2016–17 Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey season

The 2016–17 Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey season was the 49th season of play for the program and the 11th season in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Falcons represented the United States Air Force Academy and were coached by Frank Serratore, in his 20th season.

2016–17 Air Force Falcons
men's ice hockey season
Ice Breaker Tournament, champion
Atlantic Hockey Tournament, champion
NCAA Tournament, East Regional final
Conference2nd Atlantic Hockey
Home iceCadet Ice Arena
Rankings
USCHO.com12
USA Today11
Record
Overall27–10–5
Conference19–6–3
Home11–4–2
Road12–5–2
Neutral4–1–1
Coaches and captains
Head coachFrank Serratore
Assistant coachesAndy Berg
Joe Doyle
Captain(s)Dylan Abood
Johnny Hrabovsky
Alternate captain(s)A. J. Reid
Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey seasons
« 2015–16 2017–18 »

Season

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Air Force began the season as one of the four teams selected to participate in the Ice Breaker Tournament. In a surprising turn of events, the Falcons upset pre-season #5 Boston College behind the standout performance by Shane Starrett. The sophomore netminder faced an onslaught in the championship and turned aside 46 shots to earn a tie. A single-elimination shootout was used to determine the champion and, after Starrett stopped Ohio State's Nick Schilkey, Tyler Ledford scored to secure the title for Air Force. The stunning result contributed to Air Force earning a top-20 ranking the following week, but their position in the polls was short lived as they split the following weekend with Arizona State. The Falcons went through a rough patch in the first half of the year, losing nearly as many games as they won.

The Falcons returned after the winter break with a much more concerted defensive effort and ran a winning streak to 6 games. After dropping a weekend to Canisius in mid-January, Air Force won 9 of their next 11 games. The extended period of success allowed the Falcons to regain a spot in the polls and gave them a chance at winning the Atlantic Hockey title. Entering the final weekend of the regular season, they needed four points to get past Canisius or three to split the regular season title. The Falcons blew out Canisius 5–0 in the first game, leaving them one point behind the Griffins. While they were hoping for a repeat performance in the season finale, the Pioneer netminder, Nathan Perry, stopped 39 Falcon shots. That still left Air Force in the lead by a 2–1 score with about a minute to play. After pulling their goaltender, SHU managed to tie the game with 53 seconds left. In the overtime, Air Force was given a gift when Sacred Heart took a penalty at the 50 second mark. The Falcons were unable to get on track during the power play and failed to record a shot on goal. Instead, the Pioneers were able to get Starrett to take an unsportsmanlike penalty and even the playing field. Just 4 seconds after the ensuing faceoff, the puck found its way into the Air Force net and the Falcons were relegated to 2nd-place.[1]

Conference tournament

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Air Force still earned a bye into their conference quarterfinal round, but they were still on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament. While it was possible that they could make the bracket without a conference championship, it was unlikely even with their outstanding record. The team could ill afford a bad loss now and they took care of business against Bentley. While they had to overcome a 5-minute penalty in the second game, Air Force surrendered just a single goal in the two games and advanced to the semifinal.

They got a tough fight from Army and the two rivals were evenly-matched for most of the contest, but Starrett recorded his second shutout of the tournament and the Falcons moved on to the championship. The team played one of its worst games all-season, recording just 14 shots on goal, but still managed to find the twine on two occasions. The Falcons rode a brilliant performance by Starrett to a championship and earned a trip to the national tournament.

NCAA tournament

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Normally, the Atlantic Hockey champion received a 4th seed for the NCAA tournament. Air Force, with its 26 wins and top-15 ranking, was afforded a 3rd seed, becoming just the second entry from its conference to be given that high of a ranking. They opened the tournament against Western Michigan, who they had already played during the season, and took over the game for the first 44 minutes. The Falcons outshout the Broncos 25–13 entering the third and had a 3–1 lead. Phil Boje netted a power play marker just before the 4-minute mark and it appeared that the Falcons were going to fly to an easy victory. Western Michigan, however, fought back hard and scored twice in the next 75 seconds to cut the lead to 1. Tyler Ledford gave the team a 2-goal cushion less than 90 seconds later but WMU continued to attack. After pulling their goalie, Western Michigan made the score 5–4 with just under 2 minutes to play and all the momentum in their favor. The pressure was eased, however, when Wade Allison took a major penalty at 18:47. Air Force was able to hold off the Broncos and advance to the regional final.[2]

For the Falcons' second game, the script was flipped and the team found itself down by 3 goals at the midway point of the game. However, just over a minute after Harvard's third goal, Michael Floodstrand tripped a Falcon. Air Force got possession of the puck on the delayed penalty and managed to finally solve Merrick Madsen. Because NCAA rules did not wipe out a penalty if a team scored prior to the ensuing whistle, Air Force still got a power play out of the infraction and scored 15 seconds into their advantage. This left the team down by just a single goal with over 28 minutes to play. Unfortunately, Harvard's defense closed ranks and the team played nearly error-free hockey for the rest of the game. The Falcons were able to get several shots on goal, but could get no more to find the back of the net and the team was eliminated.

After the season, Shane Starrett was able to parlay his stellar campaign into a professional contract. He became the first Air Force player to sign with an NHL team when he inked a two-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers.[3]

Departures

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Player Position Nationality Cause
Ben Carey Forward   United States Graduation (retired)
Ryan Doucet Forward   United States Left program
Chris Dylewski Goaltender   United States Graduation (retired)
Jake Erickson Defenseman   United States Transferred to Norwich
Evan Okeley Forward   United States Transferred to St. John's
Matt Perry Forward   United States Transferred to St. John's
Zach Yoder Defenseman   United States Transferred to Ferris State

Recruiting

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Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Matthew Burchill Defenseman   United States 20 Boston, MA
Erich Jaeger Forward   United States 20 Coeur d'Alene, ID
Pierce Pluemer Forward   United States 20 Phillips, WI
Matt Pulver Forward   United States 19 Chippewa Falls, WI
Trevor Stone Goaltender   United States 20 Pleasant Plains, IL
Brady Tomlak Forward   United States 20 Oakland, MI
Joe Tyran Defenseman   United States 20 Wadsworth, IL

Roster

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No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
2   Kyle Mackey Junior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 1994-10-07 Derby, New York Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)
3   Johnny Hrabovsky (C) Senior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1993-03-19 Hummelstown, Pennsylvania Tri-City Storm (USHL)
4   Phil Boje Junior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1994-04-13 Shoreview, Minnesota Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)
6   Matthew Burchill Freshman D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1996-01-31 Boston, Massachusetts South Shore Kings (USPHL)
7   Matt Koch Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1995-03-22 Hastings, Minnesota Wichita Falls Wildcats (NAHL)
9   Trevor Stone Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1996-06-03 Pleasant Plains, Illinois Springfield Jr. Blues (NAHL)
10   Jordan Himley Junior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 161 lb (73 kg) 1993-12-26 Mundelein, Illinois Janesville Jets (NAHL)
12   Matt Serratore Sophomore F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1994-06-21 Bemidji, Minnesota Penticton Vees (BCHL)
13   Tyler Ledford Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 161 lb (73 kg) 1994-04-29 Folsom, California Wichita Falls Wildcats (NAHL)
14   Ben Kucera Junior F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1995-04-23 Overland Park, Kansas Wichita Falls Wildcats (NAHL)
15   Evan Giesler Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1994-02-19 Naperville, Illinois Bismarck Bobcats (BCHL)
16   Kyle Haak Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1994-08-06 Okemos, Michigan Aberdeen Wings (NAHL)
17   Joe Tyran Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1996-03-07 Chattaroy, Washington Bismarck Bobcats (NAHL)
18   Evan Feno Sophomore F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1995-02-14 Morrison, Colorado Janesville Jets (NAHL)
20   Dan Bailey Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 1996-03-21 St. Cloud, Minnesota Wenatchee Wild (NAHL)
21   Matt Pulver Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1997-06-05 Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin Aberdeen Wings (NAHL)
22   Pierce Pluemer Freshman F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1996-01-07 Phillips, Wisconsin Odessa Jackalopes (NAHL)
23   Dylan Abood (C) Junior D 5' 8" (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1993-05-31 Centennial, Colorado Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees (NAHL)
24   A. J. Reid (A) Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1992-09-09 Lakeville, Minnesota Austin Bruins (NAHL)
25   Tyler Rostenkowski Junior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 1993-06-02 Chicago, Illinois Amarillo Bulls (NAHL)
26   Erich Jaeger Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1996-01-02 Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Wichita Falls Wildcats (NAHL)
27   Erik Baskin Junior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 1993-10-11 Minnetonka, Minnesota Aberdeen Wings (NAHL)
28   Brady Tomlak Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1996-05-14 Oakland, Michigan Springfield Jr. Blues (NAHL)
40   Shane Starrett Sophomore G 6' 5" (1.96 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1994-07-12 Bellingham, Massachusetts South Shore Kings (USPHL)
44   Billy Christopoulos Sophomore G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1994-02-01 Raleigh, North Carolina Alberni Valley Bulldogs (BCHL)
52   Jonathan Kopacka Junior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1993-05-28 Macomb, Michigan Port Huron Fighting Falcons (NAHL)

[4]

Standings

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Conference record Overall record
GP W L T PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Canisius 28 18 4 6 42 90 53 39 21 11 7 107 85
#12 Air Force* 28 19 6 3 41 91 56 42 27 10 5 133 93
Army 28 15 10 3 33 77 56 37 18 14 5 100 78
Robert Morris 28 15 10 3 33 86 73 38 22 12 4 123 95
Holy Cross 28 11 10 7 29 78 78 36 14 15 7 99 106
RIT 28 13 15 0 26 90 79 37 14 22 1 108 111
Mercyhurst 28 11 13 4 26 82 83 39 15 20 4 106 123
Bentley 28 10 12 6 26 78 82 39 13 19 7 101 120
Sacred Heart 28 10 15 3 23 67 87 37 13 19 5 88 116
American International 28 7 14 7 21 63 91 36 8 20 8 82 122
Niagara 28 3 23 2 8 55 119 39 5 31 3 76 168
Championship: March 18, 2017
† indicates conference regular season champion; * indicates conference tournament champion
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated March 6, 2017

Schedule and results

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Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 2 6:05 PM vs. Mount Royal* Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Starrett W 5–1  1,325
Ice Breaker Tournament
October 7 4:37 PM vs. #5 Boston College* Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado (Ice Breaker semifinal)   Starrett W 2–1  3,984 1–0–0
October 8 4:07 PM vs. Ohio State* Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado (Ice Breaker championship)   Starrett T 3–3 SOW 4,286 1–0–1
Regular Season
October 14 7:05 PM at Arizona State* #18 Gila River ArenaGlendale, Arizona   Starrett W 4–3  1,753 2–0–1
October 15 2:35 PM at Arizona State* #18 Gila River ArenaGlendale, Arizona Pac-12 Christopoulos L 2–5  853 2–1–1
October 21 7:05 PM vs. Bentley Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Starrett W 5–2  2,012 3–1–1 (1–0–0)
October 22 7:05 PM vs. Bentley Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Starrett L 1–6  2,298 3–2–1 (1–1–0)
November 4 5:00 PM at Army Tate RinkWest Point, New York   Starrett L 2–4  2,191 3–3–1 (1–2–0)
November 5 6:05 PM at Army Tate RinkWest Point, New York   Starrett W 3–1  2,456 4–3–1 (2–2–0)
November 11 7:35 PM vs. RIT Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Starrett W 4–3  2,112 5–3–1 (3–2–0)
November 12 3:05 PM vs. RIT Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Starrett W 4–3  1,894 6–3–1 (4–2–0)
November 18 5:05 PM at #18 Western Michigan* Lawson ArenaKalamazoo, Michigan ASN Christopoulos T 5–5 OT 2,455 6–3–2
November 19 6:05 PM at #18 Western Michigan* Lawson ArenaKalamazoo, Michigan   Christopoulos L 1–4  2,453 6–4–2
November 25 5:05 PM vs. #2 Denver* Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Christopoulos L 3–4 OT 2,742 6–5–2
November 26 6:07 PM at Colorado College* Broadmoor World ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado (Battle for Pikes Peak)   Starrett W 6–3  6,154 7–5–2
December 2 5:05 PM at Holy Cross Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts   Starrett T 2–2 OT 1,309 7–5–3 (4–2–1)
December 3 5:05 PM at Holy Cross Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts   Starrett L 2–3  1,421 7–6–3 (4–3–1)
December 9 7:05 PM vs. Niagara Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Starrett W 2–1  1,694 8–6–3 (5–3–1)
December 10 5:05 PM vs. Niagara Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Starrett W 4–0  1,906 9–6–3 (6–3–1)
December 30 1:00 PM at Sacred Heart Webster Bank ArenaBridgeport, Connecticut   Starrett W 3–1  314 10–6–3 (7–3–1)
December 31 1:00 PM at Sacred Heart Webster Bank ArenaBridgeport, Connecticut   Starrett W 3–2  242 11–6–3 (8–3–1)
January 6 7:05 PM at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, Pennsylvania   Starrett W 3–1  1,152 12–6–3 (9–3–1)
January 6 5:05 PM at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, Pennsylvania   Christopoulos W 4–2  1,006 13–6–3 (10–3–1)
January 13 7:05 PM vs. Canisius Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Starrett L 1–4  1,813 13–7–3 (10–4–1)
January 14 5:05 PM vs. Canisius Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Starrett T 2–2 OT 2,014 13–7–4 (10–4–2)
January 20 5:05 PM at Robert Morris Colonials ArenaNeville Township, Pennsylvania   Starrett W 6–2  954 14–7–4 (11–4–2)
January 21 5:05 PM at Robert Morris Colonials ArenaNeville Township, Pennsylvania   Christopoulos L 1–2  1,183 14–8–4 (11–5–2)
January 27 7:05 PM vs. Army Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Starrett W 3–1  3,123 15–8–4 (12–5–2)
January 28 5:05 PM vs. Army Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Starrett W 3–2  2,754 16–8–4 (13–5–2)
February 3 5:05 PM at Bentley John A. Ryan ArenaWaltham, Massachusetts   Starrett W 6–1  640 17–8–4 (14–5–2)
February 4 5:05 PM at Bentley John A. Ryan ArenaWaltham, Massachusetts   Starrett W 5–1  505 18–8–4 (15–5–2)
February 10 6:37 PM vs. American International #20 Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Starrett W 5–0  2,264 19–8–4 (16–5–2)
February 11 5:05 PM vs. American International #20 Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Starrett T 3–3 OT 1,906 19–8–5 (16–5–3)
February 17 5:05 PM at RIT #19 Gene Polisseni CenterHenrietta, New York TWCS Starrett W 4–2  3,082 20–8–5 (17–5–3)
February 18 5:15 PM at RIT #19 Gene Polisseni CenterHenrietta, New York TWCS Starrett W 3–2  3,221 21–8–5 (18–5–3)
February 24 5:05 PM vs. Sacred Heart #17 Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Starrett W 5–0  2,481 22–8–5 (19–5–3)
February 25 5:05 PM vs. Sacred Heart #17 Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado   Starrett L 2–3 OT 2,344 22–9–5 (19–6–3)
Atlantic Hockey Tournament
March 10 5:05 PM vs. Bentley* #18 Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado (Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals game 1)   Starrett W 4–0  1,950 23–9–5
March 10 5:05 PM vs. Bentley* #18 Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado (Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals game 2)   Starrett W 2–1  2,115 24–9–5
Air Force Won Series 2–0
March 17 6:05 PM vs. Army* #17 Blue Cross ArenaRochester, New York (Atlantic Hockey semifinal) TWCS Starrett W 1–0  630 25–9–5
March 17 5:05 PM vs. Robert Morris* #17 Blue Cross ArenaRochester, New York (Atlantic Hockey championship)   Starrett W 5–1  650 26–9–5
NCAA Tournament
March 24 5:34 PM vs. #8 Western Michigan* #15 Dunkin' Donuts CenterProvidence, Rhode Island (East Regional semifinal) ESPN3 Starrett W 5–4  6,543 27–9–5
March 25 6:30 PM vs. #2 Harvard* #15 Dunkin' Donuts CenterProvidence, Rhode Island (East Regional final) ESPNU Starrett L 2–3  3,708 27–10–5
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Mountain Time.
Source:[5]

Scoring statistics

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Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Jordan Himley F 41 22 15 37 24
Kyle Haak F 41 14 19 33 34
Phil Boje D 42 9 21 30 20
Evan Giesler F 42 11 18 29 33
Evan Feno F 40 7 18 25 27
Erik Baskin F 42 11 12 23 14
Tyler Ledford F 41 7 15 22 18
Matt Serratore F 34 4 15 19 12
Brady Tomlak C 38 5 13 18 30
Matt Koch D 41 5 13 18 20
A. J. Reid C/RW 42 9 8 17 27
Dan Bailey D 39 5 11 16 23
Trevor Stone C/LW 26 6 6 12 16
Tyler Rostenkowski D 42 4 8 12 22
Kyle Mackey D 41 2 8 10 44
Ben Kucera C 24 5 3 8 10
Johnny Hrabovsky D 33 1 7 8 16
Pierce Pluemer LW 29 2 4 6 33
Jonathan Kopacka D 16 1 5 6 26
Dylan Abood D 35 1 4 5 10
Erich Jaeger F 14 1 2 3 4
Matt Pulver F 7 1 1 2 4
Shane Starrett G 37 0 2 2 2
Mathew Buchill D 6 0 0 0 6
Billy Christopoulos G 8 0 0 0 0
Bench - - - - - 8
Total 133 228 361 483

[6]

Goaltending statistics

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Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Shane Starrett 37 2142 26 6 4 71 942 5 .925 1.99
Billy Christopoulos 8 387 1 4 1 18 163 0 .901 2.79
Empty Net - 20 - - - 4 - - - -
Total 42 2549 27 10 5 93 1034 5 .917 2.19

Rankings

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Poll Week
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 NR 18 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 20 19 17 18 18 17 15 - 12
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 15 10 11

USCHO did not release a poll in Week 24.[7]

Awards and honors

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Player Award Ref
Shane Starrett Atlantic Hockey Tournament MVP
Phil Boje All-Atlantic Hockey First Team [8]
Jordan Himley All-Atlantic Hockey Second Team [8]
Shane Starrett All-Atlantic Hockey Third Team [8]
Shane Starrett Atlantic Hockey All-Tournament Team [9]
Johnny Hrabovsky
Jordan Himley
Tyler Ledford

References

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  1. ^ "Saturday, February 25, 2017". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  2. ^ "Friday, March 24, 2017". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  3. ^ "Shane Starrett, Air Force hockey star, signs contract with Edmonton Oilers". The Gazette. April 10, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  4. ^ "2016–17 Ice Hockey Roster". U.S. Air Force Academy Athletics. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
  5. ^ "Air Force Falcons (Men) 2016-2017 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  6. ^ "Air Force Academy 2016-2017 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  7. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c "Atlantic Hockey - Nine of 11 Teams Represented on All-Conference Teams". Atlantichockeyonline.com. March 9, 2017. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  9. ^ "Awards - NCAA (AHA) All-Tournament Team". EliteProspects. Retrieved April 25, 2018.