Men's Ice Hockey

MERO NAMED NORTHEAST-10 MEN'S ICE HOCKEY ‘PLAYER OF THE YEAR'; BURNS DONS ‘DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR'
Interim head coach Chris Davidson collects ‘Coach of the Year'

For Complete All-Conference Release: http://www.smcathletics.com/sports/mice/2007-08/2008_Ice_All_Conf_Release.pdf

COLCHESTER, Vt.- After reigning supreme in the Northeast-10 Conference championship over Saint Anselm on Saturday, 5-1, the Purple Knights were showered with individual achievements as well.  While junior Ryan Mero (Peekskill, N.Y./Avon Acad.) scored a league-best 20 goals and 37 points to earn ‘Player of the Year' honors, interim head coach Chris Davidson was named the conference ‘Coach of the Year' for leading Saint Michael's to the most wins in a season (12) since 1999-2000.

Playing hero in the 5-4 semifinal overtime win over Stonehill, Mero scored two short-handed goals, one of which came just 31 seconds into extra time.  Besides leading the league in scoring, Mero ranked first in game-winning goals (three) and short-handed goals (three).  Ironically, the three short-handed goals were all scored versus Stonehill in a nine day span.

Junior defenseman John Burns (Sandwich, Mass./UConn) grabbed ‘Defensive Player of the Year' for his league-leading 24 assists and conference-best 29 points among defenders.  Burns also anchored a defense that allowed 4.08 goals per game, good for third in the conference.

While Mero and Burns earned a spot on the All-Conference First Team, classmate Chris Healey (Salem, N.H./NH Jr. Monarchs) landed on the Second Team.  The assistant captain was third among Purple Knights in scoring with 24 on 11 goals and 13 assists.  Healey also tallied a conference-best nine power play goals and three game-winners.

In his first season at the helm, interim coach Chris Davidson took home hardware in the form of a Northeast-10 Conference ‘Coach of the Year' plaque.  Davidson led Saint Michael's to the first ever regular season title and fourth tournament championship in program history.  The 12-14-1 record amassed by Coach Davidson and the Purple Knights matched the number of wins earned by the 1999-2000 squad that fell 4-3 in overtime to Saint Anselm in the ECAC Division-II semifinal on March 2, 2000.  No stranger to championships, Davidson was a member of the 1999 Division-II National Champion Purple Knights team that knocked off New Hampshire College, 8-5, in the deciding game of the best-of-three series.