# 2017–18 Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey season

The 2017–18 Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey season was the 50th season of play for the program and the 12th season in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Falcons represented the United States Air Force Academy and were coached by Frank Serratore, in his 21st season.

## Season

After a program-best season, Air Force entered the season with a preseason ranking, a rarity for an Atlantic Hockey school. Early on it appeared that the Falcons were going to live up to the expectations when new starting goaltender, Billy Christopoulos, filled in ably for the departed Shane Starett. However, after beginning 5–1–1, the team's offense faltered and the Falcons went through a rough patch in November and December. The defense kept Air Force in most of their games, but the Falcons were finding it difficult to score. By the end of the year, the team found itself under .500 and wallowing near the bottom of the conference standings.
Christopoulos raised his game in the second half of the season, keeping the opposition to 2 goals or fewer on most nights. The offense, too, redoubled its efforts and the Falcons began to score once more. Slowly, the team climbed out of the cellar and moved up the standings. By the end of February, Air Force had miraculously pulled into a 3-way tie for 3rd place in the conference and entered the Atlantic Hockey Tournament with a bye into the quarterfinal round.

### Conference tournament

As their postseason began, Air Force's only chance at making the NCAA Tournament was to win their conference. To do that, they would first have to overcome Army on the road. After winning the first game 5–3, the Falcons got into a defensive struggle with the Black Knights. Despite firing 33 shots on goal, Army netminder Cole Bruns turned everything aside and tied the series with a 1–0 victory. The Falcons increased the pressure in the deciding 3rd game, but again Bruns wouldn't let anything get past him. Fortunately, Christopoulos was equal to the task and the teams entered overtime with a clean scoresheet. Air Force continued the barrage, firing five shots on goal in less than 7 minutes with the last finally registering. Senior alternate captain Tyler Ledford won the game and sent the Falcons to the semifinals.
After arriving in Rochester, the Air Force offense kept up its shot total while Christopoulos remained stout in goal. The Falcons dispatched Canisius to reach their second consecutive title game and found a surprise waiting for them; the 7th-seed, Robert Morris had overcome long odds to reach the final and were riding high after taking down top-seeded Mercyhurst. Air Force put the Colonials in their place at the start, scoring twice in the first three minutes and ending the first period up 3–0. Robert Morris made a valiant effort to try and come back in the final 40 minutes, but Christopoulos was far too strong in net and the Falcons won the match by a comfortable 5–1 margin, earning the program's 7th Atlantic Hockey championship and a trip back to the NCAA tournament.

### NCAA tournament

Though the team had been good over the preceding two and a half months, it was no surprise when Air Force was given the lowest seed for the tournament. That entitled the Falcons to a date with #1 St. Cloud State. The game started slowly but the Air Force needed to kill of two penalties in the later half of the first period to keep the Huskies from getting a lead. Early in the second, Ledford scored twice in the span of just over 3:30 to give the Falcons a surprising 2–0 lead. Afterwards, St. Cloud woke up and began attacking the Air Force goal. Christopoulos turned aside 18 shots in the middle frame to keep the Huskies from scoring. The upperclassmen continued to stymie St. Cloud State in the third but finally allowed the puck to get past him with just under 3 minutes left in regulation. The Huskies pulled their goalie in a desperate attempt to tie the game, but Air Force managed to collect two empty-net goals to win the match 4–1.
One win away from its first Frozen Four, the team was completely outplayed in the first period against Minnesota–Duluth. Air Force was outshot 0–14 and allowed two goals. The Bulldogs pulled back and played a defensive game in the final 40 minutes but that gave the Falcons a chance to tie the match. Though they only managed 12 shots in that time, Evan Giesler scored a power play goal in the middle part of the third period to cut the lead in half and the Falcons desperately tried to score the tying goal. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be and the Falcons were knocked out in the quarterfinal round.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Matthew Burchill | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to Norwich |
| Johnny Hrabovsky | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| A. J. Reid | Forward | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Tyler Rostenkowski | Defenseman | United States | Left program |
| Shane Starrett | Goaltender | United States | Signed professional contract (Bakersfield Condors) |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Erik Anderson | Goaltender | United States | 21 | Chanhassen, MN |
| Marshall Bowery | Forward | United States | 20 | Rochester Hills, MI |
| Max Harper | Forward | United States | 21 | Rochester Hills, MI |
| Shawn Knowlton | Forward | United States | 21 | Slingerlands, NY |
| Zach LaRocque | Goaltender | United States | 20 | Arvada, CO |
| Jacob Levin | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Mequon, WI |
| Alex Mehnert | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Moorhead, MN |
| Zachary Mirageas | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Avon, OH |
| Walker Sommer | Forward | United States | 21 | Arvada, CO |
| Isaac Theisen | Forward | United States | 21 | Monroe, MI |
| Will Ulrich | Goaltender | United States | 21 | Bloomfield Hills, MI |

## Standings

2017–18 Atlantic Hockey men's standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record |
| | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| Mercyhurst† | 28 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 36 | 90 | 81 | 37 | 21 | 12 | 4 | 124 | 111 |
| Canisius | 28 | 17 | 11 | 0 | 34 | 94 | 76 | 38 | 19 | 17 | 2 | 117 | 108 |
| Holy Cross | 28 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 30 | 80 | 70 | 36 | 13 | 16 | 7 | 97 | 100 |
| Army | 28 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 30 | 80 | 70 | 36 | 15 | 15 | 6 | 93 | 91 |
| #14 Air Force * | 28 | 13 | 11 | 4 | 30 | 73 | 64 | 43 | 23 | 15 | 5 | 115 | 94 |
| RIT | 28 | 13 | 14 | 1 | 27 | 91 | 90 | 37 | 15 | 20 | 2 | 114 | 127 |
| Robert Morris | 28 | 12 | 13 | 3 | 27 | 79 | 78 | 41 | 18 | 20 | 3 | 119 | 118 |
| American International | 28 | 11 | 13 | 4 | 26 | 63 | 75 | 39 | 15 | 20 | 4 | 88 | 116 |
| Niagara | 28 | 10 | 15 | 3 | 23 | 76 | 90 | 36 | 11 | 22 | 3 | 93 | 123 |
| Bentley | 28 | 9 | 14 | 5 | 23 | 72 | 87 | 37 | 13 | 18 | 6 | 96 | 114 |
| Sacred Heart | 28 | 9 | 15 | 4 | 22 | 79 | 96 | 39 | 13 | 22 | 4 | 107 | 135 |
| Championship: March 17, 2018 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated March 5, 2018 |||||||||||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Rank$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Exhibition ||||||||||
| October 2 | 6:05 PM | vs. Lethbridge* | #17 | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | | Christopoulos | W 3–0 | 1,202 | |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 6 | 9:07 PM | at Alaska* | #17 | Carlson Center • Fairbanks, Alaska | | Christopoulos | W 3–2 | 2,195 | 1–0–0 |
| October 7 | 9:07 PM | at Alaska* | #17 | Carlson Center • Fairbanks, Alaska | | Christopoulos | T 1–1 $^{3x3OTL}$ | 2,649 | 1–0–1 |
| October 13 | 7:05 PM | vs. Arizona State* | #19 | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | | Christopoulos | W 4–3 | 2,494 | 2–0–1 |
| October 14 | 7:05 PM | vs. Arizona State* | #19 | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | | Christopoulos | L 3–2 | 2,437 | 3–0–1 |
| October 20 | 6:07 PM | at Bemidji State* | #20 | Sanford Center • Bemidji, Minnesota | | Christopoulos | L 1–4 | 2,822 | 3–1–1 |
| October 21 | 6:07 PM | at Bemidji State* | #20 | Sanford Center • Bemidji, Minnesota | | Christopoulos | W 5–1 | 2,902 | 4–1–1 |
| October 27 | 5:35 PM | at Canisius | #18 | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | | Christopoulos | L 3–1 | 846 | 5–1–1 (1–0–0) |
| October 28 | 5:35 PM | at Canisius | #18 | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | | Christopoulos | L 2–3 | 580 | 5–2–1 (1–1–0) |
| November 3 | 7:05 PM | vs. Army | #19 | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | | Christopoulos | L 2–3 | 3,326 | 5–3–1 (1–2–0) |
| November 4 | 7:35 PM | vs. Army | #19 | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | | Christopoulos | L 0–2 | 2,477 | 5–4–1 (1–3–0) |
| November 10 | 5:05 PM | at Holy Cross | | Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts | | Christopoulos | L 0–3 | 1,164 | 5–5–1 (1–4–0) |
| November 11 | 5:05 PM | at Holy Cross | | Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts | | Christopoulos | T 3–3 $^{OT}$ | 1,383 | 5–5–2 (1–4–1) |
| November 17 | 7:05 PM | vs. RIT | | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | | Christopoulos | W 4–3 | 1,875 | 6–5–2 (2–4–1) |
| November 18 | 7:05 PM | vs. RIT | | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | | Christopoulos | L 2–3 | 2,013 | 6–6–2 (2–5–1) |
| November 25 | 5:05 PM | at Sacred Heart | | Webster Bank Arena • Bridgeport, Connecticut | | Christopoulos | T 3–3 $^{OT}$ | 201 | 6–6–3 (2–5–2) |
| November 26 | 10:30 AM | at Sacred Heart | | Webster Bank Arena • Bridgeport, Connecticut | | Christopoulos | W 5–3 | 161 | 7–6–3 (3–5–2) |
| December 1 | 7:05 PM | vs. Niagara | | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | | Christopoulos | L 3–6 | 1,974 | 7–7–3 (3–6–2) |
| December 2 | 5:05 PM | vs. Niagara | | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | | Christopoulos | L 2–5 | 1,687 | 7–8–3 (3–7–2) |
| December 29 | 7:05 PM | vs. Colorado College* | | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Battle for Pikes Peak) | | Christopoulos | W 6–3 | 2,921 | 8–8–3 |
| December 30 | 7:05 PM | at #2 Denver* | | Magness Arena • Denver, Colorado | Altitude2 | Christopoulos | L 0–6 | 6,281 | 8–9–3 |
| January 5 | 7:05 PM | vs. Mercyhurst | | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | | Christopoulos | L 0–1 | 2,148 | 8–10–3 (3–8–2) |
| January 6 | 5:05 PM | vs. Mercyhurst | | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | | Christopoulos | W 5–1 | 1,909 | 9–10–3 (4–8–2) |
| January 12 | 5:05 PM | at RIT | | Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York | | Christopoulos | W 2–1 | 1,581 | 10–10–3 (5–8–2) |
| January 13 | 5:05 PM | at RIT | | Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York | | Christopoulos | W 4–0 | 2,543 | 11–10–3 (6–8–2) |
| January 19 | 7:05 PM | vs. Sacred Heart | | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | | Christopoulos | L 1–2 | 2,277 | 11–11–3 (6–9–2) |
| January 26 | 5:05 PM | at Niagara | | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | | Christopoulos | W 4–2 | 708 | 12–11–3 (7–9–2) |
| January 27 | 7:05 PM | at Niagara | | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | | Christopoulos | W 5–3 | 736 | 13–11–3 (8–9–2) |
| February 2 | 7:05 PM | vs. American International | | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | | Christopoulos | W 3–0 | 2,236 | 14–11–3 (9–9–2) |
| February 3 | 5:05 PM | vs. American International | | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | | Christopoulos | T 2–2 $^{OT}$ | 2,153 | 14–11–4 (9–9–3) |
| February 9 | 5:05 PM | at Bentley | | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | | Christopoulos | L 0–2 | 578 | 14–12–4 (9–10–3) |
| February 10 | 5:05 PM | at Bentley | | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | | Christopoulos | W 4–2 | 480 | 15–12–4 (10–10–3) |
| February 13 | 10:00 AM | vs. Sacred Heart | | People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut | | Christopoulos | L 1–2 $^{OT}$ | 116 | 15–13–4 (10–11–3) |
| February 16 | 7:05 PM | vs. Canisius | | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | | Christopoulos | W 7–4 | 2,217 | 16–13–4 (11–11–3) |
| February 16 | 5:05 PM | vs. Canisius | | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | | Christopoulos | W 3–2 | 2,377 | 17–13–4 (12–11–3) |
| February 23 | 5:05 PM | at Robert Morris | | Colonials Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | | Christopoulos | W 1–0 | 892 | 18–13–4 (13–11–3) |
| February 24 | 5:15 PM | at Robert Morris | | Colonials Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | | Christopoulos | T 2–2 $^{OT}$ | 1,317 | 18–13–5 (13–11–4) |
| Atlantic Hockey Tournament ||||||||||
| March 9 | 5:05 PM | at Army* | | Tate Rink • West Point, New York (Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals game 1) | | Christopoulos | W 5–3 | 1,544 | 19–13–5 |
| March 10 | 5:05 PM | at Army* | | Tate Rink • West Point, New York (Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals game 2) | | Christopoulos | L 0–1 | 2,009 | 19–14–5 |
| March 11 | 5:05 PM | at Army* | | Tate Rink • West Point, New York (Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals game 3) | | Christopoulos | W 1–0 $^{OT}$ | 1,082 | 20–14–5 |
| Air Force Won Series 2–1 ||||||||||
| March 16 | 6:30 PM | vs. Canisius* | | Blue Cross Arena • Rochester, New York (Atlantic Hockey semifinal) | | Christopoulos | W 3–0 | 587 | 21–14–5 |
| March 17 | 5:35 PM | vs. Robert Morris* | | Blue Cross Arena • Rochester, New York (Atlantic Hockey championship) | | Christopoulos | W 5–1 | 626 | 22–14–5 |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||||||
| March 23 | 2:02 PM | vs. #1 St. Cloud State* | | Premier Center • Sioux Falls, South Dakota (West Regional semifinal) | ESPNU | Christopoulos | W 4–1 | 7,992 | 23–14–5 |
| March 24 | 7:02 PM | vs. #11 Minnesota–Duluth* | | Premier Center • Sioux Falls, South Dakota (West Regional final) | ESPN2 | Christopoulos | L 1–2 | 8,015 | 23–15–5 |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Mountain Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Erik Baskin | F | 43 | 16 | 12 | 28 | 12 |
| Tyler Ledford | F | 30 | 6 | 18 | 24 | 10 |
| Evan Giesler | F | 42 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 31 |
| Jordan Himley | F | 37 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 16 |
| Matt Serratore | F | 38 | 14 | 8 | 22 | 33 |
| Matt Koch | D | 37 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 14 |
| Brady Tomlak | C | 37 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 22 |
| Phil Boje | D | 39 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 18 |
| Zack Mirageas | D | 41 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 57 |
| Ben Kucera | C | 38 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 14 |
| Trevor Stone | C/LW | 39 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 14 |
| Kyle Haak | F | 29 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 22 |
| Marshall Bowery | F | 30 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 2 |
| Erich Jaeger | F | 34 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 23 |
| Pierce Pluemer | LW | 34 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 8 |
| Jonathan Kopacka | D | 31 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 10 |
| Dan Bailey | D | 38 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 14 |
| Alex Mehnert | D | 15 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| Jake Levin | D | 21 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 14 |
| Dylan Abood | D | 35 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| Walker Sommer | C | 18 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Kyle Mackey | D | 19 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 20 |
| Matt Pulver | F | 20 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Joe Tyran | D | 23 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Max Harper | F | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Billy Christopoulos | G | 43 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Evan Feno | F | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zack LaRocque | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bench | - | - | - | - | - | 20 |
| Total | | | 115 | 187 | 302 | 417 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Billy Christopoulos | 43 | 2534 | 23 | 15 | 5 | 87 | 1026 | 5 | .922 | 2.06 |
| Zach LaRocque | 2 | 53 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 0 | .875 | 3.36 |
| Empty Net | - | 26 | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 43 | 2614 | 23 | 15 | 5 | 94 | 1047 | 5 | .918 | 2.16 |

## Rankings

| Poll | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 (Final) |
| USCHO.com | 17 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 19 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | - | 14 |
| USA Today | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 14 | 14 |
USCHO did not release a poll in Week 24.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award |
| Dylan Abood | Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award |
| Billy Christopoulos | Atlantic Hockey Regular Season Goaltending Award |
| Billy Christopoulos | Atlantic Hockey Tournament MVP |
| Billy Christopoulos | All-Atlantic Hockey Third Team |
| Billy Christopoulos | Atlantic Hockey All-Tournament Team |
| Zack Mirageas | Atlantic Hockey All-Tournament Team |
| Jonathan Kopacka | Atlantic Hockey All-Tournament Team |
| Kyle Haak | Atlantic Hockey All-Tournament Team |
| Jordan Himley | Atlantic Hockey All-Tournament Team |