2024–25 Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey season

2024–25 Air Force Falcons
men's ice hockey season
2024–25 Air Force Falcons; men's ice hockey season
Conference	7th AHA
Home ice	Cadet Ice Arena
Rankings
USCHO	NR
USA Hockey	NR
Record
Overall	16–21–3
Conference	11–13–2
Home	10–9–1
Road	6–10–2
Neutral	0–2–0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Frank Serratore
Assistant coaches	Andy Berg; Joe Doyle; Steve Jennings; Josh Holmstrom
Captain(s)	Clayton Cosentino; Austin Schwartz
Alternate captain(s)	Mason McCormick; Holt Oliphant
	Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey seasons; « 2023–24 2025–26 »

The 2024–25 Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey season was the 57th season of play for the program and the 1st in Atlantic Hockey America. The Falcons represented the United States Air Force Academy, played their home games at the Cadet Ice Arena and were coached by Frank Serratore in his 28th season.

Season

From the beginning of the season, Air Force struggled with a weak offense; averaging just over 2 goals per game, the Falcons give themselves little margin for error defensively. Fortunately for the team, they were able to rely on stable goaltending from Guy Blessing and capable shot-blocking from both Chris Hedden and Will Staring. The result for the team was a great many close, low-scoring games.

For the first half of the season, Air Force was a bit streaky, alternating stretches of wins and losses. By the time the team paused for the winter break, the Falcons were sitting just below .500 but had played well in conference play. After two splits to open the second half against two of the AHA luminaries, the team hit a rough patch. An uncharacteristically poor stretch of games from Blessing saw the team lose six consecutive and sag into the middle of the standings. While the team recovered in early February, the would be forced to begin their postseason run in the First Round of the conference tournament.

In their final home game of the season, Air Force faced a rebuilding Robert Morris club that gave them a tougher challenge than their record would have indicated. The Colonials were able to get three goals on the Falcons and it took just about everything the home team had to remain in the contest. Air Force fired 43 shots on goal in regulation and managed to equal the total from RMU. After such a harrying ordeal, the Falcons appeared to relax a bit in overtime, getting only 5 shots over a 20-minute span. Fortunately, the defense was up to the task and a fifth period was required. The Falcons began to pressure the visitors cage and eventually forced them to take a slashing penalty. Mere seconds after the ensuing faceoff, Anthony Yu jammed the puck in from just outside the paint and sent the team to the quarterfinals.^[1]

In the series with Sacred Heart, the lack of finish caught up with the Falcons as the team was unable to content with the Pioneers' offense. Air Force still fought hard, winning another double-overtime game on the strength of Austin Schwartz' team-leading 12th of the season.^[2] However, their valiant effort was not enough for the Falcons to take the series and after a succeeding loss the team's season came to a close.

Departures

Player	Position	Nationality	Cause
Brian Adams	Forward	United States	Graduation (retired)
Maiszon Balboa	Goaltender	United States	Graduation (retired)
Owen Baumgartner	Defenseman	United States	Transferred to Augustana
Sam Brennan	Defenseman	United States	Graduation (retired)
Parker Brown	Forward	United States	Graduation (retired)
Will Gavin	Forward	United States	Graduation (signed with Tucson Roadrunners)
Nathan Horn	Forward	United States	Graduation (retired)
Jacob Marti	Forward	United States	Graduation (retired)
Luke Robinson	Defenseman	United States	Graduation (retired)
Luke Rowe	Defenseman	United States	Graduation (signed with Ontario Reign)

Recruiting

Player	Position	Nationality	Age	Notes
Cooper Boulanger	Forward	United States	21	Barre, VT
Joseph Cesario	Forward	United States	21	Westminster, CO
Will Dawson	Forward	United States	20	Traverse City, MI
Toby Hopp	Goaltender	United States	20	Maple Grove, MN
Beau Janzig	Defenseman	United States	20	Hermantown, MN
Will Jones	Defenseman	United States	20	Brentwood, TN
Michael Kadlecik	Forward	United States	20	Lansing, NY
Ren Morque	Defenseman	United States	20	Grand Rapids, MN
Jake Peterson	Defenseman	United States	20	Rosemount, MN
Nick Sajevic	Forward	United States	21	Shoreview, MN
Samuel Stitz	Forward	United States	21	Perry Hall, MD
Anthony Yu	Forward	United States	20	Baldwin Park, CA

Roster

As of August 13, 2024.^[3]

No.	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1	Guy Blessing	Senior	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2001-05-08	Chandler, Arizona	Lone Star Brahmas (NAHL)	—
2	Beau Janzig	Freshman	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	201 lb (91 kg)	2003-11-17	Hermantown, Minnesota	Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)	—
3	Rem Morque	Freshman	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2003-11-12	Grand Rapids, Minnesota	Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)	—
4	Will Jones	Freshman	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2004-03-09	Brentwood, Tennessee	Powell River Kings (BCHL)	—
6	Anthony Yu	Freshman	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	2004-07-10	Baldwin Park, California	Powell River Kings (BCHL)	—
7	Jake Peterson	Freshman	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2003-10-02	Rosemount, Minnesota	Bismarck Bobcats (NAHL)	—
8	Ethan Ulrick	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2003-04-25	Lakewood, Illinois	Salmon Arm Silverbacks (BCHL)	—
9	Lucas Coon	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2001-11-24	Steamboat Springs, Colorado	Odessa Jackalopes (NAHL)	—
10	Austin Schwartz (C)	Senior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2001-06-18	Parker, Colorado	Bismarck Bobcats (NAHL)	—
11	Sam Jacobs	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2003-04-25	Plymouth, Minnesota	Wisconsin Windigo (NAHL)	—
12	James Callahan	Sophomore	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2002-12-18	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Springfield Jr. Blues (NAHL)	—
13	Mason McCormick (A)	Junior	F	6' 4" (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	2001-05-25	Verona, Wisconsin	Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)	—
14	Will Dawson	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	2003-10-03	Traverse City, Michigan	Minot Minotauros (NAHL)	—
15	Owen Dubois	Sophomore	F	6' 4" (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	2002-07-06	Madison, Wisconsin	Aberdeen Wings (NAHL)	—
16	Cooper Boulanger	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	2003-07-08	Barre, Vermont	Oklahoma Warriors (NAHL)	—
17	Michael Kadlecik	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2004-04-14	Lansing, New York	Odessa Jackalopes (NAHL)	—
18	Holt Oliphant (A)	Junior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2001-05-17	Northbrook, Illinois	Johnstown Tomahawks (NAHL)	—
19	Nick Remissong	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2002-05-19	Lake Forest, Illinois	Trail Smoke Eaters (BCHL)	—
20	Nolan Cunningham	Sophomore	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2001-12-17	Helena, Montana	Fairbanks Ice Dogs (NAHL)	—
21	Liam Hansson	Junior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2001-12-16	Ramsey, New Jersey	Cranbrook Bucks (BCHL)	—
22	Chris Hedden	Junior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2002-09-20	Kalamazoo, Michigan	Omaha Lancers (USHL)	—
23	Nick Sajevic	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	2003-01-15	Shoreview, Minnesota	Janesville Jets (NAHL)	—
24	Joseph Cesario	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2003-03-17	Westminster, Colorado	Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)	—
26	Clayton Cosentino (C)	Senior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	2000-06-18	San Carlos, California	Aberdeen Wings (NAHL)	—
27	Samuel Stitz	Freshman	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	2003-06-18	Perry Hall, Maryland	Maryland Black Bears (NAHL)	—
28	Mitchell Digby	Senior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2000-06-26	Ottawa Lake, Michigan	Lone Star Brahmas (NAHL)	—
29	Jasper Lester	Senior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2000-07-31	Colorado Springs, Colorado	Fairbanks Ice Dogs (NAHL)	—
30	Dominik Wasik	Sophomore	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2002-07-02	Superior, Wisconsin	Steinbach Pistons (MJHL)	—
35	Carter Clafton	Sophomore	G	6' 2" (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2002-03-13	Grand Rapids, Minnesota	Amarillo Wranglers (NAHL)	—
37	Toby Hopp	Freshman	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2004-06-27	Maple Grove, Minnesota	Northeast Generals (NAHL)	—
44	Will Staring	Sophomore	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2003-02-28	Springfield, Virginia	Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)	—
64	Brendan Gibbons	Sophomore	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	2002-06-15	South Kingstown, Rhode Island	Maine Nordiques (NAHL)	—
82	Andrew DeCarlo	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2000-07-23	Huntington Beach, California	Lone Star Brahmas (NAHL)	—

Standings

2024–25 Atlantic Hockey America Standings v t e
	Conference record										Overall record
	GP	W	L	T	OW	OL	SW	PTS	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
Holy Cross †	26	19	5	2	4	0	1	56	92	47	40	24	14	2	130	94
Sacred Heart	26	16	7	3	1	1	2	53	80	64	39	21	13	5	118	101
#19 Bentley *	26	16	9	1	1	2	1	51	79	57	40	23	15	2	115	83
Niagara	26	15	9	2	3	3	1	48	90	70	37	18	16	3	124	109
Army	26	14	10	2	2	0	2	44	84	74	38	16	20	2	105	117
Canisius	26	11	13	2	0	3	0	38	84	79	37	12	23	2	98	120
Air Force	26	11	13	2	2	3	1	37	59	58	40	16	21	3	86	112
American International	26	9	16	1	0	3	0	31	63	77	38	13	23	2	92	117
RIT	26	9	15	2	2	0	1	28	65	102	35	10	23	2	82	133
Robert Morris	26	7	15	4	1	2	1	27	72	86	35	10	20	5	95	115
Mercyhurst	26	4	19	3	1	0	2	16	59	113	35	4	27	4	77	150
Championship: March 22, 2025 † 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^#	Site	TV	Decision	Result	Attendance	Record
Regular Season
October 4	7:05 pm	#20т Arizona State*	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	FloHockey	Blessing	L 1–8	2,078	0–1–0
October 5	7:05 pm	#20т Arizona State*	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	FloHockey	Blessing	W 4–3 ^OT	1,626	1–1–0
Ice Breaker Tournament
October 11	8:30 pm	vs. #5 Minnesota*	Orleans Arena • Las Vegas, Nevada (Ice Breaker Semifinal)	BTN+	Blessing	L 1–7	2,152	1–2–0
October 12	5:00 pm	vs. #14 Massachusetts*	Orleans Arena • Las Vegas, Nevada (Ice Breaker Consolation)		Blessing	L 1–5	1,922	1–3–0
October 18	7:05 pm	Lindenwood*	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	FloHockey	Blessing	W 3–2	1,596	2–3–0
October 20	3:35 pm	Lindenwood*	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	FloHockey	Blessing	W 2–1	1,351	3–3–0
October 25	11:05 am	at American International	MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts	FloHockey	Blessing	W 2–1	212	4–3–0 (1–0–0)
October 26	11:05 am	at American International	MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts	FloHockey	Blessing	L 2–4	238	4–4–0 (1–1–0)
November 1	7:05 pm	at #8 Colorado College*	Ed Robson Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Rivalry)	SOCO CW	Blessing	L 2–3 ^OT	3,859	4–5–0
November 2	7:05 pm	#8 Colorado College*	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Rivalry)	FloHockey	Blessing	L 1–6	2,250	4–6–0
November 8	7:05 pm	Canisius	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	FloHockey, Altitude 2	Blessing	W 2–0	635	5–6–0 (2–1–0)
November 9	1:05 pm	Canisius	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	FloHockey, Altitude	Blessing	W 2–1	1,387	6–6–0 (3–1–0)
November 15	8:05 pm	Mercyhurst	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	FloHockey	Blessing	W 1–0	2,176	7–6–0 (4–1–0)
November 16	8:05 pm	Mercyhurst	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	FloHockey	Blessing	W 4–1	2,137	8–6–0 (5–1–0)
November 22	5:05 pm	at Bentley	Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts	FloHockey	Blessing	L 0–2	1,124	8–7–0 (5–2–0)
November 23	2:05 pm	at Bentley	Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts	FloHockey	Blessing	L 0–2	1,257	8–8–0 (5–3–0)
November 29	5:00 pm	at Brown*	Meehan Auditorium • Providence, Rhode Island	ESPN+	Blessing	T 1–1 ^OT	1,054	8–8–1
November 30	2:00 pm	at Brown*	Meehan Auditorium • Providence, Rhode Island	ESPN+	Blessing	L 2–5	972	8–9–1
December 6	7:05 pm	Niagara	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	FloHockey, Altitude 2	Blessing	L 2–3 ^OT	2,521	8–10–1 (5–4–0)
December 7	5:05 pm	Niagara	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	FloHockey	Clafton	W 4–2	2,439	9–10–1 (6–4–0)
January 3	5:00 pm	at Sacred Heart	Martire Family Arena • Fairfield, Connecticut	FloHockey	Blessing	L 0–3	1,954	9–11–1 (6–5–0)
January 4	3:00 pm	at Sacred Heart	Martire Family Arena • Fairfield, Connecticut	FloHockey	Blessing	W 3–0	3,008	10–11–1 (7–5–0)
January 10	7:05 pm	Bentley	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	FloHockey	Blessing	L 0–1	2,479	10–12–1 (7–6–0)
January 11	5:05 pm	Bentley	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	FloHockey	Blessing	W 4–1	2,507	11–12–1 (8–6–0)
January 17	5:00 pm	at Army	Tate Rink • West Point, New York (Rivalry)	FloHockey	Blessing	L 2–3	2,498	11–13–1 (8–7–0)
January 18	2:00 pm	at Army	Tate Rink • West Point, New York (Rivalry)	FloHockey	Blessing	L 3–4 ^OT	2,569	11–14–1 (8–8–0)
January 24	7:05 pm	Holy Cross	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	FloHockey, Altitude 2	Blessing	L 2–3	2,246	11–15–1 (8–9–0)
January 25	5:05 pm	Holy Cross	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	FloHockey, Altitude 2	Blessing	L 3–6	2,575	11–16–1 (8–10–0)
January 31	7:05 pm	RIT	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	FloHockey	Blessing	L 1–2	2,327	11–17–1 (8–11–0)
February 1	5:05 pm	RIT	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado	FloHockey	Blessing	L 2–3 ^OT	2,586	11–18–1 (8–12–0)
February 7	5:05 pm	at Canisius	LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York	FloHockey	Blessing	W 5–3	683	12–18–1 (9–12–0)
February 8	2:05 pm	at Canisius	LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York	FloHockey	Blessing	W 3–2 ^OT	972	13–18–1 (10–12–0)
February 14	7:05 pm	Army	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Rivalry)	FloHockey	Blessing	L 1–2	2,653	13–19–1 (10–13–0)
February 15	5:05 pm	Army	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (Rivalry)	FloHockey	Blessing	T 4–4 ^SOL	2,680	13–19–2 (10–13–1)
February 21	5:00 pm	at Robert Morris	Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania	FloHockey	Blessing	W 4–2	687	14–19–2 (11–13–1)
February 22	5:00 pm	at Robert Morris	Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania	FloHockey, SNP	Blessing	T 3–3 ^SOW	721	14–19–3 (11–13–2)
Atlantic Hockey America Tournament
March 1	5:00 pm	Robert Morris*	Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado (AHA First Round)	FloHockey	Blessing	W 4–3 ^2OT	1,355	15–19–3
March 7	9:00 pm	at Sacred Heart*	Martire Family Arena • Fairfield, Connecticut (AHA Quarterfinal Game 1)	FloHockey	Blessing	L 1–4	1,788	15–20–3
March 8	9:00 pm	at Sacred Heart*	Martire Family Arena • Fairfield, Connecticut (AHA Quarterfinal Game 2)	FloHockey	Blessing	W 3–2 ^2OT	2,215	16–20–3
March 9	7:00 pm	at Sacred Heart*	Martire Family Arena • Fairfield, Connecticut (AHA Quarterfinal Game 3)	FloHockey	Blessing	L 1–4	1,709	16–21–3
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Mountain Time. Source:^[4]

Scoring statistics

Name	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	PIM
Clayton Cosentino	F	40	9	20	29	23
Chris Hedden	D	39	11	15	26	52
Austin Schwartz	F	40	12	9	21	6
Brendan Gibbons	C	39	9	9	18	15
Nolan Cunningham	D	40	5	13	18	26
Samuel Stitz	F	39	8	8	16	8
Nicholas Remissong	F	36	4	11	15	14
Mason McCormick	LW	35	5	5	10	41
Will Dawson	F	34	2	8	10	10
Holt Oliphant	F	38	2	7	9	6
Will Staring	D	39	1	8	9	26
Andrew DeCarlo	F	35	5	2	7	31
Anthony Yu	F	29	3	4	7	8
Mitchell Digby	D	36	3	4	7	4
Nick Sajevic	F	20	2	5	7	4
Ren Morque	D	39	0	7	7	2
Owen Dubois	F	34	3	3	6	23
Beau Janzig	D	40	0	5	5	6
Sam Jacobs	F	17	1	2	3	2
Michael Kadlecik	F	22	0	3	3	4
Guy Blessing	G	39	0	2	2	0
Ethan Ullrick	F	15	1	0	1	0
Jake Peterson	D	36	0	1	1	2
Carter Clafton	G	3	0	0	0	0
Will Jones	D	3	0	0	0	0
James Callahan	D	5	0	0	0	0
Jasper Lester	D	12	0	0	0	23
Total			86	151	237	342

^[5]

Goaltending statistics

Name	Games	Minutes	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals against	Saves	Shutouts	SV %	GAA
Guy Blessing	39	2367:49	15	21	3	98	953	3	.907	2.48
Carter Clafton	4	97:03	1	0	0	5	35	0	.875	3.09
Empty Net	-	35:41	-	-	-	9	-	-	-	-
Total	40	2500:33	16	21	3	112	988	3	.898	2.69

Rankings

Poll	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	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	–	NR
USA Hockey	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 week 12 or 26.^[6]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

Awards and honors

Player	Award	Ref
Austin Schwartz	Atlantic Hockey Best Defensive Forward	^[7]

References

↑ "Air Force Beats RMU In 2OT, Anthony Yu Hits The Heartbreaker Celly". YouTube. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
↑ "Saturday, March 8, 2025". College Hockey Inc. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
↑ "2024-25 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Air Force Falcons. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
↑ "2024–25 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". Air Force Falcons. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
↑ "Air Force Academy 2024-2025 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
↑ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
↑ "Atlantic Hockey America Announces 2024-25 Men's Individual Awards". atlantichockeyamerica.com. March 18, 2025. Retrieved March 18, 2025.

[1] "Air Force Beats RMU In 2OT, Anthony Yu Hits The Heartbreaker Celly". YouTube. Retrieved March 12, 2025.

[2] "Saturday, March 8, 2025". College Hockey Inc. Retrieved March 16, 2025.

[3] "2024-25 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Air Force Falcons. Retrieved August 13, 2024.

[4] "2024–25 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". Air Force Falcons. Retrieved August 21, 2023.

[5] "Air Force Academy 2024-2025 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 2, 2022.

[6] "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.

[AHA-7] "Atlantic Hockey America Announces 2024-25 Men's Individual Awards". atlantichockeyamerica.com. March 18, 2025. Retrieved March 18, 2025.

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