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2022–23 Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey season

2022–23 Air Force Falcons
men's ice hockey season
Conference10th Atlantic Hockey
Home iceCadet Ice Arena
Rankings
USCHONR
USA TodayNR
Record
Overall12–22–2
Conference8–17–1
Home9–9–1
Road3–12–1
Neutral0–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachFrank Serratore
Assistant coachesAndy Berg
Joe Doyle
Captain(s)Luke Rowe
Alternate captain(s)Blake Bride
Willie Reim
Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey seasons
« 2021–22 2023–24 »

The 2022–23 Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey season was the 55th season of play for the program and the 17th in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Falcons represented the United States Air Force Academy and were coached by Frank Serratore, in his 26th season.

Season

By returning most of the previous season's players, Air Force only had one real unknown about the team and that came in goal. With the graduation of Alex Schilling, coach Serratore turned to sophomore Guy Blessing as the Falcons' new starter. The young netminder played a bit inconsistently through the early part of the season but had the team in a good position by Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, it was at that time that the offense began to dry up. The Falcons went on a nine-game losing streak where they scored more than two goals on just one occasion. To make matters worse, Blessing had come down with a bursitis-related injury in early December.[1] He attempted to play through the pain in the series against Holy Cross but it was too much for him to continue. While the team hoped that he would recover after the winter break, Blessing's condition did not improve enough and he ended up missing the remainder of the season.

In the meantime, a heavy snowfall caused the closure of the Buffalo airport, nessitating that the series with Canisius on December 30–31 be postponed.[2] It was later rescheduled for February 13 and 14.[3]

When the team finally returned to the ice in early January, coach Serratore was forced to alternate between his two upperclassmen goaltenders, Maiszon Balboa and Austin Park. This was caused in part because of the early departure of Aaron Randazzo but also because his replacement, Raymond Picard, had been playing on the Falcons' club team and was only there for emergencies. The two netminders combined to provide a stable situation in goal. Over the second half of the season, the Falcons received a nearly identical quality of goaltending that they had from Blessing. However, the Falcons were not fully able to solve their scoring woes. While the Falcons had a decent amount of depth scoring, they had no top-end players and just two players were able to get into double-digit-goal figures. Aside from a brief respite around early February, the entire team had trouble putting the puck in the net. Over the 18 games that Air Force played in 2023, they scored more than two goals in just seven of those matches, going 5–2 in those contests. In the others, the team went 1–10 and tumbled down the Atlantic Hockey standings, ending up in the conference cellar.

To compound the team's problems, the conference had changed the playoff format before the start of the season, eliminating the first round and starting with the quarterfinals. As a result, the Falcons ended up missing the postseason entirely, marking the first time that Air Force had missed the playoffs since joining the CHA back in 1999.[4]

Departures

Player Position Nationality Cause
Billy Duma Forward  United States Left program (retired)
Frederick Paine Defenseman  United States Transferred to St. Scholastica
Aaron Randazzo Goaltender  United States Left program mid-season
Alex Schilling Goaltender  United States Graduation (retired)

Recruiting

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Liam Hansson Forward/Defenseman  United States 20 Ramsey, NJ
Chris Hedden Defenseman  United States 20 Kalamazoo, MI
Mason McCormick Forward  United States 21 Verona, WI
Brett Oberle Defenseman  United States 21 Woodbury, MN
Holt Oliphant Forward  United States 21 Northbrook, IL
Raymond Picard Goaltender  United States 18 Portland, CT; mid-season addition from the club team
Aaron Randazzo Goaltender  United States 21 Annapolis, MD

Roster

As of August 12, 2022[5]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Arizona Guy Blessing Sophomore G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-05-08 Chandler, Arizona Lone Star (NAHL) —
2 Minnesota Andrew Kruse Senior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-12-06 Delano, Minnesota Minnesota Magicians (NAHL) —
4 New Jersey Luke Rowe (C) Junior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 206 lb (93 kg) 1998-08-08 Succasunna, New Jersey Boston Jr. Bruins (NCDC) —
6 Michigan Chris Hedden Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-09-20 Kalamazoo, Michigan Omaha (USHL) —
7 California Brian Adams Junior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-12-07 San Ramon, California Wenatchee (BCHL) —
8 Colorado Blake Bride (A) Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-04-22 Broomfield, Colorado Sioux Falls (USHL) —
9 Colorado Lucas Coon Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2001-11-24 Steamboat Springs, Colorado Odessa (NAHL) —
10 Colorado Austin Schwartz Sophomore F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2001-06-18 Parker, Colorado Bismarck (NAHL) —
13 Wisconsin Mason McCormick Freshman F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2001-05-25 Verona, Wisconsin Waterloo (USHL) —
14 Colorado Jacob Marti Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-06-10 Highlands Ranch, Colorado Bismarck (NAHL) —
15 Minnesota Bennett Norlin Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1998-10-26 Farmington, Minnesota West Kelowna (BCHL) —
16 Michigan Sam Brennan Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2000-01-16 Brighton, Michigan Lone Star (NAHL) —
17 South Carolina Parker Brown Junior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 155 lb (70 kg) 1999-09-08 Hanahan, South Carolina Fairbanks (NAHL) —
18 Illinois Holt Oliphant Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-05-17 Northbrook, Illinois Johnstown (NAHL) —
20 Minnesota Brandon Koch Senior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-01-18 Hastings, Minnesota Wenatchee (BCHL) —
21 New Jersey Liam Hansson Freshman D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2001-12-16 Ramsey, New Jersey Cranbrook (BCHL) —
22 California Drake Usher Sophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2000-04-29 Upland, California Wichita Falls (NAHL) —
23 Minnesota Willie Reim (A) Senior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1999-01-11 North Oaks, Minnesota West Kelowna (BCHL) —
24 Minnesota Nate Horn Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1999-03-02 Elk River, Minnesota Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL) —
25 Virginia Jason Kleinhans Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-10-04 Herndon, Virginia Danbury (NAHL) —
26 California Clayton Cosentino Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-06-18 San Carlos, California Aberdeen (NAHL) —
27 Tennessee Luke Robinson Junior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2000-02-16 Nashville, Tennessee Dubuque (USHL) —
28 Michigan Mitchell Digby Sophomore D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-06-26 Ottawa Lake, Michigan Lone Star (NAHL) —
29 Colorado Jasper Lester Sophomore D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-07-31 Colorado Springs, Colorado Fairbanks (NAHL) —
30 Minnesota Aaron Randazzo Freshman G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-05-31 Alexandria, Minnesota Green Bay (NAHL) —
30 Connecticut Raymond Picard Freshman G 5' 10" (1.78 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 2004-03-18 Portland, Connecticut Springfield Pics (USPHL) —
37 Connecticut Will Gavin Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-10-21 Durham, Connecticut Northern (NCDC) —
41 Colorado Austin Park Senior G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1998-06-05 Highlands Ranch, Colorado Wenatchee (BCHL) —
47 Minnesota Dalton Weigel Senior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-12-30 Bloomington, Minnesota Aberdeen (NAHL) —
51 Colorado Maiszon Balboa Junior G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-04-18 Colorado Springs, Colorado Shreveport (NAHL) —
55 Minnesota Brett Oberle Freshman D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-09-27 Woodbury, Minnesota Wenatchee (BCHL) —
64 Colorado Ty Pochipinski Senior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1998-06-05 Colorado Springs, Colorado Penticton (BCHL) —
82 California Andrew DeCarlo Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-07-23 Huntington Beach, California Lone Star (NAHL) —

Standings

2022–23 Atlantic Hockey Standings
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OW OL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
RIT † 26 18 7 1 1 3 0 57 85 55 39 25 13 1 127 100
American International 26 14 8 4 2 0 3 47 87 62 39 18 14 7 124 98
Sacred Heart 26 14 9 3 2 0 2 45 87 72 37 17 17 3 107 112
Canisius * 26 13 10 3 3 1 1 41 76 71 42 20 19 3 118 119
Army 26 12 12 2 3 3 1 39 72 81 37 14 19 4 98 119
Niagara 26 10 13 3 0 3 2 38 73 86 40 19 18 3 119 129
Holy Cross 26 12 12 2 3 1 1 37 73 71 41 17 21 3 98 119
Mercyhurst 26 9 14 3 1 5 1 35 77 80 36 10 23 3 98 122
Bentley 26 8 16 2 1 1 1 27 61 89 34 11 21 2 81 124
Air Force 26 8 17 1 1 0 0 24 63 87 36 12 22 2 95 128
Championship: March 18, 2023
† indicates conference regular season champion (DeGregorio Trophy)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 1 6:05 PM Colorado College* Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Exhibition)   Blessing L 1–5  1,535
Ice Breaker Tournament
October 7 7:05 PM Maine* Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Ice Breaker Tournament) FloHockey Randazzo L 1–4  1,682 0–1–0
October 8 7:05 PM #11 Notre Dame* Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Ice Breaker Tournament)   Randazzo T 5–5 OT 2,473 0–1–1
Regular Season
October 14 6:10 PM at Lindenwood* Centene Community Ice Center • St. Charles, Missouri   Randazzo L 6–7  2,065 0–2–1
October 15 1:10 PM at Lindenwood* Centene Community Ice Center • St. Charles, Missouri   Blessing W 5–3  1,073 1–2–1
October 20 7:05 PM RIT Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado Altitude Blessing W 3–2  1,385 2–2–1 (1–0–0)
October 21 7:05 PM RIT Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado FloHockey Blessing L 2–4  1,591 2–3–1 (1–1–0)
October 28 7:30 PM at Colorado College* Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Rivalry) ATTRM Blessing L 0–8  3,418 2–4–1
October 29 7:05 PM Colorado College* Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Rivalry) Altitude 2 Blessing W 6–3  2,050 3–4–1
November 4 7:05 PM Alaska Anchorage* Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado FloHockey Blessing W 5–3  1,548 4–4–1
November 5 5:05 PM Alaska Anchorage* Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado Altitude 2 Blessing W 3–1  1,774 5–4–1
November 11 7:05 PM Bentley Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado FloHockey Blessing L 1–5  1,507 5–5–1 (1–2–0)
November 12 8:05 PM Bentley Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado Altitude 2 Blessing W 2–0  1,353 6–5–1 (2–2–0)
November 19 11:05 AM at American International MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts FloHockey Blessing T 3–3 SOL 347 6–5–2 (2–2–1)
November 20 5:05 PM at American International MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts FloHockey Blessing L 1–3  199 6–6–2 (2–3–1)
November 25 5:05 PM at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania FloHockey Blessing L 3–5  400 6–7–2 (2–4–1)
November 26 2:05 PM at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania FloHockey Blessing L 2–4  300 6–8–2 (2–5–1)
December 2 7:05 PM Holy Cross Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado FloHockey Blessing L 1–4  1,427 6–9–2 (2–6–1)
December 3 5:05 PM Holy Cross Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado FloHockey Blessing L 1–2  1,493 6–10–2 (2–7–1)
Desert Hockey Classic
January 6 3:30 PM vs. #6 Boston University* Mullett Arena • Tempe, Arizona (Desert Hockey Classic Semifinal)   Balboa L 1–5  - 6–11–2
January 7 7:00 PM at Arizona State* Mullett Arena • Tempe, Arizona (Desert Hockey Classic Consolation)   Balboa L 0–2  - 6–12–2
January 13 5:05 PM at Holy Cross Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Park L 2–5  462 6–13–2 (2–8–1)
January 15 2:05 PM at Holy Cross Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Park L 1–4  321 6–14–2 (2–9–1)
January 20 7:05 PM Niagara Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado FloHockey Park W 6–3  1,465 7–14–2 (3–9–1)
January 21 5:05 PM Niagara Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado Altitude Park L 1–2  1,735 7–15–2 (3–10–1)
January 27 5:00 PM at Army Tate Rink • West Point, New York (Rivalry) FloHockey Balboa L 1–3  2,600 7–16–2 (3–11–1)
January 28 2:00 PM at Army Tate Rink • West Point, New York (Rivalry) FloHockey Balboa W 6–4  2,681 8–16–2 (4–11–1)
February 3 7:05 PM Mercyhurst Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado Altitude 2 Balboa W 4–3 OT 1,854 9–16–2 (5–11–1)
February 4 5:05 PM Mercyhurst Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado Altitude 2 Balboa W 4–2  2,290 10–16–2 (6–11–1)
February 10 5:05 PM at Sacred Heart Martire Family Arena • Fairfield, Connecticut FloHockey, SNY Balboa W 5–4  4,087 11–16–2 (7–11–1)
February 11 5:05 PM at Sacred Heart Martire Family Arena • Fairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Balboa L 3–5  4,152 11–17–2 (7–12–1)
February 13 7:05 PM Canisius Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado Altitude 2 Park W 2–1  1,067 12–17–2 (8–12–1)
February 14 7:05 PM Canisius Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado Altitude 2 Park L 1–4  962 12–18–2 (8–13–1)
February 17 7:05 PM American International Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado Altitude 2 Park L 2–3  1,850 12–19–2 (8–14–1)
February 18 5:05 PM American International Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado FloHockey Park L 3–4  2,299 12–20–2 (8–15–1)
February 24 5:05 PM at RIT Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York FloHockey Balboa L 1–3  2,835 12–21–2 (8–16–1)
February 25 3:05 PM at RIT Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York FloHockey Balboa L 2–5  2,890 12–22–2 (8–17–1)
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Mountain Time.
Source:[6]

Scoring statistics

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Willie Reim F 36 11 15 26 34
Brandon Koch D 36 6 18 24 36
Luke Rowe D 33 7 17 24 37
Will Gavin F 35 11 11 22 27
Clayton Cosentino F 36 6 15 21 10
Nate Horn F 33 8 9 17 8
Parker Brown F 36 6 9 15 21
Andrew DeCarlo F 33 5 8 13 34
Austin Schwartz F 34 5 7 12 2
Sam Brennan D 22 2 9 11 45
Chris Hedden D 35 3 8 11 12
Holt Oliphant F 27 4 5 9 6
Bennett Norlin F 36 3 5 8 4
Mason McCormick LW 34 6 2 8 49
Mitchell Digby D 35 2 5 7 28
Jacob Marti F 25 4 2 6 22
Brian Adams F 27 3 2 5 10
Ty Pochipinski F 14 1 3 4 8
Luke Robinson D 32 1 2 3 30
Blake Bride RW 10 1 1 2 6
Jasper Lester D 18 0 2 2 6
Lucas Coon D 9 0 2 2 2
Brett Oberle D 7 0 1 1 4
Andrew Kruse D 16 0 1 1 6
Guy Blessing G 15 0 1 1 0
Raymond Picard G 1 0 0 0 0
Drake Usher D 2 0 0 0 2
Liam Hansson F 12 0 0 0 2
Aaron Randazzo G 3 0 0 0 0
Austin Park G 11 0 0 0 2
Maiszon Balboa G 13 0 0 0 0
Total 95 160 255 453

[7]

Goaltending statistics

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals against Saves Shut-outs SV % GAA
Maiszon Balboa 13 664 4 6 0 34 286 0 .894 3.07
Austin Park 10 484 2 6 0 25 189 0 .883 3.10
Guy Blessing 15 800 6 8 1 43 343 1 .889 3.23
Aaron Randazzo 3 184 0 2 1 16 75 0 .824 5.23
Empty Net - 39 - - - 10 - - - -
Total 36 2,171 12 22 2 128 893 1 .875 3.53

Rankings

Main article: 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings
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 26 27 (Final)
USCHO.com NR - NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR - NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR - NR
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 NR NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26.[8]

Awards and honors

Player Award Ref
Luke Rowe Atlantic Hockey Second Team [9]
Chris Hedden Atlantic Hockey Rookie Team [9]

References

  1. ^ Field, Carson (January 7, 2023). "Air Force hockey hoping to start 2023 with wins at Desert Hockey Classic". The Gazette. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  2. ^ "Canisius-Air Force college hockey series scheduled for Dec. 30-31 postponed due to Buffalo airport closure". USCHO. December 28, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  3. ^ "Atlantic Hockey announces rescheduled Canisius-Air Force, Sacred Heart-Canisius conference series". USCHO. January 6, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  4. ^ "Air Force Hockey 2018-19 Record Book" (PDF). Air Force Falcons. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  5. ^ "2021-22 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". U.S. Air Force Academy Athletics. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  6. ^ "2022-23 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". Air Force Falcons. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  7. ^ "Air Force Academy 2022-2023 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  8. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Atlantic Hockey Announces 2022-23 All-Conference Teams". Atlantic Hockey. March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022%E2%80%9323_Air_Force_Falcons_men%27s_ice_hockey_season