COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo: Last year the Citadel planned a hockey tour of Scotland and England with a group of players from the Citadel and the Naval Academy. This year they are joining together again, with additional help from some other military academies, to plan a tour of Germany. The United States Military Academy, the United States Air Force Academy, the United States Coast Guard Academy and the United States 
Merchant Marine Academy will be joining the Citadel and United States Naval Academy this year. More details on the tour will follow, as the details are still being worked out.
To kick off this years series, we will be profiling each of the academies hockey programs. Each of the institutions was provided the same set of questions. Our third featured team is the United States Air Force Academy.
Name: USAF Academy Men’s Club Hockey
Coach: Tim Kirby and Tim Hartje
D2 or D3? D3
What league? ACHA Pacific Region
How long has the program been in existence? Consistently fielded a team each of past 6 seasons.
How many on average try out, and how many make the roster? We don’t hold tryouts. We offer the opportunity to any cadet who has an interest. We normally carry 30-34 on our roster but that depends on how many receive appointments to academy and have hockey background.
What is the overall enrollment number for the institution? 4200 +/-
Where are your games played? Cadet Ice Arena @ USAF Academy
How many hours of practice per week? On ice: 3-5 hours. Captains dryland and team mtgs 4 hrs.
How many games do you generally play per season? 22-24, including post-season
How much recruiting is done and how do you recruit? We don’t recruit but on occasion a cadet-candidate will contact our club team or our varsity NCAA team. We answer questions regarding our programs but don’t have an opportunity to directly assist with admissions processing. We’ve had a couple of players drop to club from NCAA team.
For the academies that have a D1 NCAA team, what are the differences in your programs, and does this help or hurt the club program? We get great support from the NCAA team. Coaches and athletic departments make it a priority to support the club program. Ice time is prioritized after NCAA schedule is set. Coach Serratore and staff talk up the club program when opportunity presents.
How many states do your players come from? Traditional hockey states are most common however we have players on team from CA, OH, FL, IL, CO.
What was your record last year? 14-5 regular season and 0-3 at Nationals.
How many seniors graduated last season? 7
What fund raising is done, by whom, and how can people donate? Per USAFA policy we can’t actively ask for donations but we can organize fund raisers with permission. We have set up a Club Donation page through USAFA AOG/Endowment: https://www2.usafa.org/Give/icehockey
Please provide any other comments, thoughts etc that you would like everyone to know. AF made it to Nationals each of past two seasons. The team has competed well in ACHA pacific region. Won region #1 seed two years ago and came in 2d last season. We have an ACHA website: http://achahockey.org/statistics/1682-ACHA-Mens?type=overview&level=team&id=508761&division_id=108885&league_id=1800&conference_id=1152
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