College hockey: Colin Bilek named Atlantic preseason player of the year, Army picked third

WEST POINT – Colin Bilek would like to put last season behind him.

It’s not because he is coming off a rough season with Army hockey – in fact, it’s quite the contrary. Bilek was named second-team All-American last season and his 18 goals ranked second in NCAA Division I.

“I just would say that going into this year, I'm already over the last year,’’ Bilek said. “It’s ‘Go time’ now and all that stuff from last year is over with.’’

No matter his sentiments, Bilek’s reputation will follow him into his senior year. Bilek was voted Atlantic Hockey preseason player of the year by the coaches.

“I’m very humbled to be able to be recognized for something like that,’’ he said. “A lot of that stuff is based off what happened last season so it is very cool.’’

“I don’t think Colin getting preseason player of the year is much of a surprise,’’ said Army coach Brian Riley. “Everybody in college hockey kind of took notice of what he did as far as scoring the goals. As far as goals per game, he was only behind Cole Caulfield, now with the Montreal Canadiens and the Hobey Baker winner. There’s a lot of good players in Atlantic Hockey and I’m not surprised that the coaches picked him.’’

Bilek is Atlantic Hockey’s active leader in power-play goals (16), fifth in points (62) and tied for second in goals (32).

Riley holds Bilek up to his teammates as a player to emulate.

“I told one of our plebes (freshmen) the guy you should be watching is Colin Bilek, because if you can be the type of player that he is as far as the energy and the will to win, you can have a great career here,’’ Riley said. “He has a desire to become a better hockey player every day – I’ve just never seen anybody that kind of has all of that. It’s contagious.’’

With second-team All-American goalie Trevin Kozlowski backstopping the defense and Bilek lighting up the offense, the 2020-21 Army team went on an unprecedented 15-game unbeaten streak from early January through the opening round of the Atlantic Hockey playoffs. Bilek had a 13-game point streak and scored goals in 11 of those contests. He had the triple-overtime winner in the 114th minute against Sacred Heart in the ninth-longest game in NCAA history, advancing the Black Knights into the Atlantic semifinals.

“I've never been on a 13-game winning streak and I never scored at that pace either so it was incredibly fun,’’ Bilek said. “I don't think think there's anything more fun than winning hockey games and I don't think there's a hockey player out there that doesn't love scoring goals. Last season was very special and it is cool to reminisce about what we as a team accomplished last year and some individual things that I set out to do and that I accomplished last year. They are very cool to look back upon.’’

Sophomore forward Lincoln Hatten, junior defenseman Thomas Farrell and senior defenseman Anthony Firriolo earned votes for the AHA preseason team.

Black Knights picked third

The Atlantic Hockey coaches followed the playoff finish and voted Army No. 3 in the preseason poll, behind three-time playoff champion American International and 2021 finalist Canisius.

“It’s probably a respect factor for what Army’s been able to do the last couple of years,’’ Riley said. “It’s nice to see you up toward the top but when all is said and done you have to go out and prove yourself and we’re going to have to do that.’’

Riley was a bit surprised by the No. 3 spot because the Black Knights have to replace four prominent players on the back end. Plus, the balance of the league has shifted with the influx of about 50 transfers, many of whom are graduates who were granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA due to the COVID pandemic issues.

“We lost an All-American goalie and three (defensemen) who were the backbone of our (defensive) corps and played minutes from the day they got here,’’ Riley said. “Last year the strength of our team was that experience. I think this year that’s the question mark, and the only way to get experience is by having guys play.’’

The rest of the poll has No. 4 Rochester Institute of Technology, No. 5 Sacred Heart, a sixth-place tie between Niagara and Mercyhurst, No. 8 Bentley, No. 9 Air Force and No. 10 Holy Cross.

Army opens the season on Oct. 2 at Providence.

kmcmillan@th-record.com

Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR