BRIAN GINEO
Air Force
Jr. | D | South Windsor, Conn.

Gineo, Air Force's lone all-conference selection last year, will try to help the Falcons improve on their fifth-place finish in this, their last CHA season. More Profiles ---------------------------- Complete Index Bryce Anderson Michael Benyon Casey Bickley Steve Birnstill David Booth Max Buetow Josh Ciocco Justin Cross Kelly Czuy Nathan Davis Darrell Draper Andrew Ebbett Alex Foster Tom Gilbert Brian Gineo Bobby Goepfert Matt Greene Joe Grimaldi Jim Healey Lars Helminen Ryan Huddy Sean Hurley Danny Irmen Kevin Jarman Jaye Judd Matt Kelly Doug Krantz Nathan Lawson Brady Leisenring Kirk MacDonald Derek MacIntyre Conrad Martin Matt McKnight Kyle McNulty Greg Moore Travis Morin Dan Murphy Pierre Napert-Frenette Ben Nelson Patrick Neuendorfer Garret Overlock Alexandre Parent Jeffrey Rainville Jon Rheault Kenny Roche Brian Salcido Drew Stafford Paul Szczechura Paul Stastny Jason Tejchma Chris Uber Jeff Valdes Tim Wallace Kyle Wilson Jeff Winchester Blair Yaworski Bill Zaniboni John Zeiler

Key Statistics: Gineo was tied for third on the team in goals (nine), tied for second in assists (14) and alone in third place in points last season. With 23 points, he tied Alabama-Huntsville’s Jeremy Schreiber for most points by a CHA defenseman. His nine tallies were most by a league blueliner. Four of his goals came on the power play.

What He Does: The 6-foot, 195-pounder does just about everything equally well, so much so that nothing about his game stands out above the rest. He’s a responsible defenseman who almost always is in the correct position on the ice. He has good size for a CHA d-man, and he uses his strength when necessary. His success on the offensive end mostly stems from making smart decisions with and without the puck. Gineo also is a leader in the Falcons’ locker room.

The Bigger Picture: The CHA can boast of several excellent defensemen this season, and Gineo is right up there with them. He has the ability to take the next step and become a first-team all-conference player (he was second-team last year) in Air Force’s last season before bolting for Atlantic Hockey. If he can put up numbers similar to last season’s, he’ll probably earn that honor. The team certainly hopes he maintains his production level, because, with leading scorer Brandon Merkosky (a buddy of Gineo’s from juniors) transferring to Clarkson, Gineo trails only Andrew Ramsey on the team’s list of top returning point accumulators. Needless to say, the light-scoring Falcons can use every drop of offense they can get.

According to Gineo: “Defense comes first for me. It just seems that I get some bounces (on the offensive end) or somebody scores right after I pass it to them. I’m kind of lucky, I guess. I don’t have hands, so I don’t try to dangle guys or anything. I look for a pass or a shot before I try to beat someone one-on-one.”

— James Jahnke