Ever wonder why Air Force hockey players wear the jersey numbers that they do?

At AFAFlightPath.com, we do, so we decided to ask them the reasons behind the numbers they wear. Some are straight forward, and some have intriguing back stories.

The process of a Falcon choosing a number starts with coach Frank Serratore, equipment manager Robert Rush says. “Frank will email incoming freshmen several options based on what’s available,” Rush said.

Two numbers you won’t see in an Air Force lineup, however, are 1 and 5.

“(Former goaltender) Andrew Volkening was probably the best goalie we’ve had, even though Shane (Starrett) and Billy (Christopoulos) have been great for us,” Rush said. “So you won’t see a 1.

“Frank told me we won’t have a 5. That was (all-time leading scorer and former coach) Chuck Delich‘s number. We don’t retire numbers, but we won’t assign those.”

Here are stories behind this season’s Falcons:

2 – Tyler Jutting – “Since I was little I wore No. 12 in football and hockey because I liked Tom Brady. During my junior year of high school, defensemen had to wear numbers between 2-8 and 21-27. So I changed to 2 and have been 2 ever since.”

3 – Jake Levin – “I wore it in juniors and I was given it. Why change it?”

6 – Alex Mehnert – “I’ve been wearing it since I was about 8 years old. I took a break in juniors, I was 23. But I came here and 6 was available, so I went back to it. I think it’s a good defensive number. It works. There’s a lot of memories.”

7 – Matt Koch – “When I was growing up I used to wear 3 because that was my dad’s number, but 7 stuck out to me as my favorite growing up. I wore it in hockey, baseball, football, from middle school on. I just stuck with it.”

8 – Marshall Bowery – “I used to be 24 growing up because that was my brother’s number and my dad’s number. In juniors at Topeka there was another 24, so I switched to 8 and kept it since.”

9 – Trevor Stone – “I was 18 in juniors but that was taken by (Evan) Feno so 18 divided by two is 9, so I just went with it. I thought No. 9 was a cool number.”

10 – Keegan Mantaro – “I was a big soccer fan when I was little, and my sister played soccer and told me all the best players wear 10 as a joke. I liked that so I went with it. My usual number is 17, but (Joe) Tyran has that.”

11 – Max Harper – “That was one of the options Frank gave me. It was between 11, 19, 29. I liked 11 the most. 9 was always my number growing up. Trevor being 9, I couldn’t be 9.”

12 – Matt Serratore – “I wore No. 12 because my dad (Bemidji State coach Tom) wore it. At a young age he was my mentor in hockey. I’d see his picture up on the wall up at Bemidji and noticed he wore 12. The first time I was able to choose my number, I choose it and I just stayed with it.”

15 – Evan Giesler – “I always wore 5 or 15 in youth hockey. I just always liked the No. 5. When I came here I got No. 15. I’m not going to say I’m a Ducks fan but I do like Ryan Getzlaf. I try to play a similar style. (and they both wear a C).”

16 – Kyle Haak – “It started out when I was younger, one of my brother’s friends wore it, and I picked friends who I liked and then chose their numbers. I was 5, 10 and then 16. When I played Midget Minor and Midget Major, they shuffled the numbers and I was going to wear a different number. It turns out coach Dean Dixon’s son had just left, so 16 was available. He also wore 16. Dean Dixon also wore 16, and he set me on the path to get to junior hockey and then here. He passed away a few years ago from brain cancer so I’ve got his picture up on my stall so that’s where that comes from (Dixon is written on Kyle’s stick) and where 16 comes from.”

17 – Joe Tyran – “My captain in juniors (at Bismarck) wore this number and I really liked his style of play so I wear this number in his honor.”

18 – Evan Feno – “I wore it in juniors. I’ve always liked it, but I’ve bounced around with numbers. 15 was taken in juniors, and I was 78 growing up. I guess I mixed the two and stuck with it.”

20 – Dan Bailey – “This is the first time I’ve worn it. I would have wanted to wear 4 but Phil Boje had that locked down. Of the numbers that were left I picked 20 because of Mike Crowley. He played for the Gophers back in the day. My brother was a huge fan of him growing up.”

21 – Matt Pulver – “It was my dad’s college football number. The guy who had it graduated the year before.”

22 – Pierce Pluemer – “22 was the first number I ever wore growing up in youth hockey. I wore 5 in high school because my brother was 4. I went back to 22 in juniors and was lucky enough to get it here.”

25 – Carter Ekberg – “Most of my life I wore 15, particularly the last couple years. But 15 wasn’t available because of Evan Giesler so I chose 25 because it was one of the few numbers available below 30.”

26 – Erich Jaeger – “I watched Jared Spurgeon of the Wild playing juniors (in Spokane) growing up, and I was really small like him, so I thought he was really cool. In juniors, 26 became available and it kind of worked out. Here, the same thing. I didn’t realize a graduating senior had 26, so I didn’t ask for it, they just gave it to me.”

27 – Jensen Zerban – “It was one of the numbers available. I have a really good buddy I played juniors with (in Philadelphia) who wore 27, so I’m kind of wearing it for him, too.”

28 – Brady Tomlak – “It was my dad’s number when he played. I was 4 when I was younger but I wanted to go with 28 when I got here. I thought about 29, being one better than him, but I stuck with 28.”

29 – Shawn Knowlton – “It was one of the ones that was open and I figured I might as well go with it again.”

30 – Erik Anderson – “I chose 30 back in Squirts and it never seemed like any other number would be better. I liked 30 and stuck with it.”

31 – Zach LaRocque – “It was the number my best friend and I wore growing up so I continue to wear it.”

33 – Alex Schilling – “Patrick Roy was my favorite goalie, so I picked 33.”

42- Walker Sommer – “I’ve worn it since I was really little. My dad liked it, my grandpa liked it. It’s a really good number. I’ve never changed it.”

44 – Billy Christopoulos – “It’s a family thing. My dad wore 44 in college football. Then my cousin played college softball at Illinois and she was 44. My brother played baseball in college and was lucky enough to play a little professionally, and he was 44. So I had to keep the tradition alive.”

74 – Zack Mirageas – “Frank sent me an email the summer before coming in about the numbers I could chose and I saw that 15 wasn’t on it because Evan has it. I’d always worn that because I was born on July 15. No one had 5, but Chuck Delich wore that, so I couldn’t take that. It was an impulse decision. I saw 74 and didn’t want to be anything in the 20s. It’s a good number. I didn’t pick it because of some of the great NHL defensemen, like John Carlson, but it happened he has the same number. I think it’s cool. It’s different.”

88 – Kieran Durgan – “I wore 8 throughout my whole career in juniors, but that was taken. I actually wore 6 to start my hockey career but that was taken here, too. So I figured why not go with 8 and just double it in a way.”

Want to know more about your favorite Falcons? We go one on one with them in our periodic One-timers feature.

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