional semifinal
Roster composition
- Seniors: 2
- Juniors: 8
- Sophomores: 9
- Freshmen: 9
Three most important players
Goaltender Alex Schilling: The senior co-captain is primed for a bounce-back season, and as he demonstrated two seasons ago, he is capable of going on a heater and sparking long winning streaks.
Defenseman Brandon Koch: The junior is the man on the blue line. He has the skill set to be one of Atlantic Hockey’s best defensemen, and he will play major minutes.
Wing Willie Reim: The junior assistant captain is the Falcons’ most proven scoring threat. Given how much the team struggled with offense for the first two thirds of the truncated 2020-21 campaign, he must be a ringleader in correcting that.
Breakout candidates
Wings Will Gavin and Nate Horn: Gavin is the owner of a blistering shot, and both he and the similarly gifted Horn should have plenty of chances to increase their freshman totals of 8 and 7 points, respectively, because they’re likely the top two left wings.
Centers Andrew DeCarlo and Clayton Cosentino: If the freshmen stay in the top two slots, they’ll have plenty of chances with the firepower flanking them. Both should see power-play time.
Defenseman Sam Brennan: Sophomores usually take a big jump in most college programs, and Brennan’s junior career points to him becoming more of a scoring threat in Year 2. He did a lot of learning on the job last season and showed improvement
Key weekends
Oct. 15-16: vs. Denver – Picking up points against a highly ranked and highly skilled team in the first month would put AHA on notice.
Oct. 29-30: vs. Colorado College – You can bet the Tigers didn’t appreciate losing the opening game of their new arena, even though it was an exhibition, to the Falcons. The competition for the Pike’s Peak Trophy got even more interesting after last weekend.
Nov. 19-23: vs. Sacred Heart – Four games in five days against a team that added seven players from the transfer portal. This extended matchup presents an interesting contrast in roster building.
Jan. 1-2: at AIC – If you want to be the best, beat the best, and the Yellowjackets unquestionably have been AHA’s best the past three years.
Jan. 28-29: vs. Army West Point – It’s Army. Every inch of ice will be contested. And service academy pride is on the line. Enough said.
©First Line Editorial 2021
