There are points competitions, and then there is the points competition between Air Force juniors Sam Brennan and Luke Robinson.

Their race involves grade points, and the former defense partners and close friends are staging a race toward the top of their class. Both had cumulative GPA’s of 3.95 after this past spring’s semester. The games began on their first day at the Academy in 2020.

“Our freshman year we were both in Calc 2 our first semester so that put us in the same Physics class, too,” said Brennan, who is a computer science major. “We were the only other person we knew taking those classes. We were in it together and helped each other throughout the process. We had some healthy competition as well. We definitely got closer after that experience.”

If the measure is hockey points, the pair presents a contrast, and that’s not a bad thing in the Falcons’ paradigm of defense pairings.

The 6-foot, 200-pound Brennan last season reinforced one big reason he was recruited – scoring points. During his sophomore campaign he tallied 19 (six goals) while playing in 34 of the team’s 36 games. That came on the heels of a goose egg his 12 freshman season games.

This season, he is primed to take it up another level. He’s averaging an assist per game in the Falcons’ first four games. Always a power-play fixture, Brennan also is a regular on the penalty kill, another commonality between him and Robinson, an operations research major with a French minor.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Robinson’s primary mission is moving the puck – and anyone attached to it – out of harm’s way. He takes defending – and most things for that matter – quite seriously. It was Robinson – a first-call penalty killer – who memorably told me last season, “blocking a shot means something here at Air Force.”

Together they were an excellent combination.

“That’s by design,” Serratore said. “We don’t want two individuals, we want a pair on defense. It’s the same thing with (Brandon) Koch and (Luke) Rowe.”

Up until late last season, Brennan and Robinson formed Air Force’s second pair, which was a natural extension of a friendship forged during a Covid-impacted freshman season of 2020-21, when the Falcons were limited to 14 games for a host of reasons beyond their control.

“Sam and I have a lot of the same mentality, the way we approach school here, the way we approach preparation for practice, the way we think about life and all these different things,” Robinson said. “I think we click on that level. It started freshman year with Covid (2020-21). We didn’t play a lot of hockey, but we did a lot in the classroom. He and I would spend a lot of time together with some of the core curriculum, studying chemistry, studying physics together.

“We just had a similar approach, similar goals with hockey and with school, and also after the Academy. We clicked on that level. That bond has grown through our ability to play together on the ice.”

That led to a level of communication that bordered on telepathy.

“In general, we both have similar mentalities and thought processes on life,” Brennan said. “Especially with hockey we both have a defense-first mindset, and I think being able to be predictable to each other helps. That’s where we had our most success – where we knew what each other was doing – when we had the puck, when we were going against the rush, we talked about playing in tandem. (Defending rushes) you need to play together otherwise you’ll get beat.

“Being predictable to each other resulted in playing to our strengths.”

The tag team was split up late last season. Brennan was paired with then-freshman Mitchell Digby, while Robinson played with junior Andrew Kruse and another freshman, Jasper Lester.

That Brennan would be matched with Digby, who has shown an offensive flair as well (he had 18 points), was a testament to his all-around growth as a player.

“He reads the ice very, very well,” Robinson said. “So many times in practice even now he’s making incredible reads where guys will try to anticipate where he’s going with the puck, and he sees that and will go a different direction, so that’s a big one.

“He’s very strong and physical on pucks. He’s not an easy guy to go into the corner with. I think a lot of teams are going to experience some of his shoulders this year and get frustrated trying to get a puck off him because it’s not very easy.”

Robinson might be on another pair, but he hasn’t been forgotten by Brennan. Far from it.

“Robby has a lot of strengths in all aspects of life, but especially with hockey I think his biggest strength is his leadership ability,” Brennan said. “I’ve looked up to him since Day 1 as someone I can always count on to do the right thing. He’s someone who’s very confident in his ability to play. No matter what happens, if the bounces don’t go his way, he’s able to keep a level head and not get down on himself.

“That’s what stands out to me, his leadership ability. I’ve been trying to become a better leader myself, and he’s set an example. … Digby is a fantastic player, but I do have an extra year on him. I have a little bit more of a responsibility to be a leader. That’s the biggest thing I took from my time with Robby on the blue line – just doing the right thing.”

Coaches love having reliable players, and in Robinson, Serratore has money in the bank.

“His level of maturity is way beyond his years,” Serratore said. “I hope some day I can be as mature as Robby is. He’s grounded, and he’s professional in everything he does.”

This season, Robinson is one of the Falcons’ assistant captains in a strong leadership group that includes Rowe and senior forwards Willie Reim and Blake Bride. It would not be a surprise to see Brennan’s leadership role formalized next season. And it wouldn’t be a new development – both wore letters in junior for winning programs.

The pair has put its stamp on the program whether they play together or not.

“Both would be in our lineup on any team we’ve had here, ever,” Serratore said. “And they’d both play a lot of important minutes on those teams.”

©First Line Editorial 2022