Athletics
Salem State
Saint Michael's
Southern Maine
Saint Michael's
Assumption
Saint Michael's
Men's Ice Hockey
April 16, 2008
Individuals Honored At Men's Ice Hockey Banquet; '08-'09 Captains Named
COLCHESTER, Vt. - Using a fourth-seed vote in the Northeast-10 Conference pre-season Coaches Poll as motivation, the Saint Michael's men's ice hockey team stormed the league with their first ever regular season crown and first tournament championship campaign since 2004. On Wednesday, April 9, the Purple Knights held their annual awards banquet to honor the individuals responsible for the team's historical run. The five captains for the '08-'09 season were also announced as voted by the coaching staff.
Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year, Chris Davidson and assistant coach Brian Bova handed out awards to three seniors, three juniors and one first-year.
Leading Saint Michael's and the Northsast-10 in points scored (37), junior Ryan Mero (Peekskill, N.Y./Avon Old Farms) garnered Most Valuable Player honors along with the John Gurskis Award, given annually to the team's leading point-scorer. John Gurskis '98 is the all-time leading point-scorer in program history with 93 goals and 141 assists through a four year career. In March, Mero was also named the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year with his league-leading 20 goals, none more memorable than a short-handed overtime game-winner versus Stonehill in the conference semi-finals.
The team's youngest award-recipient was first-year Matt Rigtrup (Upper Montclair, N.J./Pickering Panthers), earning Rookie of the Year honors after appearing in all but one game this season. Rigtrup lead all first-years with 13 points on three goals and a fifth-best 10 assists.
Helping Saint Michael's to their best goals-allowed per game (3.96) in nine years, juniors John Burns (Sandwich, Mass./UConn) and Tyler Bilton (Penticton, B.C./Finlandia Univ.) were honored as Co-Defensive Players of the Year. Burns', the Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the Year, matched his defensive efforts with generosity on offense, dishing out a conference-best 24 assists. Net-minder Bilton boasted a .898 save-percentage, good for third in the conference, before being named the Most Valuable Player of the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament.
The three seniors receiving recognition were captain Erik Caron (Kanata, Ont./Smith Falls Bears), forward Matt Hall (Scituate, Mass./Scituate), and forward Dan Anctil (Rochester, N.H./Valley Jr. Warriors). Donning the Purple Knight Award was the senior captain, given to the player that embodies the true spirit of Saint Michael's College hockey. Playing 96 career games in purple and gold, Caron tallied 82 career points on 26 goals and 56 assists. Hall was given this season's Unsung Hero Award for his unrelenting, consistent production throughout the season with a second-best 13 goals among Purple Knights. Receiving the Most Improved Player Award was Anctil, who scored 10-six of which were goals-of his 15 career points this season to guide Saint Michael's deep into the postseason.
Looking forward to the '08-'09 season, Davidson and Bova announced that former two-year assistant captain Chris Healey (Salem, N.H./NH Jr. Monarchs) would lead the Purple Knights as captain in the fall. Assistant captains will also include rising seniors Burns, Mero, and Bryan Dodge (Goffstown, N.H./Governors Acad.) and rising junior Dave Vorozilchak (Clarks Summit, Pa./CD Select).
For more information visit: www.SMCathletics.com/
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