Jr. Blues Alumni Report: the 2019-20 Atlantic Hockey Season

Apr 7, 2020

Springfield, Illinois – Our adventure through the NCAA Division 1 landscape makes its final stop today as we recap the accomplishments of our alumni in the Atlantic Hockey Conference. Here is today’s Alumni Report!

We start today by recapping the season of the Air Force Falcons and our alumni who represented us in Colorado Springs, CO. Senior forward Brady Tomlak led the Falcons this year in points with 26 on 9 goals and 17 assists in 35 games, pushing his career totals to 144 games with 27 goals and 52 assists with a +/- rating of 24. The Oakland, MI native was named the 2019-20 Atlantic Hockey Best Defensive Forward this season as he was the only player in conference play with 300+ faceoffs (322), a faceoff win percentage of 60 percent or higher (.622), and a +/- above 10 (+13). 

Tomlak was named as an Assistant Captain for the Falcons prior to the start of the season alongside fellow alum Trevor Stone. The Pleasant Plains, IL native appeared in 36 games and tallied 4 goals and 12 assists for Air Force. The all-time leader in games played for the Jr. Blues (197) finishes his NCAA career with 135 appearances, 23 goals, and 29 assists. Tomlak and Stone will graduate with their fellow seniors at Air Force on April 18th instead of the original graduation on May 28th. 

Our next stop is at West Point as we look at the season of Freshman forward Patrick Smyth. The Toledo, OH native played in 28 games during his inaugural NCAA season, recording two goals overall. Smyth scored his first NCAA goal and point on January 11th against Air Force. He will be joined by current Jr. Blues netminder Ryan Wilson who committed to Army-West Point this season. 

From Army to Bentley, we shift our attention to freshman blueliner Marcus Walter. Walter, a native of St. Albert, AB, Canada, played in 28 games this season and tallied 1 goal and 4 assists. His first NCAA assist and point came on November 1st against Mercyhurst, and his first goal came on February 29th against Holy Cross. 

Speaking of Holy Cross, forward Ryan Leibold just wrapped an impressive sophomore campaign for the Crusaders. The Ashburn, VA native appeared in 37 games this season, netting 3 goals and 12 assists. After two seasons in the NCAA, Leibold has played in 70 games and has scored 7 goals with 17 assists. 

While many NCAA D1 programs have only one alumni on their roster, our next spotlight showcases a team with three alums: Canisius College. Our first glance will focus on junior forward Matt Long from Orland Park, IL. Long finished the season with career highs in goals (6), assists (4), and points (10), despite appearing in the fewest games of his career (28). The two-time Atlantic Hockey All-Academic Team member has now appeared in 89 career games for the Griffins with 12 goals and 7 assists on his resume. 

Teammate and fellow junior Grant Meyer also continues to improve for the Griffins. The Genoa, OH native played in a career low number of games this season (24) but still managed to score 4 goals and 12 assists on the season. The 2017-18 Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team member has now played in 92 career games and has netted 15 goals and 40 assists. Additionally, Meyer was also named to the 2018-19 Atlantic Hockey All-Academic Team.

The third musketeer at Canisius is senior transfer Will Scherer, who had previously played parts of three seasons at Brown University. The St. Charles, MO native appeared in 16 games for the Griffins recording 1 goal and 1 assist, pushing his career numbers to 39 games played with 1 goal and 3 assists. At Brown, Scherer was a two-time ECAC All-Academic Team member. 

Last but not least, our final spotlight today is on Sacred Heart sophomore forward Todd Goehring. The Wayside, NJ native recorded 2 goals and 8 assists in 30 games this season, as he now has 65 games under his belt with 6 goals and 12 assists to his credit. 

We wish the best of luck to Brady Tomlak and Trevor Stone as they begin their military careers in the United States Air Force, and we want to thank them for their service to our country. Congratulations to all of our alumni in the Atlantic Hockey Conference for their hard work on and off the ice this season! We look forward to seeing what you are able to accomplish next season!