COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – Coming off a big weekend on the ice, the good news keeps rolling in for Bismarck Bobcats forward Ryan Jacobson, who announced Tuesday that he has committed to play his collegiate hockey at the United States Air Force Academy.
“It feels really good to know that my future is now taken care of, hockey-wise,” said Jacobson. “It helps to focus on the ice; I don’t have to worry about the big picture anymore, which lets me focus on taking it one shift at a time and one game at a time.”
The news of Jacobson’s commitment comes in the wake of the Denver, Colo., native’s being named the NAHL Central Division Player of the Week on Monday. He currently sits at second league-wide in goals scored with 19 and 23rd in the overall scoring standings with 28 points (19-9-28).
Shaking off a slow month of November, Jacobson has bounced back to rack up six goals and four assists in his last seven games. He says that a big part of his resurgence is on-ice consistency with his linemates.
“One important thing has been our line with me, [Dominic] Panetta and [Tim] Serratore,” said Jacobson, “and the chance Coach Pool has given us to play together for over a month now, giving us consistency and, as a result, chemistry. Just by watching the game tape you can see the way that all of our games have taken a big step forward since we got on a line together.”
Jacobson will begin classes at Air Force in the fall of 2011—where he will meet up with current teammate and 2010 USAFA freshman Jason Fabian—giving him another season to ply his trade with the Bobcats.
Air Force, coached by Frank Serratore, currently sits in first place in the up-and-coming Atlantic Hockey conference, but the on-ice product isn’t the only thing that drew Jacobson to Colorado Springs.
“Ever since I lived near the Academy, I knew that’s where I wanted to go,” he noted. “It’s a world-renowned academic institution with a beautiful campus and it will provide me with all of the chances in the world after I graduate.
“Going to play hockey and go to school at Air Force is a real dream come true.”
Jacobson is the fourth current Bobcat to secure an NCAA Division I scholarship, joining Fabian (Air Force), Gavin Hartzog (Wisconsin) and Sam Rendle (Bemidji State).
The Bobcats return to action on Friday when the second-place Owatonna Express pay a visit to the VFW Sports Center for a 7:15 PM puck-drop. Friday’s contest will be the first of two weekend showdowns of the top two teams in the Central Division.
Friday’s game will be broadcast locally on the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, Super Talk 1270, KLXX-AM, and worldwide at BismarckBobcats.com via B2 Networks. The pre-game show starts each night at 6:45 PM.
You won\’t want to miss any of the games this season, so order your Season Tickets, Family Packs and Group Nights today by calling the Bobcat Hockey Office at 701-222-3300 or by e-mailing the office for more information at gobobcathockey@aol.com.
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