2023–24 Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey season

The 2023–24 Air Force Falcons men's ice hockey season was the 56th season of play for the program and the 18th in Atlantic Hockey. 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 27th season.

Season

Just before the start of the season, the NCAA announced:

"The school, enforcement staff, men's ice hockey head coach and two assistant coaches agreed that ... two assistant coaches had approximately 18 impermissible recruiting contacts with a prospective student-athlete and his father before that student-athlete had entered the Transfer Portal"

Though he was not charged with any direct action, head coach Frank Serratore was responsible for the actions of his assistants. As such, a standard Level II penalty was applied to both Serratore and the two assistants who were unnamed in the release.

Once the season got underway, the Falcons very quickly proved to be an inconsistent team. After splitting their opening series against Lindenwood, one of the worst teams in the nation, Air Force followed that up with a split versus Michigan State, one of the best teams. That trend continued throughout the season and can mostly be attributed to the defensive side of the puck. Air Force had a very good season offensively, averaging 3 goals per game for the year. However, they allowed slightly more goals per game on average and were let down by a subpar season from Guy Blessing.

Despite the deficiencies, the team finished 4th in Atlantic Hockey and earned a home stand for the conference quarterfinals. The Falcons outplayed American International in the first game, firing 32 shots to the Yellow Jackets' 18 but they were unable to overcome a strong goaltending performance from the opposing netminder. The second game saw Air Force jump out to a 2–0 lead in the first period but the team was unable to build on that lead for the rest of the match. AIC tied the game with less than two minutes to play and forced overtime. USAF ratcheted up their offense in the extra session, sending 15 shots on goal in just over 12 minutes but none of them could find the back of the net. A simple rush up the ice ended the game in the middle of the first overtime when a perfectly placed shot ricocheted in off of the crossbar and ended the Falcons' season.

Departures

Recruiting

Roster

As of September 14, 2023

Standings

Schedule and results

Scoring statistics

Goaltending statistics

Rankings

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 and 25.
Note: USA Today did not release a poll in week 12.

References