Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey

Last updated

Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey
Hockey current event.svg Current season
Air Force Falcons logo.svg
University United States Air Force Academy
Conference AHA
First season 1968–69
Head coach Frank Serratore
29th season, 472457102 (.507)
Assistant coaches
  • Andy Berg
  • Joe Doyle
  • Steve Jennings
Arena Cadet Ice Arena
USAF Academy, Colorado
ColorsBlue and silver [1]
   
NCAA tournament appearances
2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2018
Conference tournament champions
AHA: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2018
Conference regular season champions
AHA: 2009, 2012
Current uniform
AHA-Uniform-USAFA.png

The Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the United States Air Force Academy. The Falcons are a member of Atlantic Hockey America. They play at the Cadet Ice Arena in El Paso County, Colorado, north of Colorado Springs. [2]

Contents

History

Independent

Air Force Academy's ice hockey program began as a club team in 1966, led by former Michigan head coach and six-time national champion Vic Heyliger. The program grew swiftly and posted a winning record by its third season. In their fourth season, the team posted an impressive 25-6 mark and had the nation's leading scorer on the roster, Dave Skalko. When Heyliger retired in 1974, turning the team over to John Matchefts, the success continued with two more 20+ win seasons in three years. By the time the 1980 rolled around, however, the team's on-ice results began to flag and after a pair of disappointing, single-digit-win seasons Matchefts pushed his team to a .500-record before turning control over to the program's all-time leading scorer. Chuck Delich led the program for the 12 seasons, posting moderate results for most of his tenure, but as the 20th century drew to a close, the Falcons' days as a plucky Independent were numbered.

CHA

In 1997, former Denver head coach Frank Serratore was hired to replace Delich and recorded two 15-win seasons before everything changed for the Falcons. In 1999, Air Force became a founding member of the CHA, joining with the other service academy Army and five other newly-minted Division I teams. Despite the other programs having little history of success, Air Force was unable to make much headway in the conference, with the best finish being 4th out of 7 teams in their inaugural year. Army left the conference after only one year, leaving the conference with only six programs, and the Falcons found themselves as one of the worst. Air Force finished in 5th- or 6th-place for four consecutive seasons and threw in a pair of 4th-place marks for good measure. Despite their regular season woes, the Falcons did achieve some success in the CHA tournament, reaching the semifinals three times despite being an underdog. By 2006, however, it became apparent that the men's side of CHA (which had added a women's division in 2002) was in trouble. The Falcons left the CHA and were accepted into the Atlantic Hockey Association, rejoining Army in the same conference.

Atlantic Hockey Association

The Falcons bench celebrates a goal during a game in 2018 USAFA Men's Ice Hockey v Bentley University (4930542).jpg
The Falcons bench celebrates a goal during a game in 2018

The change seemed to suit the Falcons, who posted their first winning season in 7 years. In the conference tournament, Air Force defeated Holy Cross 3-0 before stunning #1 seeded Sacred Heart 5-4 in overtime. In the championship match, the Falcons took on Army and routed the Black Knights 6-1 to win the program's first conference championship and receive their first bid into the NCAA tournament. Though they lost to Minnesota in the opening round, the success would continue for the next two years with two additional Atlantic Hockey tournament titles and culminated with a 28-win season in 2009 where they won their first regular season conference title and NCAA tournament game. After a middling season in 2010, the Falcons posted back-to-back conference championships but failed to escape the first round in either season. Air Force spent the mid-teens rebuilding their program, and it came to a head in 2017 with their sixth Atlantic Hockey crown. The Falcons played so well over the course of the season that there was some talk of them making the NCAA tournament even if they were to lose the Atlantic Hockey championship (an exceedingly rare occurrence for Atlantic Hockey Teams). [3] Their second quarterfinal appearance was followed by another in 2018, where they were outplayed by eventual champion Minnesota–Duluth until the final period. [4]

Atlantic Hockey America

After the 2023–24 season, the Atlantic Hockey Association merged with CHA, which had become a women-only league after the 2009–10 season. The two conferences had shared a commissioner and office staff since 2010. The new league was unveiled on April 30, 2024 as Atlantic Hockey America, maintaining the Association's AHA initialism. All members of both predecessor leagues were brought into the new conference. [5]

Season-by-season results

All-time coaching records

As of the end of the 2024–25 season

TenureCoachYearsRecordPct.
1968–1974 Vic Heyliger 685–77–3.524
1974–1985 John Matchefts 11154–150–6.506
1985–1997 Chuck Delich 12154–197–19.442
1997–Present Frank Serratore 28472–457–102.507
Totals4 coaches56 seasons865–881–130.496

[6]

Awards and honors

U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame

The following individuals have been inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. [7]

NCAA

All-Americans

AHCA Second Team All-Americans

College Hockey America

Individual awards

All-Conference teams

First Team All-CHA

  • Marc Kielkucki (2001)
  • Brian Gornick (2001)
  • Derek Olson (2002)

Second Team All-CHA

  • Brian Gornick (2000)
  • Andy Berg (2001, 2003)
  • Brian Gineo (2005)
  • Michael Mayra (2006)
  • Eric Ehn (2006)

All-CHA Rookie Team

  • Andy Berg (2000)
  • Joe Locallo (2001)
  • Zach Sikich (2002)
  • Matt Charbonneau (2005)
  • Eric Ehn (2005)
  • Michael Mayra (2006)

Atlantic Hockey Association

Individual awards

All-Conference teams

First Team All-Atlantic Hockey

Second Team All-Atlantic Hockey

Third Team All-Atlantic Hockey

All-Atlantic Hockey Rookie Team

Statistical Leaders

[8]

Career Scoring leaders

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

PlayerYearsGPGAPtsPIM
Chuck Delich 1973–1977109156123279151
Bob Sajevic 1976–198011310712122854
Dave Skalko 1969–197311875144219208
Bob Ross 1968–19721061059219741
Gary Batinich 1974–197810482114196107
Tom Richards 1978–1982118789016854
Mike Smellie 1976–1980103778916656
Frank Daldine 1983–1986109797715675
Dave Bunker 1970–19741098270152118
Robin Robideaux 1975–19791086884152200

Career Goaltending Leaders

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Minimum 35 games

PlayerYearsGPMinGASOSV%GAA
Shane Starrett 2015–177039181289.9241.96
Andrew Volkening 2006–10127737026915.9152.19
Stephen Caple 2009–12361792662.9082.21
Jason Torf 2010–14115656126910.9152.46
Chris Truehl 2013–155027451243.9002.71

Statistics current through the start of the 2017-18 season.

Current roster

As of August 12, 2025. [9]

No. Nat.PlayerClassPosHeightWeightDoBHometownPrevious teamNHL rights
2 Flag of the United States.svg Beau JanzigSophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m)201 lb (91 kg)2003-11-17 Hermantown, Minnesota Minnesota Wilderness  ( NAHL )
3 Flag of the United States.svg Rem MorqueSophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m)190 lb (86 kg)2003-11-12 Grand Rapids, Minnesota Minnesota Wilderness  ( NAHL )
4 Flag of the United States.svg Will JonesSophomore D 5' 9" (1.75 m)170 lb (77 kg)2004-03-09 Brentwood, Tennessee Powell River Kings  ( BCHL )
6 Flag of the United States.svg Simon HougeFreshman F 5' 7" (1.7 m)172 lb (78 kg)2004-09-24 Woodbury, Minnesota West Kelowna Warriors  ( BCHL )
7 Flag of the United States.svg Jake PetersonSophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m)190 lb (86 kg)2003-10-02 Rosemount, Minnesota Bismarck Bobcats  ( NAHL )
8 Flag of the United States.svg Cole ChristianFreshman F 5' 8" (1.73 m)154 lb (70 kg)2004-06-21 Duluth, Minnesota Anchorage Wolverines  ( NAHL )
9 Flag of the United States.svg Anthony YuSophomore F 5' 9" (1.75 m)181 lb (82 kg)2004-07-10 Baldwin Park, California Powell River Kings  ( BCHL )
10 Flag of the United States.svg Oliver GenestFreshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m)194 lb (88 kg)2004-03-19 Sanford, Maine New Hampshire Mountain Kings  ( NAHL )
11 Flag of the United States.svg Sam JacobsJunior F 6' 0" (1.83 m)185 lb (84 kg)2003-04-25 Plymouth, Minnesota Wisconsin Windigo  ( NAHL )
12 Flag of the United States.svg Cade MoxhamFreshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m)201 lb (91 kg)2004-03-09 Calgary, Alberta Aberdeen Wings  ( NAHL )
13 Flag of the United States.svg Mason McCormickSenior F 6' 4" (1.93 m)205 lb (93 kg)2001-05-25 Verona, Wisconsin Waterloo Black Hawks  ( USHL )
14 Flag of the United States.svg Will DawsonSophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m)183 lb (83 kg)2003-10-03 Traverse City, Michigan Minot Minotauros  ( NAHL )
15 Flag of the United States.svg Owen DuboisJunior F 6' 4" (1.93 m)200 lb (91 kg)2002-07-06 Madison, Wisconsin Aberdeen Wings  ( NAHL )
18 Flag of the United States.svg Holt OliphantSenior F 5' 10" (1.78 m)190 lb (86 kg)2001-05-17 Northbrook, Illinois Johnstown Tomahawks  ( NAHL )
19 Flag of the United States.svg Calvin BeardFreshman D 6' 2" (1.88 m)179 lb (81 kg)2005-10-04 Southborough, Massachusetts Powell River Kings  ( BCHL )
20 Flag of the United States.svg Nolan CunninghamJunior D 6' 2" (1.88 m)185 lb (84 kg)2001-12-17 Helena, Montana Fairbanks Ice Dogs  ( NAHL )
21 Flag of the United States.svg Hayden NicholFreshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m)190 lb (86 kg)2003-06-30 Rochester, New York Shreveport Mudbugs  ( NAHL )
22 Flag of the United States.svg Chris HeddenSenior D 6' 0" (1.83 m)185 lb (84 kg)2002-09-20 Kalamazoo, Michigan Omaha Lancers  ( USHL )
23 Flag of the United States.svg Nick SajevicSophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m)174 lb (79 kg)2003-01-15 Shoreview, Minnesota Janesville Jets  ( NAHL )
26 Flag of the United States.svg Michael KadlecikSophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m)170 lb (77 kg)2004-04-14 Lansing, New York Odessa Jackalopes  ( NAHL )
27 Flag of the United States.svg Samuel StitzSophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m)200 lb (91 kg)2003-06-18 Perry Hall, Maryland Maryland Black Bears  ( NAHL )
30 Flag of the United States.svg Dominik WasikJunior G 6' 1" (1.85 m)165 lb (75 kg)2002-07-02 Superior, Wisconsin Steinbach Pistons  ( MJHL )
33 Flag of the United States.svg Zane SpaniolFreshman G 6' 3" (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg)2004-09-29 Ham Lake, Minnesota Minnesota Mallards  ( NAHL )
35 Flag of the United States.svg Carter ClaftonJunior G 6' 2" (1.88 m)175 lb (79 kg)2002-03-13 Grand Rapids, Minnesota Amarillo Wranglers  ( NAHL )
37 Flag of the United States.svg Toby HoppSophomore G 6' 1" (1.85 m)185 lb (84 kg)2004-06-27 Maple Grove, Minnesota Northeast Generals  ( NAHL )
39 Flag of the United States.svg Dylan KrickFreshman G 6' 2" (1.88 m)146 lb (66 kg)2005-06-19 West Chester, Pennsylvania Cowichan Valley Capitals  ( BCHL )
44 Flag of the United States.svg Will StaringSophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m)195 lb (88 kg)2003-02-28 Springfield, Virginia Dubuque Fighting Saints  ( USHL )
48 Flag of the United States.svg Nick RemissongJunior F 6' 0" (1.83 m)185 lb (84 kg)2002-05-19 Lake Forest, Illinois Trail Smoke Eaters  ( BCHL )
58 Flag of the United States.svg Nate FarrellFreshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m)185 lb (84 kg)2004-02-09 Wheaton, Illinois Wisconsin Windigo  ( NAHL )
64 Flag of the United States.svg Brendan GibbonsSophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m)205 lb (93 kg)2002-06-15 South Kingstown, Rhode Island Maine Nordiques  ( NAHL )
72 Flag of the United States.svg Aidan WillisFreshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m)185 lb (84 kg)2005-01-11 Farmington, Minnesota Salmon Arm Silverbacks  ( BCHL )
81 Flag of the United States.svg Charles PanchisinFreshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m)174 lb (79 kg)2004-11-15 Lincolnshire, Illinois Philadelphia Rebels  ( NAHL )

Falcons in the NHL

Goalie Shane Starrett signed an Entry Level Contract with the Edmonton Oilers of the NHL on April 10, 2017. He is currently the only Air Force Falcons Men's Ice Hockey player to be in the NHL or respected affiliates.

References

  1. "Air Force Athletics Style Sheet" (PDF). March 12, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  2. "Air Force Falcons Men's Hockey". U.S. College Hockey Online. Retrieved April 8, 2011.
  3. "What I Believe – Monday Edition". USCHO.com. March 13, 2017. Archived from the original on August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  4. "Minnesota Duluth earns second straight Frozen Four berth with victory over Air Force". USCHO.com. March 24, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  5. "Atlantic Hockey and College Hockey America Join to Form Atlantic Hockey America" (Press release). Atlantic Hockey America. April 30, 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  6. "Air Force Hockey 2018-19 Record Book" (PDF). Air Force Falcons. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 12, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  7. "The Record Book" (PDF). University of Michigan. September 22, 2009. p. 20. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 7, 2010. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
  8. "Air Force Falcons Men's Hockey 2017-2018 Record Book" (PDF). Air Force Falcons. August 17, 2018.
  9. "2025-26 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Air Force Falcons. Retrieved August 13, 2024.